American Community Survey | |
---|---|
Location(s) | 4600 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, Maryland, U.S. |
Country | U.S. |
Inaugurated | January 2005 |
Participants | 3.5 million households/year |
Activity | Survey |
Website | census.gov/acs |
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, including ancestry, US citizenship status, educational attainment, income, language proficiency, migration, disability, employment, and housing characteristics. These data are used by many public-sector, private-sector, and not-for-profit stakeholders to allocate funding, track shifting demographics, plan for emergencies, and learn about local communities. [1]
Sent to approximately 295,000 addresses monthly, or 3.5 million addresses annually, it is the largest household survey that the Census Bureau administers. [2]
The American Community Survey gathers information annually in the 50 US states, the national capital of Washington, D.C., and (via the Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS), which is part of the ACS) Puerto Rico. [lower-alpha 1] It does not gather information in the other four major US territories of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the US Virgin Islands. [5] [6]
The Article I, Section II of the United States Constitution requires an enumeration of the population every ten years "in such Manner as they (Congress) shall by Law direct". From the first census in 1790, legislators understood that it should collect basic demographic information beyond the number of people in the household. James Madison, a Founding Father and the fourth President of the United States, first proposed including questions in the census to "enable them to adapt the public measures to the particular circumstances of the community". Such knowledge collected with each census, Madison argued, "would give them an opportunity of marking the progress of the society". [7] The questions included in censuses since 1790 have reflected American understandings of and concerns about societal trends and the growing nation's expanded data needs. [8]
By 1940, advancements in statistical methods enabled the US Census Bureau to begin asking a sample of the population a subset of additional detailed questions without unduly increasing cost or respondent burden. [9] In the decades that followed, new questions were added to those that had previously been asked of all respondents, and all the questions were moved to the sample questionnaire form. As the sample form grew longer than the census form itself, it became known as the census "long form".
Following the 1960 census, federal, state, and local government officials, and some in the private sector began demanding more timely long-form-type data. Lawmakers representing rural districts claimed they were at a data disadvantage, unable to self-fund additional surveys of their populations. [10] [11] Congress explored the creation of a mid-decade census, holding hearings and even authorizing a mid-decade census in 1976, but not funding it. [12] [13] [14]
Efforts to obtain data on a more frequent basis began again after the 1990 census, when it became clear that the more burdensome long form was depressing overall census response rates and jeopardizing the accuracy of the count. At Congress's request, the Census Bureau developed and tested a new design to obtain long-form data. US statistician Leslie Kish had introduced the concept of a rolling sample (or continuous measurement) design in 1981. [15] This design featured ongoing, monthly data collection aggregated on a yearly basis, enabling annual data releases. By combining multiple years of this data, the Census Bureau could release "period" estimates to produce estimates for smaller areas. After a decade of testing, it launched as the American Community Survey in 2005, replacing the once-a-decade census long form. [16] [17]
The American Community Survey initially sampled approximately 3.5 million housing unit addresses and group quarters in the United States. The Census Bureau selects a random sample of addresses to be included in the ACS. Each address has about a 1-in-480 chance of being selected in a given month, and no address should be selected more than once every five years. Data is collected by internet, mail, telephone interviews, and in-person interviews. The questionnaire is available in English and Spanish, [18] with assistance provided in additional languages. [19] Approximately one-third of those who do not respond to the survey by mail or telephone are randomly selected for in-person interviews. About 95 percent of households across all response modes ultimately participate in the survey. [20]
Like the decennial census, ACS responses are confidential. Every employee at the Census Bureau takes an oath of nondisclosure and is sworn for life to not disclose identifying information. Violations of the nondisclosure oath are punishable by prison sentences of up to five years and/or a $250,000 fine. [21] Under 13 U.S.C. § 9, census responses are "immune from legal process" and may not "be admitted as evidence or used for any purpose in any action, suit, or other judicial or administrative proceeding".
The Census Bureau aggregates individual ACS responses, also known as microdata, into estimates at many geographic summary levels. Among these summary levels are legal and administrative entities such as states, counties, cities, and congressional districts, as well as statistical entities such as metropolitan statistical areas, tracts, block groups, and census designated places. Estimates for census blocks are not available from ACS. [22] Puerto Rico is the only US territory that is part of the ACS program. [6]
In order to balance geographic resolution, temporal frequency, statistical significance, and respondent privacy, ACS estimates released each year are aggregated from responses received in the previous calendar year or the previous five calendar years. The Census Bureau provides guidance for data users about which data set to use when analyzing different population and geography sizes. [23]
From 2007 to 2013, three-year estimates were available for areas with 20,000 people or more. This data product was discontinued in 2015 due to budget cuts. [24] The last 3-year release was the 2011–2013 ACS 3-year estimates.
