American Community Survey

American Community Survey
The logo of the American Community Survey
Location(s)4600 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, Maryland, U.S.
CountryU.S.
InauguratedJanuary 2005 (2005-01)
Participants3.5 million households/year
ActivitySurvey
Websitecensus.gov/acs

The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, including ancestry, citizenship (US citizen or not a US citizen), 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 U.S. states and the national capital of Washington, D.C..[a] It does not gather information in the four major U.S. territories, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.[4][5]

  1. ^ Eberstadt, Nicholas; Nunn, Ryan; Schanzenbach, Diane W.; Strain, Michael. In Order That They Might Rest Their Arguments on Facts: The Vital Role of Government-Collected Data.
  2. ^ US Census Bureau. "ACS Information Guide". www.census.gov. p. 8. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
  3. ^ About the Puerto Rico Community Survey. Accessed 18 October 2020.
  4. ^ https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/section-1557-top-15-languages-faqs.pdf Frequently Asked Questions to Accompany the Estimates of at Least the Top 15 Languages Spoken by Individuals with Limited English Proficiency under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Page 2. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  5. ^ http://www3.drcog.org/documents/archive/ACS_Basics.pdf U.S. Census Bureau. An Overview Of the American Community Survey. Page 5. Retrieved August 30, 2019.


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