Some data values represent unique situations where either the information to be conveyed is an explanation for the absence of data, represented by a symbol in the data display, such as "(X)", or the information to be conveyed is an open-ended distribution, such as 115 or greater, represented by 115+.
The following special data values can appear in the ACS Summary File table as an explanation for the absence of data:
A missing string indicates that the estimate is unavailable. (This appears in the estimates and margins or error files as two commas adjacent to each other without anything between them, or if the last cell in a data file is filtered then you get a comma followed immediately by a carriage return or EOF.) A missing value indicates when an estimate is missing because of filtering for geographic restrictions, coefficients of variations (CV), or was removed due to the Disclosure Review Board's (DRB) requirements. For more detail on filtering, please see Appendix C.5.
A dot indicates when the estimate has no sample observations or too few sample observations. In the margin of error files, this value could also indicate that the margin of error is unavailable for a median estimate that has been replaced with a jam value.
A "0" entry in the margin of error column indicates that the estimate is controlled. A statistical test for sampling variability is not appropriate. This is similar to the "*****" symbol used in American FactFinder.
This indicates that an estimate does not contain a Margin of Error. Tables B00001, B00002, and tables starting with B98 and B99 do not have margin of error (MOE) associated with them. The MOE calculations are set to -1 for these tables.
The following is a listing of the jam values for medians. For example, if there is an estimate of "2499" for table B10010, then it does not indicate a dollar amount. It means that the median is somewhere below 2,500 and thus isn't calculated.
Jam Value |
Actual Meaning |
Use for Medians |
0 |
1 or less |
Age, Duration of Marriage |
9 |
9.0 or more |
Rooms |
10 |
10.0 or less |
Gross Rent as Percentage of Income, Owner Costs as Percentage of Income |
50 |
50.0 or more |
Gross Rent as Percentage of Income, Owner Costs as Percentage of Income |
99 |
100 or less |
Rent, Gross Rent, Selected Monthly Owner Costs, Monthly Housing Costs |
101 |
101 or more |
Duration of Marriage |
116 |
115 or more |
Age |
199 |
200 or less |
Tax |
1001 |
1,000 or more |
Selected Monthly Owner Costs |
1939 |
1939 or earlier |
Year Built |
1969 |
1969 or earlier |
Year Moved In |
2001 |
2,000 or more |
Rent, Gross Rent |
2005 |
2005 or later |
Year Built, Year Moved In |
2499 |
2,500 or less |
Income, Earnings |
4001 |
4,000 or more |
Selected Monthly Owner Costs, Monthly Housing Costs |
9999 |
10,000 or less |
Value |
10001 |
10,000 or more |
Tax |
200001 |
200,000 or more |
Income |
250001 |
250,000 or more |
Income, Earnings |
1000001 |
1,000,000 or more |
Value |