Retailers, Nielsen, and 12 other business groups oppose dropping race from the 2030 census
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Fourteen business groups, including the National Retail Federation, Nielsen, and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, told the Commerce Department on November 2 that they strongly oppose dropping race and ethnicity questions from the 2030 census. They warned that it "would remove the anchor the American business community uses to gauge the accuracy of its own numbers and decision-making."
The proposed rule, published September 10, says: "No question about race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation shall appear on the short form decennial census questionnaire or any questionnaire used for the enumeration of the population." The groups asked the department not to finalize that restriction as it applies to race and ethnicity, noting the questions have been on every census since 1790.
The signers range from ad industry groups to local chambers: the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Asian Business Association, Association of National Advertisers, Building Owners and Managers Association International, Coin Laundry Association, Insights Association, Interactive Advertising Bureau, The Latino Coalition, National Association for Business Economics, National Retail Federation, Nielsen, North Platte Area Chamber and Development Corporation, Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, and United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
"Census race and ethnicity data are not a niche statistical input," the groups wrote. They described the census as the benchmark against which nearly every statistically representative dataset in the economy is built, weighted, and checked, used by businesses in financial services, health care, insurance, retail, real estate, advertising, and market research.
They gave several examples of how companies use it. Retailers, restaurant chains, hospitals, banks, and developers compare local demographics with national benchmarks to decide where to open stores, offices, ATMs, and medical sites. Census-based controls also underpin TV and online audience ratings, which set prices across the advertising market, and economists use the benchmarks to study labor markets and consumer demand.
The Insights Association, which represents market research firms, raised the same concern in an August 25 letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, writing that "No private data source -- commercial, administrative, or otherwise -- can substitute for the Census Bureau's constitutionally-mandated universal enumeration." Researchers weight survey results to match the census so the results reflect the actual population, and without that benchmark, the group warned, survey results can't be reliably applied to the public.
The rule leaves the bureau free to ask about race on the American Community Survey and other surveys not used for the population count, and to receive demographic data from other sources. The bureau has said fewer questions on the census form will raise response rates and that demographic questions don't serve the census's constitutional purpose of dividing House seats.
The business groups join six former Census Bureau directors, tribal leaders, and civil rights groups in opposing the plan. Our look at what dropping census questions would cost covers the government uses of the data, and how the census has counted race since 1790 traces the questions' history. The comment period closed November 2 with 143,238 comments filed.
Sources
Insights Association, "U.S. Business Groups Oppose Eliminating Race and Ethnicity Questions from the 2030 Census," November 2, 2026, and the groups' comment letter; Insights Association letter to Secretary Lutnick, August 25, 2026. U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Census Bureau, proposed rule, Federal Register document 2026-18481, September 10, 2026.
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Why do businesses oppose removing race questions from the census?
Fourteen business groups said census race and ethnicity data are the benchmark companies use to build, weight, and check their own data. They cited store and office site selection, advertising audience ratings, and economic forecasting.
Which business groups oppose the 2030 census race question change?
The groups include the National Retail Federation, Nielsen, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the Association of National Advertisers, the Insights Association, the National Association for Business Economics, and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Would the census still collect race data under the proposal?
The proposed rule bars race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation questions from the census form used to count the population, but it leaves the Census Bureau free to ask about race on the American Community Survey and other surveys.
