American Community Survey

The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing statistical survey by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, educational attainment, income, language proficiency, migration, disability, employment, and housing characteristics. These data are used by many public-sector, private-sector, and not-for-profit stakeholders to allocate funding, track shifting demographics, plan for emergencies, and learn about local communities. Sent to approximately 295,000 addresses monthly (or 3.5 million per year), it is the largest survey after the decennial census that the Census Bureau administers.

From the 1940 census through the 2000 census, a subset of all Americans received a "long form" containing additional questions. Many Americans found filling out the long form to be burdensome and intrusive, and its unpopularity was a factor in the declining response rate to the decennial census. In 1994, the Bureau began the process of changing the means of obtaining the demographic, housing, social, and economic information from the census long form to the ACS. Testing began in 1995, and the ACS program began producing test data in 2000, 2001, and 2002.

The survey was fully implemented in 2005. The following year, the Census Bureau released estimates for all areas with populations of 65,000 or more using the data collected from January to December 2005. In 2010, the ACS produced its first set of estimates for areas of all population sizes, using information collected from January 2005 through December 2009.

The American Community Survey cites 13 U.S.C. § 141 and 13 U.S.C. § 193 as the authority to request survey responses. In 2002, the GAO concluded that the Bureau has authority to conduct the survey and "require responses from the public."

The ACS has an initial sample of approximately 3.5 million housing unit addresses and group quarters in the United States, with sample selected from all counties and county-equivalents, American Indian and Alaska Native area, and Hawaiian Homeland, and in Puerto Rico annually. Data are collected primarily by mail, with follow-ups by telephone and personal visit. Approximately one third of those who do not respond to the survey by mail or telephone are randomly selected for in-person interviews, and the final response rate for that group was 97.3 percent in 2012. Because approximately two-thirds of mail/telephone nonrespondents are not selected for in-person follow-up interviews, the ACS only includes approximately 2 million final interviews per year. In 2012, completed ACS interviews represented 67.1 percent of the housing units initially selected for inclusion in the sample.

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