The data on means of transportation to work were derived from answers to long-form questionnaire Item 23a, which was asked of a sample of the population 15 years old and over. This question was asked of people who indicated in Question 21 that they worked at some time during the reference week. (For more information, see "Reference Week.") Means of transportation to work refers to the principal mode of travel or type of conveyance that the worker usually used to get from home to work during the reference week. Data were tabulated for workers 16 years old and over; that is, members of the armed forces and civilians who were at work during the reference week.

People who used different means of transportation on different days of the week were asked to specify the one they used most often, that is, the greatest number of days. People who used more than one means of transportation to get to work each day were asked to report the one used for the longest distance during the work trip. The category "Car, truck, or van - drove alone" includes people who usually drove alone to work, as well as people who were driven to work by someone who then drove back home or to a nonwork destination during the reference week. The category "Car, truck, or van - carpooled" includes workers who reported that two or more people usually rode to work in the vehicle during the reference week. The category "Public transportation" includes workers who usually used a bus or trolley bus, streetcar or trolley car, subway or elevated, railroad, ferryboat, or taxicab during the reference week. Público is included in the "Public transportation" category in Puerto Rico. The category "Other means" includes workers who used a mode of travel that is not identified separately. The category "Other means" may vary from table to table, depending on the amount of detail shown in a particular distribution.

The means of transportation data for some areas may show workers using modes of public transportation that are not available in those areas (for example, subway or elevated riders in a metropolitan area where there actually is no subway or elevated service). This result is largely due to people who worked during the reference week at a location that was different from their usual place of work (such as people away from home on business in an area where subway service was available) and people who used more than one means of transportation each day but whose principal means was unavailable where they lived (for example, residents of nonmetropolitan areas who drove to the fringe of a metropolitan area and took the commuter railroad most of the distance to work).

The terms "worker" and "work" appear in connection with several subjects: employment status, journey-to-work, class of worker, and work status in 1999. Their meaning varies and, therefore, should be determined by referring to the definition of the subject in which they appear. When used in the concepts "Workers in Family," "Workers in Family in 1999," and "Full-Time, Year-Round Workers," the term "worker" relates to the meaning of work defined for the "Work Status in 1999" subject.

The data on the Hispanic or Latino population, which was asked of all people, were derived from answers to long-form questionnaire Item 5, and short-form questionnaire Item 7. The terms "Spanish," "Hispanic origin," and "Latino" are used interchangeably. Some respondents identify with all three terms, while others may identify with only one of these three specific terms. Hispanics or Latinos who identify with the terms "Spanish," "Hispanic," or "Latino" are those who classify themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the questionnaire - "Mexican," "Puerto Rican," or "Cuban" - as well as those who indicate that they are "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino." People who do not identify with one of the specific origins listed on the questionnaire but indicate that they are "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino" are those whose origins are from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Central or South America, the Dominican Republic, or people identifying themselves generally as Spanish, Spanish-American, Hispanic, Hispano, Latino, and so on. All write-in responses to the "other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino" category were coded.

Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino may be of any race.

Some tabulations are shown by the origin of the householder. In all cases where the origin of households, families, or occupied housing units is classified as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino, the origin of the householder is used. (For more information, see the discussion of householder under "Household Type and Relationship.")

If an individual could not provide a Hispanic origin response, their origin was assigned using specific rules of precedence of household relationship. For example, if origin was missing for a natural-born daughter in the household, then either the origin of the householder, another natural-born child, or the spouse of the householder was assigned. If Hispanic origin was not reported for anyone in the household, the origin of a householder in a previously processed household with the same race was assigned. This procedure is a variation of the general imputation procedures described in "Accuracy of the Data," and is similar to those used in 1990, except that for Census 2000, race and Spanish surnames were used to assist in assigning an origin. (For more information, see the "Comparability" section below.)