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Data Dictionary: ACS 2008 (1-Year Estimates)
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Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Universe: Civilian veterans 18 years and Over
Variable Details
B21100. Service-Connected Disability-Rating Status and Ratings for Civilian Veterans 18 Years and Over
Universe: Civilian veterans 18 years and Over
B21100003 Has a Service-Connected Disability Rating
Percent base:
Civilian Veterans 18 Years and Over (ACS08:B21100001)
Aggregation method:
Addition
Relevant Documentation:
Excerpt from: Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey 2008 Summary File: Technical Documentation.
  ACS 2008-1yr Summary File: Technical Documentation -> Appendix B. Subject Definitions -> Population Variables -> Veteran Status -> Service-Connected Disability-Rating Status
Service-Connected Disability-Rating Status
People who indicated they had served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces, military Reserves, or National Guard, or trained with the Reserves or National Guard or were now on active duty were asked to indicate whether or not they had a VA service-connected disability rating. These disabilities are evaluated according to the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities in Title 38, U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Part 4.

"Service-connected" means the disability was a result of disease or injury incurred or aggravated during active military service.
Excerpt from: Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey 2008 Summary File: Technical Documentation.
  ACS 2008-1yr Summary File: Technical Documentation -> Appendix B. Subject Definitions -> Population Variables -> Veteran Status -> Veteran Status
Veteran Status
For data products, a "civilian veteran" is a person 18 years old or over who has served (even for a short time), but is not now serving, on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard, or who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II. People who served in the National Guard or military Reserves are classified as veterans only if they were ever called or ordered to active duty, not counting the 4-6 months for initial training or yearly summer camps. All other civilians 18 years old and over are classified as nonveterans.
Excerpt from: Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey 2008 Summary File: Technical Documentation.
  ACS 2008-1yr Summary File: Technical Documentation -> Appendix B. Subject Definitions -> Population Variables -> Age
Age
The data on age were derived from answers to Question 4. The age classification is based on the age of the person in complete years at the time of interview. Both age and date of birth are used in combination to calculate the most accurate age at the time of the interview. Inconsistently reported and missing values are assigned or imputed based on the values of other variables for that person, from other people in the household, or from people in other households ("hot deck" imputation). Data on age are used to determine the applicability of other questions for a particular individual and to classify other characteristics in tabulations. Age data are needed to interpret most social and economic characteristics used to plan and analyze programs and policies. Therefore, age data are tabulated by many different age groupings, such as 5-year age groups.
Median Age
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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.")
Age Dependency Ratio
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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.
Old-Age Dependency Ratio
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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.
Child Dependency Ratio
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The child dependency ratio is derived by dividing the population under 18 years by the 18-to-64 population, and multiplying by 100.
Limitation of the Data
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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.
Question/Concept History
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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.
Excerpt from: Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey 2008 Summary File: Technical Documentation.
  ACS 2008-1yr Summary File: Technical Documentation -> Appendix B. Subject Definitions -> Population Variables -> Veteran Status -> Service-Connected Disability Ratings
Service-Connected Disability Ratings
Question 27b asks about a service-connected disability RATING, not just a service-connected disability. This question is asked of people who reported having a VA service-connected disability rating. Ratings are graduated according to the degree of the veteran's disability on a scale from 0 to 100 percent, in increments of 10 percent. Zero percent is a valid rating and is different than having no rating at all.
Limitation of the Data
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There may be a tendency for people to erroneously report having a 0 percent rating when they have no service-connected disability rating at all.