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The Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) is an islandwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh look at how they are changing. It is a critical element in the Census Bureau's reengineered 2010 census plan. The PRCS collects information such as age, race, income, commute time to work, home value, veteran status, and other important data from Puerto Rico households. As with the official decennial census, information about individuals will remain confidential.
The PRCS collects and produces population and housing information every year instead of every ten years. About 36,000 households are surveyed each year, from across every municipio in Puerto Rico. Collecting data every year reduces the cost of the official decennial census, and provides more up-to-date information throughout the decade about trends in the Puerto Rico population at the local community level.
The PRCS began in 2005 and will expand each subsequent year. Data from the 2006 PRCS are available for most geographic areas with a population of 65,000 or more, including 12 municipios, 7 zona urbanas and communidads, and 8 metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas.
In 2008 Puerto Rico will have a three-year period estimate available for all areas of 20,000 or more. For small areas less than 20,000, it will take five years to accumulate a large enough sample to provide estimates with accuracy similar to the decennial census. Beginning in 2010, and every year thereafter, Puerto Rico will have a five-year period estimate available, a resource that shows change over time, even for neighborhoods and rural areas.
The American Community Survey (ACS) is the equivalent of the PRCS for the United States (50 states and District of Columbia), and began data collection in 1996. Data results from both the ACS and the PRCS are released together as a unified American Community Survey dataset.