Current data releases include:
Over the past decade, the American Community Survey has collected and supplied all data at local levels. This was a large breakthrough in the survey because it allows American citizens more individualized data on a community level as opposed to extrapolating from data collected over a larger area. It has also provided unparalleled information to be more accessible for local government planning and financing. Many conclusions for local data are averaged from various information across the area, but it is not always an adequate representation. [26]
ACS estimates are available via a number of online data tools. [27] U.S. Census website (AFF) is the primary tool for disseminating ACS data, allowing users to drill down to specific tables and geographies (starting with 2013 estimates, AFF also includes block group data). A selection of the most popular tables is shown in QuickFacts. Other tools include OnTheMap for Emergency Management, Census Business Builder and My Congressional District. My Tribal Area featuring 5-year estimates for federally recognized tribes, launched in 2017. The Summary File is the most detailed data source and is available as a series of downloadable text files or through an application programming interface (API) for software developers.
Custom cross-tabulations of ACS questions can be made using the Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), freely accessible through the Census Bureau website and Integrated Public Use Microdata Series. PUMS data contain responses to every question from a sample of respondents. To protect respondent privacy, PUMS data are anonymized and only available down to areas containing 100,000 people or more known as Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs). [28] The analysis of all ACS microdata without the sampling and anonymization in PUMS is restricted to qualified researchers at secure Federal Statistical Research Data Centers (FSRDCs). [29]
The Census Bureau conducts research and evaluation projects, including survey methodology research, important for the improvement of the ACS. [30] [31] [19]
The ACS data is used by researchers to examine societal changes, study data quality, and conduct methodological research. [32] [33]
American Community Survey data provides important information that cannot be found elsewhere. The federal government, as well as various businesses, researchers, and local governments use ACS data for planning and decision-making purposes. ACS data are used by public and business decision-makers to more clearly identify issues and opportunities and more effectively allocate scarce resources to address them. [34] [35] [36] In Fiscal Year 2008, 184 federal domestic assistance programs used ACS-related datasets to help guide the distribution of $416 billion, 29 percent of all federal assistance. [37]
The American Community Survey is authorized by 13 U.S.C. § 141 and 13 U.S.C. § 193. [38] Federal courts have held that the long form is constitutional.
In 2000, the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that the 2000 US census and its questions did not violate the Fourth Amendment or other constitutional provisions that were alleged in the federal lawsuit initiated by the plaintiffs. The court said responses to census questions are not a violation of a citizen's right to privacy or speech. [39]
The US District Court's decision was later affirmed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on appeal, and the US Supreme Court denied petition for writ of certiorari. [40] A number of other courts, including the US Supreme Court, have held through the years that the census and the questions in the census are authorized by both the Constitution and statute. [41]
In 2002, the General Accounting Office confirmed that the Census Bureau has authority to conduct the survey and "require responses from the public". All individual American Community Survey responses are kept private and are used (along with other ACS responses) to create estimates of demographic characteristics for various geographies. Because of data swapping techniques to ensure confidentiality, it is impossible to figure out how individual people responded based on data from published ACS estimates. [38]
Opponents of the American Community Survey disagree with the court's findings about its constitutionality, contending that the survey asks for more information and at a higher frequency than the simple enumeration authorized and required by Article 1, Section 2 of the US Constitution. Despite the Government Accountability Office's conclusion that the Census Bureau has the authority to conduct the survey under 13 U.S.C. § 141 and 13 U.S.C. § 193, several US representatives have challenged the ACS as unauthorized by the Census Act and a violation of the Right to Financial Privacy Act. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who opposes ACS, said that the founding fathers of the United States "never authorized the federal government to continuously survey the American people". [42]
Those who decline to complete the survey may receive visits to their homes from Census Bureau personnel. Because it is a mandatory survey, it is governed by federal laws that could impose a fine of as much as $5,000 on those who flagrantly refuse to participate.
