The American Community Survey

When will the results of the survey
be available?
The results of the American Community
Survey are released every summer. Survey
results are released each year for areas
of 65,000 persons or more. For smaller
areas and Native Alaska Villages, results are
available in the form of 3-year and 5-year
averages.

Will American Indians and Alaska
Natives be recruited for jobs?
The Census Bureau has always relied on the
help of American Indians and Alaska Natives
to make the census work, and will do the
same to make the American Community
Survey work.

Bringing
you data
every year
about …

The American
Community Survey
Group Quarters

Education, Children,
Families, Employment,
Income, Immigration,
Race and Hispanic Origin,
Housing, Group Quarters,
Rural Life, Commuting
Patterns, and Military
Service.

Where can I get assistance or
find more information about the
American Community Survey in
Alaska?
For questions or assistance with completing
this survey, telephone the Census Bureau’s
Seattle Regional Office at 1-800-233-3308.
For more information about the American
Community Survey or to obtain survey results,
we encourage you to visit our Web site at:
www.census.gov/acs/www
OR contact us mail at the following address:
American Community Survey
U.S. Census Bureau
4700 Silver Hill Rd., Room 1657-3
Washington, DC 20233-7500

U.S. Department of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Administration
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued September 2005
ACS-51(GQ)RA

What is the American Community
Survey?
The American Community Survey is part of
the 2010 Decennial Census Program. It is a
survey that collects and produces statistical
information about the social, economic, and
housing characteristics of the United States.
The American Community Survey provides
this information each year. Previously, this
information was available only once every
10 years when the U.S. Census Bureau
conducted the decennial census.
Only a small sample of addresses is
selected to participate in the American
Community Survey and represent other
addresses in the community. In addition to
this household sample, the Census Bureau
selects a sample of group quarters (GQ)
facilities from a sample of all GQs in your
area each year. Individuals from sampled
GQs are randomly selected to participate in
the ACS. A Census Bureau representative
will contact the sample GQs and individuals
and conduct a personal interview. If a
personal interview is not possible, the
Census Bureau representative may collect
your information over the telephone or ask
that you complete the survey questionnaire.
If you complete the survey yourself, a
Census Bureau representative will arrange
for a day and time to return to the GQ to
pick up the completed questionnaire.

Do the sampled Group Quarters
(GQ) and individuals have to
answer the questions on the
American Community Survey?
Yes. Your response to this survey is
required by law (Title 13, United States
Code, Sections 141, 193, and 221). The
Census Bureau estimates that the facility
level survey will take about 15 minutes to
complete and the individual survey will take
about 25 minutes to complete.

How will my participation help me
and my community?
Billions of dollars are allocated among
states, communities, villages, and
population groups based on the social,
economic, housing, and group quarters
information available for that area.
The information you provide will help you
and other individuals, local governments,
nongovernmental organizations, and
businesses to:
•

Ensure fair distribution of tax dollars
and other resources.

•

Evaluate programs to increase their
effectiveness and target specific needs.

•

Improve your community’s quality of
life by building new roads, improving
airstrips, schools, and hospitals, and
deciding where in your town they can
do the most good.
Observe change over time in such key
areas as the well-being of children,
families, and senior citizens.
Help communities plan for emergency
situations that might affect you or your
neighbors, such as floods, fires, and
other natural disasters.
Help village leaders and Alaska Native
corporations plan for better education
and health services.

•
•

•

What about my tribe or my village?
The use of American Community Survey
data could result in improved utility
services, new housing, job training, better
school facilities, or a new or improved
health clinic that benefit you, your
family, or your village. For example, the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 requires
information about American Indian and
Alaska Native households to support
training and employment activities. Your
participation in the American Community
Survey will provide this critically important
information.

Is the information I provide strictly
confidential?
Absolutely. Federal law, Title 13, Section
214 of the United States Code requires
that all information you provide be kept
strictly confidential. In addition, it provides
that only persons sworn to protect the
confidentiality of your information can see
your answers. No one else will be able to
connect your answers with your name and
address or place of residence.
Only statistical summaries of the data from
this survey are released. No individual
person or address can be identified from
the summary statistics that are published.