The sex ratio represents the balance between the male and female populations. Ratios above 100 indicate a larger male population, and ratios below 100 indicate a larger female population. This measure is derived by dividing the total number of males by the total number of females and then multiplying by 100. It is rounded to the nearest tenth.

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

The Census Bureau tested the changes introduced to the 2008 version of the sex question in the 2007 ACS Grid-Sequential Test (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/ACS-MP-09_Grid-Sequential_Test_Final_Report.pdf). The results of this testing show that the changes may introduce an inconsistency in the data produced for this question as observed from the years 2007 to 2008.

Beginning in 2008, the layout of the sex question response categories was changed to a horizontal side-by-side layout from a vertically stacked layout on the mail paper ACS questionnaire.

The data on work status in the past 12 months were derived from answers to Question 37. People 16 years old and over who worked 1 or more weeks according to the criteria described below are classified as "Worked in the past 12 months." All other people 16 years old and over are classified as "Did not work in the past 12 months."

The data on weeks worked in the past 12 months were derived from responses to Question 38, which was asked of people 16 years old and over who indicated that they worked during the past 12 months. The data pertain to the number of weeks during the past 12 months in which a person did any work for pay or profit (including paid vacation and paid sick leave) or worked without pay on a family farm or in a family business. Weeks of active service in the Armed Forces are also included.

The data on usual hours worked per week worked in the past 12 months were derived from answers to Question 39. This question was asked of people 16 years old and over who indicated that they worked during the past 12 months.

The data pertain to the number of hours a person usually worked during the weeks worked in the past 12 months. The respondent was to report the number of hours worked per week in the majority of the weeks he or she worked in the past 12 months. If the hours worked per week varied considerably during the past 12 months, the respondent was to report an approximate average of the hours worked per week.

People 16 years old and over who reported that they usually worked 35 or more hours each week during the weeks they worked are classified as "Usually worked full time;" people who reported that they usually worked 1 to 34 hours are classified as "Usually worked part time."

Aggregate usual hours worked is the sum of the values for usual hours worked each week of all the people in a particular universe. (For more information, see "Aggregate" under "Derived Measures.")

Mean usual hours worked is the number obtained by dividing the aggregate number of hours worked each week of a particular universe by the number of people in that universe. For example, mean usual hours worked for workers 16 to 64 years old is obtained by dividing the aggregate usual hours worked each week for workers 16 to 64 years old by the total number of workers 16 to 64 years old. Mean usual hours worked values are rounded to the nearest one-tenth of an hour. (For more information, see "Mean" under "Derived Measures.")

All people 16 years old and over who usually worked 35 hours or more per week for 50 to 52 weeks in the past 12 months.

The term "worker" as used for these data is defined based on the criteria for work status in the past 12 months.

It is probable that the number of people who worked in the past 12 months and the number of weeks worked are understated since there is some tendency for respondents to forget intermittent or short periods of employment or to exclude weeks worked without pay. There may also be a tendency for people not to include weeks of paid vacation among their weeks worked; one result may be that the American Community Survey figures understate the number of people who worked "50 to 52 weeks."

The American Community Survey data refer to the 12 months preceding the date of interview. Since not all people in the American Community Survey were interviewed at the same time, the reference period for the American Community Survey data is neither fixed nor uniform.

Beginning in 2006, the population in group quarters (GQ) is included in the ACS. Some types of GQ populations may have work experience distributions that are different from the household population. The inclusion of the GQ population could therefore have a noticeable impact on the work experience distribution. This is particularly true for areas with a substantial GQ population. The Census Bureau tested the changes introduced to the 2008 version of the weeks worked question in the 2006 ACS Content Test. The results of this testing show that the changes may introduce an inconsistency in the data produced for this question as observed from the years 2007 to 2008, see "2006 ACS Content Test Evaluation Report Covering Weeks Worked" (http://www.census.gov/acs/www/AdvMeth/content_test/P6b_Weeks_Worked_Final_Report.pdf).

Beginning in 2008, the weeks worked question was separated into 2 parts: part (a) asked whether the respondent worked 50 or more weeks in the past 12 months and part (b) asked respondents who answered ' no to part (a) how many weeks they worked, even for a few hours.

The median age is the age that divides the population into two equal-size groups. Half of the population is older than the median age and half is younger. Median age is based on a standard distribution of the population by single years of age and is shown to
the nearest tenth of a year. (See the sections on "Standard Distributions" and "Medians" under "Derived Measures.")

The age dependency ratio is derived by dividing the combined under-18 and 65-and-over populations by the 18-to-64 population and multiplying by 100.

The old-age dependency ratio is derived by dividing the population 65 years and over by the 18-to-64 population and multiplying by 100.

The child dependency ratio is derived by dividing the population under 18 years by the 18-to-64 population, and multiplying by 100.

Caution should be taken when comparing population in age groups across time. The entire population continually ages into older age groups over time and babies fill in the youngest age group. Therefore, the population of a certain age is made up of a completely different group of people in 2000 and 2008. Since populations occasionally experience booms/increases and busts/decreases in births, deaths, or migration (for example, the postwar Baby Boom from 1946-1964), one should not necessarily expect that the population in an age group in Census 2000 should be similar in size or proportion to the population in the same age group in the 2008 ACS. For example, Baby Boomers were age 36 to 54 in Census 2000 while they were age 44 to 62 in the 2008 ACS. Therefore, the age group 55 to 59 would show a considerable increase in population when comparing Census 2000 data with the 2008 ACS data. Beginning in 2006, the population in group quarters (GQ) is included in the ACS. Some types of GQ populations have age distributions that are very different from the household population. The inclusion of the GQ population could therefore have a noticeable impact on the age distribution. This is particularly true for areas with a substantial GQ population.

The 1996-2002 American Community Survey question asked for month, day, and year of birth before age. Since 2003, the American Community Survey question asked for age, followed by month, day, and year of birth. In 2008, an additional instruction was provided with the age and date of birth question on the American Community Survey questionnaire to report babies as age 0 when the child was less than 1 year old. The addition of this instruction occurred after 2005 National Census Test results indicated increased accuracy of age reporting for babies less than one year old.