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Documentation:
ACS 2020 (5-Year Estimates)
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Publisher:
U.S. Census Bureau
Survey:
ACS 2020 (5-Year Estimates)
Documentation
ACS 2020 (5-Year Estimates)
2020 ACS 1-year and 2016-2020 ACS 5-year Data Releases: Technical Documentation
Acknowledgments
Using the American Community Survey Summary File: What Data Users Need to Know
1. Introduction
What Is the ACS?
Overview of the ACS Summary File
Benefits and Uses of the ACS Summary
Geographies Covered
Comparing Published Detailed Tables to the ACS Summary File
Data Release Schedule and Notable Changes to the Summary File
2. How to Use the ACS Summary File
Basic Steps to Using the ACS Summary File
Locating the ACS Summary File
Summary File Organization
Geography Files
Estimate and Margin of Error Files
3. Table IDs, Sequences, and Variable Names
Table IDs
Sequence Numbers
Sequence Number/Table Number Lookup File
Variable Names
4. Tools and Resources For the ACS
Summary File Excel Import Tool and Simplified Geography Files
SAS Programs
Appendix Tables
5. User Notes
Population Thresholds
Explanation of Missing Estimates and Data Release Filtering Rules
Rounding Rules and Margins of Error
Jam Values
Display of ACS Estimates
Multiple Sequences for a Table
For More Information
Instructions on How to Read the ACS Summary File into Excel
Instructions on Joining the ACS Summary File to the TIGER/Line Shapefiles
Code List
Subject Definitions
General Information
Living Quarters
Housing Unit
Group Quarters
Housing Variables
Acreage (Cuerda)
Agricultural Sales
Bedrooms
Computer and Internet Use
Condominium Status and Fee
Contract Rent
Food Stamp/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Benefits (SNAP)
Gross Rent
Gross Rent as a Percentage of Household Income
Homeowner Vacancy Rate
House Heating Fuel
Household Size
Housing Units
Insurance for Fire, Hazard, and Flood
Internet Use
Kitchen Facilities
Meals Included in Rent
Mobile Home Costs
Monthly Housing Costs
Monthly Housing Costs as a Percentage of Household Income
Mortgage Payment
Mortgage Status
Occupants Per Room
Occupied Housing Units
Owner-Occupied Units
Plumbing Facilities
Population in Occupied Housing Units
Poverty Status of Households
Real Estate Taxes
Rent Asked
Rental Vacancy Rate
Renter-Occupied Housing Units
Rooms
Second or Junior Mortgage Payments or Home Equity Loan
Selected Conditions
Selected Monthly Owner Costs
Selected Monthly Owner Costs as a Percentage of Household Income
Specified Owner-Occupied Units
Specified Renter-Occupied Units
Telephone Service Available
Tenure
Units in Structure
Utilities
Vacancy Status
Vacant - Current Residence Elsewhere
Vacant Housing Units
Value
Vehicles Available
Year Householder Moved into Unit
Year Structure Built
Population Variables
Ability to Speak English
Age
Ancestry
Children Ever Born
Citizenship Status (U.S. Citizenship Status)
Class of Worker
Disability Status
Educational Attainment
Employment Status
Families
Fertility
Field of Degree
Foreign-Born Population
Foster Children
Grade in Which Enrolled
Grandparents as Caregivers
Group Quarters (GQ)
Health Insurance Coverage
Hispanic or Latino Origin
Household
Household Type and Relationship
Household Size
Householder
Immigrants
Income in the Past 12 Months
Income Type in the Past 12 Months
Industry
Journey to Work
Labor Force Status
Language Spoken at Home
Marital Status/Marital History
Means of Transportation to Work
Migration
Native Population
Nativity
Nativity of Parent
Occupation
Own Children
Period of Military Service
Persons in Family
Persons in Household
Place of Birth
Place of Work
Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months
Private Vehicle Occupancy
Race
Reference Week
Relatives and Nonrelatives
Residence 1 Year Ago
School Enrollment and Type of School
Sex
Social Security income
Subfamily
Time Leaving Home to Go to Work
Travel Time to Work
Type of School
Usual Hours Worked in the Past 12 Months
Veteran Status
Weeks Worked in the Past 12 Months
Work Experience
Work Status in the Past 12 Months
Year of Entry
Derived Measures
Aggregate
Average
Gini Index
Interpolation
Mean
Median
Percentage
Quartile
Quintile
Rate
Ratio
Quality Measures
General Information
Sample Size
Coverage Rates
Response Rates
Allocation Rates
Appendix A
Group Quarters Definitions
Group Quarters
1. Correctional Facilities for Adults
2. Juvenile Facilities
3. Nursing Facilities/Skilled Nursing Facilities
4. Other Health Care Facilities
5. College/University Student Housing
6. Military Group Quarters
7. Other Noninstitutional Facilities
Instructions for Applying Statistical Testing
Obtaining Standard Errors and Margins of Error
Obtaining Standard Errors for Derived Estimates
Instructions for Statistical Testing
Worked Examples for Approximating Margins of Error
Introduction
Succesive Difference Replication Variance
Worked Examples
Converting Margin of Error to the Standard Error
Example 1 - Calculating the Standard Error from the Margin of Error
Sums and Differences of Direct Standard Errors
Example 2 - Calculating the Standard Error of a Sum or a Difference
Proportions/Percents
Example 3 - Calculating the Standard Error of a Proportion/Percent
Ratios
Example 4 - Calculating the Standard Error of a Ratio
Percent Change
Products
Example 5 - Calculating the Standard Error of a Product
Testing For Significant Differences
Calculating a Z-score Statistic
Issues with Using Overlapping Confidence Intervals for Statistical Testing
Statistical Testing Tool
Issues With Approximating The Standard Error of Linear Combinations of Multiple Estimates
Example A
Example B
Example C
Example D
Additional Resources
Accuracy of the Data
American Community Survey Accuracy of the Data (2020)
Introduction
Data Collection
Sampling Frame
Sample Design
Weighting Methodology
Confidentiality of the Data
Errors In The Data
Measures of Sampling Error
Calculation of Standard Errors
Testing for Significant Differences
Control of Nonsampling Error
Puerto Rico Community Survey Accuracy of the Data (2020)
Introduction
Data Collection
Sampling Frame
Sample Design
Weighting Methodology
Confidentiality of the Data
Errors In The Data
Measures of Sampling Error
Calculation of Standard Errors
Testing for Significant Differences
Control of Nonsampling Error
Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; 2020 ACS 1-year and 2016-2020 ACS 5-year Data Releases : Technical Documentation.
