American Community Survey (ACS)

Question:  What is the American Community Survey?

The American Community Survey is the proposed replacement for the decennial census long form. The testing of this program began in 1996. It asks essentially the same questions as the long form, but the data collection will be spread throughout the decade, rather than at a single point in time, which provides information on a continuous basis. This gives communities and population groups a dynamic picture of changes throughout the decade. When fully implemented, the American Community Survey will be conducted in every county, American Indian and Alaska Native area, Hawaiian Home Land, and in Puerto Rico, and will have a sample size of approximately 3 million households.

Question:  What are the Supplementary Surveys?

The Census 2000 Supplementary Survey was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of collecting long form-type information at the same time but separately from the decennial census. The supplementary surveys conducted in 2001 and 2002 were designed to provide a bridge of information for a permanent American Community Survey, which will replace the decennial long form in future censuses.

The surveys used the American Community Survey questionnaire and methodology to collect demographic, social, economic, and housing data from a sample of 700,000 households nationwide.

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