Authored by Ron S. Jarmin, Acting Director, U.S. Census Bureau
The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), the premier source of detailed information on our nation’s population and housing, marks its 20th year in 2025. Each month, we send the ACS to a sample of randomly selected U.S. households, asking them about more than 40 topics.
We then combine the responses to paint a statistical portrait of the nation: one that is vital to understanding the demographic, social, economic and housing characteristics of our communities. It reflects what our communities look like now, tells us how they have changed over time and shows us how those changes impact our daily lives.
ACS data stand alone for their breadth, giving data users the ability to dig down to local areas. They are the gold standard, providing a wealth of information on a wide range of topics such as race, ethnicity, sex, health insurance coverage, income, poverty, education, veteran status, housing and many other socio-demographic variables, from the national all the way down to the census tract level.
Did you know that the ACS has over 300 known federal uses? Trillions of dollars in funds are distributed each year based on its data, supporting programs like Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and highway construction. It has applications in just about all aspects of public policy.
And it has even more state and local uses. It provides the detailed, reliable data that community members, organizations and businesses need to make informed decisions about key issues such as:
- Planning and funding public services. Communities use ACS data to plan and justify funding for schools, hospitals, emergency services, public transportation and infrastructure.
- Economic development. Local governments and businesses analyze ACS data on employment, education, income and commuting patterns to attract new businesses and plan job training programs.
- Housing and community development. ACS data informs housing policies, helps determine where affordable housing is needed and guides community development projects.
- Disaster response and preparedness. Emergency planners use our demographic and housing data to identify vulnerable populations and areas in need of greater resources during natural disasters — important information during the current hurricane season, for example.
- Education planning. School districts use the data to project enrollment trends, plan for new schools and address educational issues.
I want to give you just one real-life example of how a local government used ACS data to address local issues: In King County, Washington, the Department of Assessments wanted to identify residents who were eligible for a state property tax exemption program for low-income senior homeowners. The department thought that their county’s enrollment level in the program was low, and it turned to the ACS to identify how many potential applicants were in King County and where they might be located.
Using ACS Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files, King County conducted a custom analysis to identify households that met the tax exemption eligibility criteria (homeowner, over age of 61 and household income below $40,000). They found that approximately 40,000 households in the county were eligible, but only 15,000 were enrolled in the program.
Based on this data, they set in action an outreach plan to increase enrollment. By reaching into neighborhoods with large numbers of lower-income homeowners, King County was able to increase awareness of the program. After 18 months, the Department of Assessments had brought in almost 7,500 new applications from potentially eligible seniors and disabled homeowners — a nearly 50% increase.
I like this use case because it highlights how ACS data can empower local governments to make informed decisions that directly benefit residents. But it barely scratches the surface of how cities can use ACS data to answer the important questions they face. Like it did in King County, ACS data can help your community propose effective, data-driven solutions that address constituent and civic needs.
Because of our data’s value, we’re always seeking to make access to it easier. At census.gov, we have a wide variety of data tools and apps, including My Community Explorer, Census Business Builder, OnTheMap and Community Resilience Estimates that all use ACS data — often in combination with other data — to give users easy ways to learn about the demographics, businesses, labor force and disaster preparedness of their communities. And we’re working on new tools that will allow users, regardless of technical experience, to access ACS microdata and create custom tables.
The quality of our data — whether from the ACS, the decennial census or the many other surveys the Census Bureau collects — is directly related to the quality of responses to our censuses, surveys and other related collections. I recently blogged on this topic — encouraging participation in our data collections is an area where I hope we can collaborate. For example, I encourage you to follow along as we prepare for the 2030 Census and to get the word out about the importance of responding to the census. The census count is critical, not just because it is used to draw the lines of legislative districts and reapportion the seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives, but because it tells us who we are and where we’re going as a nation.
For two decades, ACS data have made it easier to answer the important questions facing America’s cities, big and small. The Census Bureau is so proud of the role that ACS data play in cities like yours, and we stand ready to help you access them in any way we can. You can reach out anytime to one of our Data Dissemination Specialists at census.askdata@census.gov with any questions or data needs.
Please visit census.gov to peruse the wealth of information from the ACS and our other surveys and programs.
Join the Webinar
The Census Bureau is scheduled to release the 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates on Sept. 11, 2025. Tune in for a pre-release webinar Sept. 4 that will explain how to access data and resources from the ACS and provide tips for comparing geographies and statistics over time.
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