Census 2020: Off-Campus College Students

Information for Off-Campus College Students

While students living on-campus will be counted at their dormitories with the support of residential staff, students living off-campus will receive a mail-out invitation to respond online or by phone followed by a paper form if no response is received.

Like on-campus college students, off-campus students should count themselves at the place where they live most of the time. For most students, this is a college city or town. All housemates and roommates living in a shared apartment will be included on the census form.

Because many off-campus students may leave their off-campus apartments when the semester ends, the non-response follow-up (NRFU) activities conducted by the Census Bureau will occur earlier in neighborhoods with high concentrations of college students. This follow-up operation is called “Early NRFU,” and will begin on April 9, 2020.

What you need to know...

Your census data will not be shared with any other agency.

You must include all the information of everyone who lives at your address. There is no designated head of household to respond to the census, but it is important for everyone’s information to be recorded.

The parent or guardian at your former, non-college address should not count you on their Census form. You should be counted at the address where you live “most of the time.” Refer to the 2020 Census Residency Rules and Criteria publication for information.

International students attending college in the U.S. should also fill out a Census form listing their college address. Refer to the 2020 Census Residency Rules and Criteria publication for information.

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