The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to offer options to respond online or by phone, in addition to the paper response form used for previous censuses. The census was taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected its administration. The census recorded a resident population of 331,449,281 in the fifty states and the District of Columbia, an increase of 7.4 percent, or 22,703,743, over the preceding decade. The growth rate was the second-lowest ever recorded, and the net increase was the sixth highest in history. This was the first census where the ten most populous states each surpassed 1