The data on race were derived from answers to the question on race that was asked of all people. The U.S. Census Bureau collects race data in accordance with guidelines provided by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and these data are based on self- identification. The racial categories included in the census questionnaire generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country and not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically. In addition, it is recognized that the categories of the race item include racial and national origin or sociocultural groups. People may choose to report more than one race to indicate their racial mixture, such as "American Indian"and "White." People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish may be of any race.
The racial classifications used by the Census Bureau adhere to the October 30, 1997, Federal Register notice entitled, "Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity" issued by OMB. These standards govern the categories used to collect and present federal data on race and ethnicity. OMB requires five minimum categories (White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander) for race. The race categories are described below with a sixth category, "Some Other Race," added with OMB approval. In addition to the five race groups, OMB also states that respondents should be offered the option of selecting one or more races.
If an individual did not provide a race response, the race or races of the householder or other household members were imputed using specific rules of precedence of household relationship. For example, if race was missing for a natural-born child in the household, then either the race or races of the householder, another natural-born child, or spouse of the householder were imputed.
If race was not reported for anyone in the household, then the race or races of a householder in a previously processed household were imputed.
Definitions from OMB guide the Census Bureau in classifying written responses to the race question:
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "White" or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or Caucasian.
Black or African American
A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro" or report entries such as African American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.
American Indian or Alaska Native
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment. This category includes people who indicate their race as "American Indian or Alaska Native" or report entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup'ik, or Central American Indian groups, or South American Indian groups.
Respondents who identified themselves as "American Indian or Alaska Native" were asked to report their enrolled or principal tribe. Therefore, tribal data in tabulations reflect the written entries reported on the questionnaires. Some of the entries (for example, Metlakatla Indian Community and Umatilla) represent reservations or a confederation of tribes on a reservation. The information on tribe is based on self-identification and, therefore, does not reflect any designation of federally or state-recognized tribe. The information for the 2011 ACS Detail Race tables were derived from the American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Classification List for the 2010 Census, which was updated through 2009 based on the annual Federal Register notice entitled "Indian Entities Recognized and Eligible to Receive Services From the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs," Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, issued by OMB, and through consultation with American Indian and Alaska Native communities and leaders.
The American Indian categories shown in the 2011 ACS Detailed Race tables represent tribal groupings, which refer to the combining of individual American Indian tribes, such as Fort Sill Apache, Mescalero Apache, and San Carlos Apache, into the general Apache tribal grouping.
The Alaska Native categories shown in the 2011 ACS Detailed Race tables represent tribal groupings, which refer to the combining of individual Alaska Native tribes, such as King Salmon Tribe, Native Village of Kanatak, and Sun'aq Tribe of Kodiak, into the general Aleut tribal grouping.
All Other American Indian Tribes (with only one tribe reported)
Includes respondents who provide a response of another American Indian tribe not shown separately, such as Abenaki, Catawba, Eastern Tribes, Kickapoo, Mattaponi, Quapaw, Shawnee, or Yuchi.
American Indian Tribes, not specified
Includes people who provide a generic term such as "American Indian" or tribal groupings not elsewhere classified.
Alaska Native Tribes, not specified
Includes people who provide a generic term such as "Alaska Indian" or "Alaska Native" or tribal groupings not elsewhere classified.
American Indian Tribes or Alaska Native Tribes, not specified
Includes respondents who checked the American Indian or Alaska Native response category on the ACS questionnaire and did not write in a specific group or wrote in a generic term such as "American Indian or Alaska Native."
Two or more American Indian or Alaska Native Tribes
Includes respondents who provided multiple American Indian or Alaska Native Tribes responses such as Blackfeet and Pueblo; or Alaskan Athabascan and Tlingit-Haida; or Paiute and Aleut.
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes people who indicate their race as "Asian Indian," "Chinese," "Filipino," "Korean," "Japanese," "Vietnamese," and "Other Asian" or provide other detailed Asian responses.
Includes respondents who indicate their race as "Asian Indian" or report entries such as India or East Indian.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Bangladeshi or Bangladesh.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Bhutanese or Bhutan.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Burmese or Burma.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Cambodian or Cambodia.
Chinese, except Taiwanese
Includes respondents who indicate their race as "Chinese" or report entries such as China or Chinese American.
Includes respondents who indicate their race as "Filipino" or report entries such as Philippines or Filipino American.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Hmong or Mong. Indonesian. Includes respondents who report entries such as Indonesian or Indonesia.
