American Community Survey Data in SimplyAnalytics

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Hello readers! We hope you’re having a great day. Today we are featuring 5 commonly asked questions about the American Community Survey dataset that’s available to all customers in SimplyAnalytics. Let’s get started.

What is the American Community Survey?

The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing monthly/annual survey of over 3.5 million households in the US conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ACS asks questions about topics such as education, employment, internet access, transportation, disability and more. These topics and the reported answers are useful to understand communities, and to help determine funding/programming needs. Here’s a wonderful explanation of why the ACS asks about each of these topics: https://www.census.gov/acs/www/about/why-we-ask-each-question/

What Years are Available in SimplyAnalytics?

Every SimplyAnalytics user has access to the following years of ACS data: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 (estimate), 2021 (estimate), 2025 (projection), 2026 (projection).

How can I access the ACS data in SimplyAnalytics?

You can jump directly to the ACS data folder by clicking on Browse by Data Folder from within the Data block at the top left of SimplyAnalytics.

What type of data is available in the ACS?

Each year of the ACS includes thousands of data variables for users to choose from. Below is a list of the main topics – note that many of the folders below contain multiple subfolders.

  • Age; Sex
  • Race
  • Hispanic or Latino Origin
  • Ancestry
  • Citizenship Status; Year of Entry; Foreign Born Place of Birth
  • Place of Birth
  • Migration/Residence 1 Year Ago
  • Commuting (Journey to Work); Place of Work
  • Relationship to Householder
  • Grandparents and Grandchildren Characteristics
  • Household Type; Family Type; Subfamilies
  • Marital Status; Marital History
  • Fertility
  • School Enrollment
  • Educational Attainment; Undergraduate Field of Degree
  • Language Spoken at Home
  • Poverty Status
  • Disability Status
  • Income
  • Earnings
  • Veteran Status; Period of Military Service
  • Food Stamps/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
  • Employment Status; Work Status Last Year
  • Industry, Occupation, and Class of Worker
  • Housing Characteristics
  • Group Quarters
  • Health Insurance Coverage
  • Computer and Internet Use
  • Citizen Voting-Age Population
  • Quality Measures
  • Allocation Table for Any Subject

How should I use the ACS data in SimplyAnalytics?

You’re welcome to use the ACS data with any of the available views in SimplyAnalytics. Here’s some ideas to get you started.

  • Map View:  Create a map of a city, and visualize the Census Tracts by % of households that have moved in within the past year from a different state
  • Ranking Report: Rank the ZIP Codes in a state with the highest % of households who do not have a computer
  • Comparison Report: Research disability data in your home Census Tract, and compare that data with the ZIP Code, County, State, and US.

We hope you find the ACS data in SimplyAnalytics useful, and as always please email support@simplyanalytics.com with any questions!

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