Jennifer D. Williams
Specialist in American National Government
The American Community Survey (ACS) is the U.S. Bureau of the Census’s replacement for the decennial census long form, which, since 1940, had gathered detailed socioeconomic and housing data from a representative population sample in conjunction with the once-a-decade count of all U.S. residents. Unlike the long form, with its approximately 17% sample of U.S. housing units in 2000, the ACS is a “rolling sample” or “continuous measurement” survey of about 250,000 housing units a month (totaling about three million a year). The data are aggregated to produce one-year, three-year, and five-year estimates that are much more timely than the long-form estimates were. As were the long-form data, ACS data are used in program formulas that determine the annual allocation of certain federal funds, currently more than $400 billion, to states and localities.
The ACS has several other features in common with the long form: the topics covered are largely the same; survey questionnaires are mailed to housing units, filled out, and returned by mail; responses are mandatory; and the Bureau follows up, by telephone or in-person visits, with households that do not return completed questionnaires. The ACS is conducted under the authority of Title 13, Sections 141 and 193, of the United States Code; so was the long form. Title 44, Section 3501, of the Code, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and its implementing regulations require federal agencies to obtain Office of Management and Budget approval before collecting information from the public. On the long form, the Bureau could gather only data that were mandatory for particular programs, required by federal law or regulations, or needed for the Bureau’s operations. Likewise, the ACS can collect only necessary information.
The limited ACS sample size makes longer accumulations of data necessary to generate reliable estimates for less populous areas. Yearly averages have been available since 2006, but only for geographic areas with 65,000 or more people. The first three-year period estimates, for areas with 20,000 to 65,000 people, became available in 2008. They represent data collected in 2005, 2006, and 2007. The first-ever five-year averages, of data gathered from 2005 through 2009, were released on December 14, 2010, for areas with fewer than 20,000 people. A concern noted by some data users is that the present ACS sample size will result in less-detailed five-year data products for smaller geographic areas—census tracts and block groups—than were available every 10 years with the long form. A related issue is data quality, especially for small areas. Of the Obama Administration’s $1.267 billion appropriations request for the Bureau in FY2011, $44 million, if approved, would go toward increasing the annual ACS sample size from about 2.3% to 2.5% of the population (3.5 million housing units), to improve the tract-level reliability of ACS estimates. Under an FY2011 continuing appropriations act (H.J.Res. 101; P.L. 111-290), the Bureau is funded through December 18, 2010, at an annualized amount of $1.223 billion.
An ongoing concern for some Members of Congress and their constituents is that responses to the ACS are required. The conferees on H.J.Res. 2, the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003 (P.L. 108-7; 117 Stat. 11), included $1 million for the Bureau to test a voluntary versus mandatory ACS. The test findings, reported in 2003 and 2004, showed a 20.7-percentage-point drop in the overall ACS response rate when answers were optional. The Bureau estimated that if the survey became voluntary, maintaining data reliability would necessitate increasing the annual sample size from about three million to 3.7 million housing units, at an additional cost of at least $59.2 million per year in FY2005 dollars. Two bills from the 111th Congress, H.R. 3131 and H.R. 5046, proposed making almost all ACS responses optional.
Date of Report: December 5, 2010
Number of Pages: 24
Order Number: R41532
Price: $29.95
Follow us on TWITTER at http://www.twitter.com/alertsPHP or #CRSreports
Document available via e-mail as a pdf file or in paper form.
To order, e-mail Penny Hill Press or call us at 301-253-0881. Provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.
Specialist in American National Government
The American Community Survey (ACS) is the U.S. Bureau of the Census’s replacement for the decennial census long form, which, since 1940, had gathered detailed socioeconomic and housing data from a representative population sample in conjunction with the once-a-decade count of all U.S. residents. Unlike the long form, with its approximately 17% sample of U.S. housing units in 2000, the ACS is a “rolling sample” or “continuous measurement” survey of about 250,000 housing units a month (totaling about three million a year). The data are aggregated to produce one-year, three-year, and five-year estimates that are much more timely than the long-form estimates were. As were the long-form data, ACS data are used in program formulas that determine the annual allocation of certain federal funds, currently more than $400 billion, to states and localities.
The ACS has several other features in common with the long form: the topics covered are largely the same; survey questionnaires are mailed to housing units, filled out, and returned by mail; responses are mandatory; and the Bureau follows up, by telephone or in-person visits, with households that do not return completed questionnaires. The ACS is conducted under the authority of Title 13, Sections 141 and 193, of the United States Code; so was the long form. Title 44, Section 3501, of the Code, the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and its implementing regulations require federal agencies to obtain Office of Management and Budget approval before collecting information from the public. On the long form, the Bureau could gather only data that were mandatory for particular programs, required by federal law or regulations, or needed for the Bureau’s operations. Likewise, the ACS can collect only necessary information.
The limited ACS sample size makes longer accumulations of data necessary to generate reliable estimates for less populous areas. Yearly averages have been available since 2006, but only for geographic areas with 65,000 or more people. The first three-year period estimates, for areas with 20,000 to 65,000 people, became available in 2008. They represent data collected in 2005, 2006, and 2007. The first-ever five-year averages, of data gathered from 2005 through 2009, were released on December 14, 2010, for areas with fewer than 20,000 people. A concern noted by some data users is that the present ACS sample size will result in less-detailed five-year data products for smaller geographic areas—census tracts and block groups—than were available every 10 years with the long form. A related issue is data quality, especially for small areas. Of the Obama Administration’s $1.267 billion appropriations request for the Bureau in FY2011, $44 million, if approved, would go toward increasing the annual ACS sample size from about 2.3% to 2.5% of the population (3.5 million housing units), to improve the tract-level reliability of ACS estimates. Under an FY2011 continuing appropriations act (H.J.Res. 101; P.L. 111-290), the Bureau is funded through December 18, 2010, at an annualized amount of $1.223 billion.
An ongoing concern for some Members of Congress and their constituents is that responses to the ACS are required. The conferees on H.J.Res. 2, the Consolidated Appropriations Resolution, 2003 (P.L. 108-7; 117 Stat. 11), included $1 million for the Bureau to test a voluntary versus mandatory ACS. The test findings, reported in 2003 and 2004, showed a 20.7-percentage-point drop in the overall ACS response rate when answers were optional. The Bureau estimated that if the survey became voluntary, maintaining data reliability would necessitate increasing the annual sample size from about three million to 3.7 million housing units, at an additional cost of at least $59.2 million per year in FY2005 dollars. Two bills from the 111th Congress, H.R. 3131 and H.R. 5046, proposed making almost all ACS responses optional.
Date of Report: December 5, 2010
Number of Pages: 24
Order Number: R41532
Price: $29.95
Follow us on TWITTER at http://www.twitter.com/alertsPHP or #CRSreports
Document available via e-mail as a pdf file or in paper form.
To order, e-mail Penny Hill Press or call us at 301-253-0881. Provide a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or Discover card number, expiration date, and name on the card. Indicate whether you want e-mail or postal delivery. Phone orders are preferred and receive priority processing.
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