Documentation: | ACS 2013 (5-Year Estimates) Comparability Data |
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Publisher: U.S. Census Bureau
Document: | ACS 2013-5yr Summary File: Technical Documentation |
citation: | Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey 2013 5yr Summary File: Technical Documentation. |
Chapter Contents
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a part of the U.S. Census Bureau's Decennial Census Program and is designed to provide more current demographic, social, economic, and housing estimates throughout the decade. The ACS provides information on more than 40 topics, including education, language ability, the foreign-born, marital status, migration and many more. Each year the survey randomly samples around 3.5 million addresses and produces statistics that cover 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year periods for geographic areas in the United States and Puerto Rico, ranging from neighborhoods to Congressional districts to the entire nation. For more information about the ACS, please visit our main page at: http://www.census.gov/acs. ACS tables are published on the Census Bureau's American FactFinder (AFF) website, http://factfinder2.census.gov, and are available for download in several forms. This document will brief data users on the contents of the ACS Summary File and explain how they can use it to obtain statistics.
The American Community Survey Summary File (ACSSF) is a unique data product that includes all the estimates and margins of error from the Detailed Tables and geographies that are published for the ACS. Other ACS data products, such as Subject Tables and Data Profiles, are created from the Detailed Tables and are therefore not available in the ACS Summary File.
Since the Detailed Tables contain a large number of cells, the tables are stored in a series of files with only the data from the tables, without such information as the title of the tables, the description of the rows, and the names of the geographic areas. That information is in other files that the user must merge with the data files to reproduce the tables.
The ACS Summary File data files are in American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) format. The files are divided into three types:
Since the Detailed Tables contain a large number of cells, the tables are stored in a series of files with only the data from the tables, without such information as the title of the tables, the description of the rows, and the names of the geographic areas. That information is in other files that the user must merge with the data files to reproduce the tables.
The ACS Summary File data files are in American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) format. The files are divided into three types:
- Geographies - (position based and comma delimited)
- Geographies - (position based and comma delimited)
- Margins of Error - (comma delimited)
Data contained in the ACS Summary File cover demographic, social, economic, and housing subject areas. All Detailed Tables for the ACS 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year estimates are in the Summary File and are listed in Appendix A for their respective data release.
The published ACS Summary File geographies cover areas that are based on summary levels. A summary level specifies the content and the hierarchical relationships of the geographic elements that are required to tabulate and summarize data. For example, summary level code 040 represents the U.S. states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico; while summary level code 050 represents counties and county equivalents within states.
The ACS 1-year estimates are published for areas that have passed the 65,000 population threshold, while the ACS 3-year estimates are published for areas that have passed the 20,000 population threshold. The ACS 5-year estimates are published for all areas and include additional summary levels such as census tracts and block groups, and additional information for geographies such as American Indian areas, core based statistical areas, combined statistical areas, Congressional districts and state legislative districts. View the full list of summary levels published for the Detailed Tables in Appendix B. For the first time in the 2009-2013 ACS 5-year data release, data for census block groups are published in American FactFinder, as well as the ACS Summary File. The list of tables in the 5-year Appendix A shows which tables are available at the block group level.
Many resources are available to help users understand the ACS geographic terms and concepts. For additional information, please visit the Geography Reference page at http://www.census.gov/geo/www/reference.html and the Geography and the ACS page at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/guidance_for_data_users/geography/.
The published ACS Summary File geographies cover areas that are based on summary levels. A summary level specifies the content and the hierarchical relationships of the geographic elements that are required to tabulate and summarize data. For example, summary level code 040 represents the U.S. states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico; while summary level code 050 represents counties and county equivalents within states.
The ACS 1-year estimates are published for areas that have passed the 65,000 population threshold, while the ACS 3-year estimates are published for areas that have passed the 20,000 population threshold. The ACS 5-year estimates are published for all areas and include additional summary levels such as census tracts and block groups, and additional information for geographies such as American Indian areas, core based statistical areas, combined statistical areas, Congressional districts and state legislative districts. View the full list of summary levels published for the Detailed Tables in Appendix B. For the first time in the 2009-2013 ACS 5-year data release, data for census block groups are published in American FactFinder, as well as the ACS Summary File. The list of tables in the 5-year Appendix A shows which tables are available at the block group level.
Many resources are available to help users understand the ACS geographic terms and concepts. For additional information, please visit the Geography Reference page at http://www.census.gov/geo/www/reference.html and the Geography and the ACS page at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/guidance_for_data_users/geography/.
Since using the ACS Summary File can be challenging, users should first check if their tables of interest are available for download on American FactFinder. Below are some other options to help users retrieve the tables they want. They are listed in order based on ease of use. You can access these tools on the ACS Summary File page at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/data_documentation/summary_file/.
- Summary File Retrieval Tool
- Summary File Excel Import Tool
- SAS Programs
- Summary File DataFerrett Tool (5-year release only)
Here are some notable changes for the 2013 ACS Summary Files:
You can learn more about accessing block group level data using the ACS Summary File Retrieval Tool by viewing a video on the ACS Summary File page at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/data_documentation/summary_file/.
- New Layout for the ACS Summary File Technical Document
- Format Change for Sequence Number Table Number Lookup Files
- Block Groups Now Available in American FactFinder
You can learn more about accessing block group level data using the ACS Summary File Retrieval Tool by viewing a video on the ACS Summary File page at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/data_documentation/summary_file/.
- TIGER/Line Shapefiles Pre-Joined with ACS Estimates Available
- Summary Level 080 Removed
- Two additional areas included in the 2009-2013 ACS 5-Year Summary File