Includes respondents who indicate their race as "Japanese" or report entries such as Japan or Japanese American.
Includes respondents who indicate their race as "Korean" or report entries such as Korea or Korean American.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Laotian or Laos.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Malaysian or Malaysia.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Mongolian, Mongolia or Mongol.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Nepalese or Nepal.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Okinawan or Okinawa.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Pakistani or Pakistan.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Sri Lankan or Sri Lanka.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Taiwanese" or Taiwan.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Thai or Thailand.
Includes respondents who indicate their race as "Vietnamese" or report entries such as Vietnam or Vietnamese American.
Includes respondents who provide a response of another Asian group not shown separately, such as Iwo Jiman, Maldivian, or Singaporean.
Other Asian, not specified
Includes respondents who checked the "Other Asian" response category on the ACS questionnaire and did not write in a specific group or wrote in a generic term such as "Asian," or "Asiatic."
Includes respondents who provided multiple Asian responses such as Asian Indian and Japanese; or Vietnamese, Chinese and Hmong.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicate their race as "Native Hawaiian," "Guamanian or Chamorro," "Samoan," and "Other Pacific Islander" or provide other detailed Pacific Islander responses.
Includes respondents who indicate their race as "Native Hawaiian" or report entries such as Part Hawaiian or Hawaiian.
Includes respondents who indicate their race as "Samoan" or report entries such as American Samoan or Western Samoan.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Tongan or Tonga.
Includes respondents who provide a response of another Polynesian group, such as Tahitian, Tokelauan, or wrote in a generic term such as "Polynesian."
Includes respondents who indicate their race as "Guamanian or Chamorro" or report entries such as Chamorro or Guam.
Includes respondents who report entries such as Marshallese or Marshall Island.
Includes respondents who provide a response of another Micronesian group, such as Carolinian, Chuukese, I-Kiribati, Kosraean, Mariana Islander, Palauan, Pohnpeian, Saipanese, Yapese, or wrote in a generic term such as "Micronesian."
Includes respondents who report entries such as Fijian" or Fiji.
Includes respondents who provide a response of another Melanesian group, such as Papua New Guinean, Ni-Vanuatu (New Hebrides Islander), Solomon Islander, or wrote in a generic term such as "Melanesian."
Other Pacific Islander, not specified
Includes respondents who checked the Other Pacific Islander response category on the ACS questionnaire and did not write in a specific group or wrote in a generic term such as "Pacific Islander."
Two or more Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander
Includes respondents who provide multiple Pacific Islander responses such as Native Hawaiian and Guamanian or Chamorro; or Tokelauan and Tongan.
Includes all other responses not included in the "White," "Black or African American," "American Indian or Alaska Native," "Asian," and "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" race categories described above. Respondents reporting entries such as multiracial, mixed, interracial, or a Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish group (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or Spanish) in response to the race question are included in this category.
People may chose to provide two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, by providing multiple responses, or by some combination of check boxes and other responses. The race response categories shown on the questionnaire are collapsed into the five minimum race groups identified by OMB, and the Census Bureau's "Some Other Race" category. For data product purposes, "Two or More Races" refers to combinations of two or more of the following race categories
- White
- Black or African American
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
- Some Other Race
There are 57 possible combinations (see Appendix A) involving the race categories shown above. Thus, according to this approach, a response of "White" and "Asian" was tallied as Two or More Races, while a response of "Japanese" and "Chinese" was not because "Japanese" and "Chinese" are both Asian responses.
Given the many possible ways of displaying data on race, data products will provide varying levels of detail. There are several concepts used to display and tabulate race information for the six major race categories (White; Black or African American; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and Some Other Race) and the various details within these groups.
The concept "race alone" includes people who reported a single entry (i.e., Korean) and no other race, as well as people who reported two or more entries within the same major race group (i.e., Asian). For example, respondents who reported Korean and Vietnamese are part of the larger "Asian alone" race group.
The concept "race alone or in combination" includes people who reported a single race alone (i.e., Asian) and people who reported that race in combination with one or more of the other major race groups (i.e., White, Black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and Some Other Race). The "race alone or in combination" concept, therefore, represents the maximum number of people who reported as that race group, either alone, or in combination with another race(s). The sum of the six individual race "alone or in combination" categories may add to more than the total population because people who reported more than one race were tallied in each race category.
