American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, including ancestry, US citizenship status, educational attainment, income, language proficiency, migration, disability, employment, and housing characteristics. These data are used by many public-sector, private-sector, and not-for-profit stakeholders to allocate funding, track shifting demographics, plan for emergencies, and learn about local communities.
American Community Survey | |
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The logo of the American Community Survey | |
Location(s) | 4600 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, Maryland, U.S. |
Country | U.S. |
Inaugurated | January 2005 |
Participants | 3.5 million households/year |
Activity | Survey |
Website | census.gov/acs |
Sent to approximately 295,000 addresses monthly, or 3.5 million addresses annually, it is the largest household survey that the Census Bureau administers.
The American Community Survey gathers information annually in the 50 U.S. states and the national capital of Washington, D.C.. It does not gather information in the four major U.S. territories, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.