What the Census Pulse Survey Reveals About 2026
A comprehensive look at the 2026 Census HTOPS data: AI adoption, food security, housing, employment, health, and spending across America.
The U.S. Census Bureau's Household Trends and Outlook Pulse Survey (HTOPS), March 2026, is one of the most comprehensive snapshots of American life available. Surveying 7,485 respondents with weighted estimates representing approximately 261 million American adults, it covers AI usage, food security, housing, employment, health insurance, spending, and transportation. Here are the key findings.
AI: A Mainstream Technology
24.07% of Americans now use artificial intelligence tools — making AI a mainstream technology used by roughly 63 million adults. The adoption curve favors those aged 25–39 (27.95%), those with bachelor's degrees (28.62%), and those earning $100K–$150K (26.89%). New England leads regional adoption at 33.79%.
Privacy and data security remains the top concern (cited by an estimated 83.7 million Americans), followed by bias and discrimination (52.8M) and impact on children (41.7M).
Food Security: 7% Going Hungry
7.03% of Americans are food insecure, meaning they sometimes or often don't have enough to eat. Another 22.48% have enough food but not always the kinds they want. Regional variation is significant: the Middle Atlantic (9.46%) and East South Central (8.12%) have the highest rates, while the West South Central (5.30%) and Mountain (5.32%) have the lowest.
Housing: Rent Delinquency Rising
8.87% of renters are behind on rent and 4.37% of mortgage holders are behind on payments. The Middle Atlantic stands out with a staggering 21.23% rent delinquency rate, while the Mountain region reports just 1.61%. Housing tenure splits roughly: 42.15% own outright, 25.72% own with mortgage, and 30.78% rent.
Employment: A Split Economy
56.64% of adults are employed. Among workers, the private sector dominates (60.62%), followed by self-employment (16.03%) and government (12.58%). Telework has settled into a new normal: 65.64% never telework, but 12.05% always work remotely and another 14.70% sometimes do.
Regional employment ranges from 59.06% in the East South Central to 52.50% in the Mountain region.
Health Insurance: Gaps Remain
7.45% of Americans lack health insurance (approximately 19.4 million people). Employer-sponsored coverage remains dominant at 57.04%, followed by Medicare (28.28%), Medicaid (20.36%), and directly purchased plans (15.64%). The West South Central region has the highest uninsured rate at 16.10%.
Spending: Americans Under Pressure
19.77% of Americans find expenses very or somewhat difficult. Price changes have affected spending for 75.28% of respondents. The expense difficulty rate suggests that roughly one in five Americans is under significant financial strain.
The Big Picture
The 2026 HTOPS data paints a picture of an America in transition. AI is rapidly entering mainstream use. Food insecurity persists at concerning levels. Housing affordability is creating a geographic divide between where people can afford to live and where they want to. Employment has recovered but the nature of work — remote, hybrid, in-person — continues to evolve.
The regional data is perhaps most striking: the same country produces a 1.61% rent delinquency rate in the Mountain West and a 21.23% rate in the Middle Atlantic. It produces 33.79% AI adoption in New England and 19.27% in the Middle Atlantic. America in 2026 is not one country in the data — it's several, layered on top of each other.
*Explore all the data across our topic pages: AI, Food, Housing, Employment, Health, Spending, Transportation. Download the raw data on our Downloads page.*
Data source: U.S. Census Bureau HTOPS, March 2026.