Report says technology kept 2020 census below expected cost

The 2020 census is expected to cost $14.2 billion, well below a previous estimate of $15.6 billion. The lower cost can be attributed to technological innovations, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. It came even though the Census Bureau spent an extra $1.1 billion responding to the pandemic, whose spread in the U.S. coincided with the start of the nation’s head count for most U.S. residents. Innovations allowed most respondents to answer the census questionnaire online for the first time. They also permitted census takers to take down answers using smartphones. The per-household cost of the 2020 census wasn’t significantly higher than in 2010.