The American Community Survey

ADDC/07-ACSQA(04-2007)
Issued April 2007

Questions and Answers

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

AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY

What is the American
Community Survey?
The American Community
Survey is a survey conducted
by the U.S. Census Bureau in
every county, American Indian
and Alaska Native Area, and
Hawaiian Home Land.
The American Community
Survey provides critical economic, social, demographic,
and housing information to this
country’s communities every
year. Communities tell us the
American Community Survey
helps them make informed decisions and is a key to their future.

www.census.gov/acs/www

Is the American Community
Survey Part of the 2010
Census?
Yes. The 2010 Census will focus
on counting the population. The
American Community Survey will
provide communities every year
the same kind of detailed information previously available only
when the U.S. Census Bureau
conducted a population census
every 10 years.
I have not heard of the
American Community Survey.
How long have you been
conducting it?
The American Community Survey
began in 1996 in a sample of
counties across the country. Today
the survey is conducted in all
U.S. counties and in Puerto Rico,
where it is called the Puerto Rico
Community Survey.



www.census.gov/acs/www

How are the answers that
I provide to the American
Community Survey used?
The questions on the American
Community Survey are required
to collect data needed to manage or evaluate government
programs. These questions are
essentially the same questions
that have been asked as part of
the decennial census.
• Income information makes
it possible to compare the
economic levels of different
areas. Many federal and state
programs use such data to
distribute funds for community development.
• Your answers to the questions
on journey to work are used
by the U.S. Department of
Transportation to plan highway improvements, develop
public transportation services,
and design programs to ease
traffic problems.
• Information about age is used
in federal programs to target
funds or services to children,


AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY

working-age adults, or the
elderly.
• Responses to questions about
income and housing are
summarized and used by the
U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development to
assess the need for housing
assistance for elderly,
handicapped, and low-income
homeowners.
• Information about race,
Hispanic origin, and language
spoken at home is used to
determine bilingual election
requirements under the Voting
Rights Act and the monitoring
of equal employment
opportunities under the Civil
Rights Act. Race and Hispanic
origin (or ethnicity) are considered distinct concepts and,
therefore, require separate
questions.
• Information about military
service is used primarily
by the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs to measure

AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY

the needs of veterans and to
evaluate veterans’ programs
dealing with education, employment, and health care.
How do I benefit by
answering the American
Community Survey?
Federal agencies, states, and
communities say that they do
not have the up-to-date information they need to better
understand community issues,
respond to needs, and allocate
programs and resources. As
one community leader said,
“Guessing is always fun, but
seldom effective.”
By responding to the American
Community Survey questionnaire, you are helping your
community establish community
goals, identify community problems and solutions, locate facilities and programs, and measure
the performance of programs.

www.census.gov/acs/www

• Local governments for budgeting, evaluating programs,
and planning for community
development projects.
• Community programs, such
as those for the elderly, scout
programs, libraries, banks,
hospitals, and other community organizations, to provide
services to the community
and to locate buildings, services, and programs.
• Transportation planners,
using journey-to-work information, to plan for peak
volumes of traffic in order
to reduce traffic congestion,
plan for parking, and develop
strategies, such as carpooling programs and flexible
work schedules. Decisions are
made to build new roads or
add capacity to existing roads,
and to develop transit systems,
such as light rail or subways, by
projecting future needs.

The American Community Survey
data are used by:



www.census.gov/acs/www

AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY

Do I have to answer the
questions on the American
Community Survey?

Do I have to answer the
survey if I am staying at
this address temporarily?

Yes. Your response to this
survey is required by law (Title
13, United States Code, Sections
141, 193, and 221). The same
law protects the confidentiality of the information that you
provide.

Yes. If you are staying at the
address for more than 2 months,
you must complete the entire
survey. If you are staying for 2
months or less, you must still
complete a portion of the survey,
according to the instructions.
A Census Bureau representative
can assist you. This information
helps communities plan as the
population changes at different
times of the year.

Do I have to answer these
questions every year?
No. Only a small sample of addresses is selected to participate
in the American Community
Survey. An address may only
be selected for the sample once
every 5 years. These addresses
are selected at random and
represent other addresses in the
community. That is why it is so
important that every sampled
household respond.



Are my survey answers
confidential?
Yes. Your answers are confidential by law under Title 13, United
States Code, Section 9. This law
specifies that the Census Bureau
can use the information provided by individuals for statistical
purposes only and cannot publish or release information that
would identify any individual.

AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY

How can I see the results of
the survey?
This information is published on
the Census Bureau’s American
FactFinder® Web site at
http://factfinder.census.gov.
The data are provided in several
formats for everyone from beginners (who may just want to
look at the data) to experienced
researchers.
American FactFinder® provides
tables that:
• provide an overview of the
data quickly,
• compare data for different
places, and
• provide more extensive data
for more detailed research.

www.census.gov/acs/www

Can the police or any
regulatory agency see my
answers to the survey?
No. The Census Bureau protects
the privacy of your information.
The police cannot see it and
no court of law can see it. No
one can see or use your specific
answers to enforce any type of
law.
If any Census Bureau employee
were to violate these provisions,
he or she would be subject
to severe criminal sanctions
imposed by Congress—up to
5 years’ imprisonment and/or
up to a $250,000 fine (Title 13,
United States Code, Section 214,
as amended by Title 18, United
States Code, Sections 3559 and
3571).



www.census.gov/acs/www

I am elderly, disabled, or
otherwise unable to complete
the American Community
Survey questionnaire. What
do I do?
You may designate another
person to help you, or a Census
Bureau representative may call
you or may come to your house
and assist you in completing the
survey. Respondents may call 1800-354-7271 for assistance.
To produce the most accurate
results, it is very important that
every household selected for the
survey participate.

AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY

How can I get additional
information about the
American Community
Survey?
There are several ways to obtain
information about the American
Community Survey:
For detailed information, we
encourage you to visit our Web
site at:

or call the Census Bureau’s
Regional Office nearest to you as
listed below:

Census Bureau Regional Offices



Atlanta, GA
1-800-424-6974

Detroit, MI
1-800-432-1495

Boston, MA
1-800-562-5721

Kansas City, KS
1-800-728-4748

Charlotte, NC
1-800-331-7360

Los Angeles, CA
1-800-992-3530

Chicago, IL
1-800-865-6384

New York, NY
1-800-991-2520

Dallas, TX
1-800-835-9752

Philadelphia, PA
1-866-238-1374

Denver, CO
1-800-852-6159

Seattle, WA
1-800-233-3308

AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY

For questions about the
American Community Survey
data or how to view survey
results, call our Customer
Services line at:
301-763-INFO (4636)

www.census.gov/acs/www

You may also contact us by
e-mail
[email protected]
or
via U.S. mail at:
American Community Survey
U.S. Census Bureau
4600 Silver Hill Rd.
Washington, DC
20233-7500



AMERICAN
COMMUNITY
SURVEY
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 1-888-346-9682

Internet:
www.census.gov/acs/www