The characteristics of movers may be shown using either current residence-based or previous residence-based geography. If you are interested in the number and characteristics of movers living in a specific area, you should use the standard (residence-based) tables. If you are interested in the number and characteristics of movers who previous residence was in a specific area, you should use the residence-1-year-ago-based tables. Because residence-1-year-ago information for movers cannot always be specified below the place level, the previous residence-based tables are presented only for selected geographic areas.

Beginning in 2006, the group quarters (GQ) population is included in the ACS. Some types of GQ populations have residence one year ago (migration) distributions that are different from the household population. The inclusion of the GQ population could therefore have a noticeable impact on the residence one year ago (migration) distribution. This is particularly true for areas with a substantial GQ population.

The 1996-1998 questions asked about residence 5 years ago. Beginning in 1999, the time period was changed to that of 1 year ago, which reflects the on-going data collection on the American Community Survey, and allows for annual estimates of migration. Beginning in 1999, a separate write-in line and a skip instruction were added for a foreign country response. This write-in line was moved to the mobility screener. The migration parts (city, county, and state response areas) were also reordered. Beginning in 2003, the numerical order was changed so that part c of this question would not be displayed in a separate column of the questionnaire.

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "White" or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish.

A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African American, or Negro," or provide written entries such as African American, Afro-American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment. It includes people who classified themselves as described below.

• American Indian

This category includes people who indicate their race as "American Indian," entered the name of an Indian tribe, or reported such entries as Canadian Indian, French American Indian, or Spanish American Indian.

• American Indian Tribe

Respondents who identified themselves as American Indian were asked to report their enrolled or principal tribe. Therefore, tribal data in tabulations reflect the written entries reported on the questionnaires. Some of the entries (for example, Iroquois, Sioux, Colorado River, and Flathead) represent nations or reservations. The information on tribe is based on self-identification and therefore does not reflect any designation of a federally- or state-recognized tribe. The information for the American Community Survey is derived from the American Indian Tribal Classification List for the 1990 census that was updated for Census 2000 and the ACS based on a December 1997 Federal Register Notice entitled "Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive Service From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs," Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, issued by the Office of Management and Budget.

• Alaska Native

This category includes written responses of Eskimos, Aleuts, and Alaska Indians as well as entries such as Arctic Slope, Inupiat, Yupik, Alutiiq, Egegik, and Pribilovian. The Alaska tribes are the Alaskan Athabascan, Tlingit, and Haida. The information for ACS is based on the American Indian Tribal Classification List for the 1990 census and Census 2000, which was expanded to list the individual Alaska Native Villages when provided as a written response for race.

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes "Asian Indian," "Chinese," "Filipino," "Korean," "Japanese," "Vietnamese," and "Other Asian."

A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicate their race as "Native Hawaiian," "Guamanian or Chamorro," "Samoan," and "Other Pacific Islander."

Includes all other responses not included in the "White," "Black" or "African American," "American Indian" or "Alaska Native," "Asian," and "Native Hawaiian" or "Other Pacific Islander" race categories described above. Respondents providing write-in entries such as multiracial, mixed, interracial, or a Hispanic/Latino group (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban) in the "Some other race" write-in space are included in this category.

People may have chosen to provide two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, by providing multiple responses, or by some combination of check boxes and write-in responses. The race response categories shown on the questionnaire are collapsed into the five minimum races identified by the OMB, and the Census Bureau's "Some other race" category. For data product purposes, "Two or More Races" refers to combinations of two or more of the following race categories:
1. White
2. Black or African American
3. American Indian and Alaska Native
4. Asian
5. Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
6. Some other race

There are 57 possible combinations (see below) involving the race categories shown above. Thus, according to this approach, a response of "White" and "Asia"n was tallied as two or more races, while a response of Japanese and Chinese was not because "Japanese" and "Chinese" are both Asian responses. Tabulations of responses involving reporting of two or more races within the American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, or Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander categories are available in other data products.

1. White; Black or African American
2. White; American Indian and Alaska Native
3. White; Asian
4. White; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
5. White; Some other race
6. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native
7. Black or African American; Asian
8. Black or African American; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
9. Black or African American; Some other race
10. American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian
11. American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
12. American Indian and Alaska Native; Some other race
13. Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
14. Asian; Some other race
15. Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
16. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native
17. White; Black or African American; Asian
18. White; Black or African American; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
19. White; Black or African American; Some other race
20. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian
21. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
22. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Some other race
23. White; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
24. White; Asian; Some other race
25. White; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
26. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian
27. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
28. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Some other race
29. Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
30. Black or African American; Asian; Some other race
31. Black or African American; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
32. American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
33. American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Some other race
34. American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
35. Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
36. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian
37. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
38. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Some other race
39. White; Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
40. White; Black or African American; Asian; Some other race
41. White; Black or African American; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
42. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
43. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Some other race
44. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
45. White; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
46. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
47. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Some other race
48. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
49. Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
50. American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
51. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
52. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Some other race
53. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
54. White; Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
55. White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
56. Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
57. White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race