The concept "race alone or in any combination" applies only to detailed race iteration groups, such as American Indian and Alaska Native tribes, detailed Asian groups, and detailed Pacific Islander groups. For example, Korean alone or in any combination includes people who reported a single response (i.e., Korean), people who reported Korean and another Asian group (i.e., Korean and Vietnamese), and people who reported Korean in combination with one or more other non-Asian race groups (i.e., White, Black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, or Some Other Race).
Coding of Write-in Entries
The 2011 ACS included an automated review, computer edit, and coding operation on a 100 percent basis for the write-in responses to the race question, similar to that used in the 2010 Census. There were two types of coding operations: (1) automated coding where a write-in response was automatically coded if it matched a write-in response already contained in a database known as the "master file" and (2) expert coding, which took place when a write-in response did not match an entry already on the master file and was sent to expert coders familiar with the subject matter. During the coding process, subject-matter specialists reviewed and coded written entries from the response areas on the race question: American Indian or Alaska Native, Other Asian, Other Pacific Islander, and Some Other Race. Up to 30 text characters were collected from each race write-in area, and up to two responses were coded and tabulated from each separate race write-in area.
1996-1998 American Community Survey
- The sequence of the questions on race and Hispanic origin was switched. In the 1996-1998 ACS, the question on race immediately followed the question on Hispanic origin. This approach differed from the 1990 census, where the question on race preceded the question on Hispanic origin with two intervening questions.
- The 1990 census category, "Black or Negro" was changed to "Black, African Am."
- The 1990 census category, "Other race," was renamed "Some other race." A separate "Multiracial" category was added. The instruction to "print the race(s) or group below" pertained to both the "Some other race" and "Multiracial" categories.
- The "Indian (Amer.)," "Other Asian/Pacific Islander," "Some other race," and "Multiracial" response categories all shared a single write-in area.
1999-2002 American Community Survey
- The response category "Black, African Am." was changed to "Black, African Am., or Negro" to correspond with the Census 2000 response category.
- The separate 1990 census and 1996-1998 ACS response categories "Indian (Amer.)," "Eskimo," and "Aleut," were combined into one response category, "American Indian or Alaska Native." Respondents were asked to "print name of enrolled or principal tribe" on a separate write-in line to correspond with the Census 2000 response category.
- The 1990 Asian or Pacific Islander category was separated into two categories, "Asian" and "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander." Also, the six detailed Asian groups were alphabetized; and the three detailed Pacific Islander groups were alphabetized after the Native Hawaiian response category.
- The response category "Hawaiian" was changed to "Native Hawaiian." The response category "Guamanian" was changed to "Guamanian or Chamorro." The response category "Other Asian/Pacific Islander" was split into two separate response categories, "Other Asian," and "Other Pacific Islander." These changes correspond to those in the Census 2000 response categories.
- The separate "multiracial" response category was dropped. Rather, respondents were instructed to "Mark [x] one or more races to indicate what this person considers himself/herself to be." Respondents were allowed to select more than one category for race in Census 2000.
- In the American Community Survey, the "Other Asian," "Other Pacific Islander," and "Some other race" response categories shared the same write-in area. On the Census 2000 questionnaire, only the "Other Asian" and "Other Pacific Islander" response categories shared the same write-in area, and the "Some other race" category had a separate write-in area.
2003-2007 American Community Survey
- The response category "Black, African Am., or Negro" was changed to "Black or African American."
Puerto Rico Community Survey, started in 2005
- Separate questions on race and Hispanic origin were included on the questionnaire. These questions were identical to the questions used in the United States.
2008-2011 American Community Survey
- The wording of the race question was changed to read, "What is Person 1's race? Mark (X) one or more boxes" and the reference to what this person considers him/herself to be was deleted.
- The response category "Black or African American" was changed to "Black, African Am., or Negro."
- Examples were added to the "Other Asian" response categories (Hmong, Laotian, Thai, Pakistani, Cambodian, and so on) and the "Other Pacific Islander" response categories (Fijian, Tongan, and so on).
Beginning in 2006, the population in group quarters (GQ) is included in the ACS. Some types of GQ populations may have race distributions that are different from the household population. The inclusion of the GQ population could therefore have a noticeable impact on the race distribution. This is particularly true for areas with a substantial GQ population.
The data on race in the American Community Survey are not directly comparable across all years. Ongoing research conducted following the 1990 census affected the ACS question on race since its inception in 1996. Also, the October 1997 revised standards for federal data on race and ethnicity issued by the OMB led to changes in the question on race for Census 2000. Consequently, in order to achieve consistency, other census-administered surveys such as the ACS were modified to reflect changes required by OMB.
See the 2011 Code List for Race Code List.
