American Community Survey

1. American Community Survey Idaho State Data Center Boise September 7, 2005

2. What is the American Community Survey? • A large, continuous demographic survey • Produces annual and multi-year estimates of the characteristics of the population and housing • Produces characteristics, not a population count • Produces information for small areas including tracts, block groups and population subgroups - updated every year • Key component of reengineered 2010 census

3. What is the American Community Survey? A program to provide annual and multi-year data for communities: • Age, gender, race/ethnicity • Families, children, elderly • Income, poverty • Work, unemployment • Housing • Education

4. Effects of the American Community Survey (ACS) on the 2010 Census • Eliminate long-form • Conduct a short form only census • Better knowledge of local areas • Ongoing contacts with local governments • Cost savings

5. How will the American Community Survey help your community? • Establish community goals • Compare your community with others • Identify community problems and solutions • Measure and publicize program results • Increase government accountability • Ensure fair funding distribution • Create community-specific programs • Locate facilities and programs

6. Expansion to Full ACS Sample • Testing and development: 1996-2004 • Full expansion began in 2005 • Group quarters delayed until 2006 • Annual national sample of about 3 million addresses • Provide profiles every year for communities of 65,000 or more • Provide 3- to 5-year cumulations for communities of less than 65,000 population

7. American Community Survey Data Release Timetable

8. Comparing ACS with the Decennial Census Sample • How do the samples compare? • How does data collection compare? • What is the impact on the data?

9. How do the samples compare? Similarities • Systematic samples of MAF (Master Address File) addresses • Differential sampling rates for areas based on population size

10. Sampling Rates

11. How do the samples compare? Differences – ACS Sample Design • Initial sampling rate • about 2.5% each year • about 12.5% over 5-year period • Results in an initial sample of about • 250,000 addresses each month • 3 million addresses each year • 15 million addresses over 5-year period

12. How do the samples compare? Differences • ACS samples every year and spreads sample over 12 months; census samples once a decade and uses the entire sample at the same time • ACS subsamples for personal visit follow-up; court ruled against census subsampling • Census sample estimates based on about 18 million housing units; ACS 5 year estimates based on about 11 million housing units

13. How does data collection compare? Similarities • Primary method is self-response to a paper questionnaire • Content is the same

14. How does data collection compare? ACS data collection procedures: • Mail • Telephone • Personal visits • Use a current residence rule

15. How does data collection compare? Differences • ACS nonresponse follow-up uses computer-assisted telephone and computer-assisted personal interviews; past censuses have used only paper questionnaires • ACS data collected only from household members; census data often collected from neighbors • ACS interviews conducted by experienced and well-supervised staff; census enumerations conducted by inexperienced temporary workforce

16. What is the impact on the data? • ACS estimates have higher sampling error • measures are released for each estimate and shown as 90% confidence limits or margins of error in every table • Similar sampling error measures for census long form sample estimates have not been provided

17. What is the impact on the data? • ACS estimates have lower potential nonsampling error • Unit nonresponse: no data for a case • Item nonresponse: data missing for an item • These and other measures are released on ACS’s Quality Measures website www.census.gov/acs/www/UseData/sse/index.htm

18. Unit Response

20. Multi-year Estimation • Most multi-year estimates are generated by computing an average based on combining each years’ estimates • Estimates are computed using the geography in place as of the most recent year of the period • Dollar valued data items are inflation adjusted to most recent year of the period

21. Multi-year Estimation: Medians • Medians are produced using combined data records from all years, not by averaging each year’s median • A 3-year median household income estimate is determined by combining the household records from the 3 years into one data set and determining the median from this combined distribution

22. Multi-year Estimates • Example • Item with year-to-year increases and decreases • Overview only • Focus is on the timing and creation of 3-year and 5-year data products

23. Multi-year Estimates

27. ACS Data Products • Data Profiles • Multi-Year Profiles • Narrative Profiles • Expanded Ranking Tables • Redesigned and expanded Detailed Tables/Base Tables • Public Use Microdata Sample Files (PUMS) • New: Subject Tables • New: Selected Population Profiles • New: Thematic Maps

28. ACS Data Products American FactFinderhttp://factfinder.census.gov

29. ACS Data Products

30. Data Profiles

31. Narrative Profile

32. Multi-Year Profiles

33. Ranking Tables

34. Ranking Table(without statistical significance)

35. Ranking Table (with statistical significance)

36. Ranking Table (chart)

37. Thematic Map

38. Subject Table

39. Selected Population Profile

40. Detailed Table/Base Table

41. 2004 ACS Products by Geography Type

42. Outreach and Education Materials • State and local handbook • National and community organizations handbook • Congressional toolkit • American Indian/Alaska Native toolkit • ACS Data User Guide (Fall 2005)

43. Information about the American Community Survey www.census.gov/acs/www

44. Guide to the ACS Data Products

45. For More Information American Community Survey Web site(www.census.gov/acs/www) Call us at:1-888-456-7215 E-mail us at:cmo.acs@census.gov Subscribe to the ACS Alert

46. U. S. Census BureauSeattle Regional Office Partnership and Data Services Cam McIntosh, Information Specialist U.S. Census Bureau 700 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5100 Seattle, WA 98104 cam.mcintosh@census.gov 800-233-3308 206-553-5836