Given the many possible ways of displaying data on two or more races, data products will provide varying levels of detail. The most common presentation shows a single line indicating "Two or more races." Some data products provide totals of all 57 possible race combinations, as well as subtotals of people reporting a specific number of races, such as people reporting two races, people reporting three races, and so on. In other presentations on race, data are shown for the total number of people who reported one of the six categories alone or in combination with one or more other race categories. For example, the category, "Asian alone or in combination with one or more other races" includes people who reported Asian alone and people who reported Asian in combination with White, Black or African American, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and/or Some other race. This number, therefore, represents the maximum number of people who reported as Asian in the question on race. When this data presentation is used, the individual race categories will add to more than the total population because people may be included in more than one category.

The coding of race write-in entries included an automated review, computer edit, and coding operation. There were two types of coding operations: (1) automated coding where a write-in response was automatically coded if it matched a write-in response already contained in a database known as the "master file," and (2) expert coding, which took place when a write-in response did not match an entry already on the master file, and was sent to expert coders familiar with the subject matter. During the coding process, subject-matter specialists reviewed and coded written entries from four response categories on the race question: American Indian or Alaska Native, Other Asian, Other Pacific Islander, and Some other race. All tribal entries were coded as either American Indian or as Alaska Native.

The data on race in the American Community Survey are not directly comparable across all years. Ongoing research conducted following the 1990 census affected the ACS question on race since its inception in 1996. Also, the October 1997 revised standards for federal data on race and ethnicity issued by the OMB led to changes in the question on race for Census 2000. Consequently, in order to achieve consistency, other census-administered surveys such as the ACS were modified to reflect changes required by OMB.

Beginning in 2006, the population in group quarters (GQ) is included in the ACS. Some types of GQ populations may have race distributions that are different from the household population. The inclusion of the GQ population could therefore have a noticeable impact on the race distribution. This is particularly true for areas with a substantial GQ population.

• 1996-1998 American Community Survey

- The sequence of the questions on race and Hispanic origin was switched. In the 1996-1998 ACS, the question on race immediately followed the question on Hispanic origin. This approach differed from the 1990 census, where the question on race preceded the question on Hispanic origin with two intervening questions.
- The 1990 census category, "Black or Negro" was changed to "Black, African Am."
- The 1990 census category, "Other race," was renamed "Some other race." A separate "Multiracial" category was added. The instruction to "print the race(s) or group below" pertained to both the "Some other race" and "Multiracial" categories.
- The "Indian (Amer.)," "Other Asian/Pacific Islander," "Some other race," and "Multiracial" response categories all shared a single write-in area.

• 1999-2002 American Community Survey

- The response category "Black, African Am." was changed to "Black, African Am., or Negro" to correspond with the Census 2000 response category.
- The separate 1990 census and 1996-1998 ACS response categories "Indian (Amer.)," "Eskimo," and "Aleut," were combined into one response category, "American Indian or Alaska Native." Respondents were asked to "print name of enrolled or principal tribe" on a separate write-in line to correspond with the Census 2000 response category.
- The 1990 Asian or Pacific Islander category was separated into two categories, "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander." Also, the six detailed Asian groups were alphabetized; and the three detailed Pacific Islander groups were alphabetized after the Native Hawaiian response category.
- The response category "Hawaiian" was changed to "Native Hawaiian." The response category "Guamanian" was changed to "Guamanian or Chamorro." The response category "Other Asian/Pacific Islander" was split into two separate response categories, "Other Asian," and "Other Pacific Islander." These changes correspond to those in the Census 2000 response categories.
- The separate "multiracial" response category was dropped. Rather, respondents were instructed to " Mark [x] one or more racesto indicate what this person considers himself/herself to be ." Respondents were allowed to select more than one category for race in Census 2000.
- In the American Community Survey, the "Other Asian," "Other Pacific Islander," and "Some other race" response categories shared the same write-in area. On the Census 2000 questionnaire, only the "Other Asian" and "Other Pacific Islander" response categories shared the same write-in area, and the Some other race category had a separate write-in area.

• AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY, STARTING IN 2003:

- The response category "Black, African Am., or Negro" was changed to "Black or African American."

• Puerto Rico Community Survey, starting in 2005:

- Separate questions on race and Hispanic origin were included on the questionnaire. These questions were identical to the questions used in the United States.