To date, no person has been prosecuted for refusing to answer the ACS. [43] Kenneth Prewitt, the former director of the Census Bureau, said in March 2000 that the US Department of Commerce is "not an enforcement agency" and that the US Department of Justice would be responsible for prosecuting violations, adding that "we don't recommend that". [44] The Census Bureau prefers to gain cooperation by convincing respondents of the importance of participation while acknowledging that the mandate improves response rates (and thus accuracy) and lowers the annual cost of survey administration by more than $90 million. [45]
In 2014, the Census Project, a collaboration of pro-Census business and industry associations, gathered signatures from 96 national and local organizations urging the US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to reject a proposal to make the American Community Survey voluntary. [46] Signers included the US Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Realtors, and the US Conference of Mayors. The letter cited results from a congressionally mandated test of a voluntary ACS that found that mail response rates would drop "dramatically," by more than 20 percentage points. [47] The resulting loss in quality and reliability would essentially eliminate data for 41 percent of US counties, small cities, towns and villages, many school districts, neighborhoods, remote areas, and American Indian reservations. [48]
The United States had an official estimated resident population of 335,893,238 on Jan 1, 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This figure includes the 50 states and Washington, D.C. but excludes the population of five unincorporated U.S. territories as well as several minor island possessions. The United States is the third most populous country in the world, and the most populous in the Americas and the Western Hemisphere. The Census Bureau showed a population increase of 0.4% for the twelve-month period ending in July 2022, below the world average annual rate of 0.9%. The total fertility rate in the United States estimated for 2022 is 1.665 children per woman, which is below the replacement fertility rate of approximately 2.1. By several metrics, including racial and ethnic background, religious affiliation, and percentage of rural and urban divide, Illinois is the most representative of the larger demography of the United States.
In the United States census, the US Census Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) define a set of self-identified categories of race and ethnicity chosen by residents, with which they most closely identify. Residents can indicate their origins alongside their race, and are asked specifically whether they are of Hispanic or Latino origin in a separate question.
The 2000 United States census, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 census. This was the twenty-second federal census and was at the time the largest civilly administered peacetime effort in the United States.
The United States census is a census that is legally mandated by the Constitution of the United States. It takes place every ten years. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 under Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. There have been 23 federal censuses since that time. The census includes territories of the United States. The United States Census Bureau is responsible for conducting the census.
Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The American territories differ from the U.S. states and Indian reservations as they are not sovereign entities. In contrast, each state has a sovereignty separate from that of the federal government and each federally recognized Native American tribe possesses limited tribal sovereignty as a "dependent sovereign nation". Territories are classified by incorporation and whether they have an "organized" government through an organic act passed by the Congress. American territories are under American sovereignty and, consequently, may be treated as part of the U.S. proper in some ways and not others. Unincorporated territories in particular are not considered to be integral parts of the U.S., and the U.S. Constitution applies only partially in those territories.
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The Consumer Expenditure Survey is a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) household survey that collects information on the buying habits of U.S. consumers. The program consists of two components — the Interview Survey and the Diary Survey — each with its own sample. The surveys collect data on expenditures, income, and consumer unit characteristics. In May 2020, the American Association for Public Opinion Research recognized the CE program with its 2020 Policy Impact Award, for joint work by the BLS -- including CE and the Division of Price and Index Number Research -- and the Census Bureau on the Supplemental Poverty thresholds and measure, and the essential contributions these data products have made to the understanding, discussion, and advancement of public policy related to the alleviation of poverty in the United States.
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Household income is an economic standard that can be applied to one household, or aggregated across a large group such as a county, city, or the whole country. It is commonly used by the United States government and private institutions to describe a household's economic status or to track economic trends in the US.
Stateside Puerto Ricans, also ambiguously known as Puerto Rican Americans, or Puerto Ricans in the United States, are Puerto Ricans who are in the United States proper of the 50 states and the District of Columbia who were born in or trace any family ancestry to the unincorporated US territory of Puerto Rico.
The District of Columbia is a federal district with an ethnically diverse population. In 2020, the District had a population of 689,545 people, with a resident density of 11,515 people per square mile.
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A Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA) is a geographic unit used by the US Census for providing statistical and demographic information. Each PUMA contains at least 100,000 people. PUMAs do not overlap, and are contained within a single state. PUMAs were first created for the 1990 Census. As of 2022, based on the results of the 2020 Census, there are 2,487 PUMAs.
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