U.S. Census Bureau

Census 2000 Supplementary Survey Data Release

July 31, 2001

ITEMS WITH MOST COMPARABLE DATA BETWEEN C2SS AND 1990 CENSUS

Because of differences in the methods of data collection and in the wording of questions, there is not perfect consistency between C2SS data and data from the 1990 Census long form on any item. Additionally, comparison of C2SS data with data from the Census 2000 long form is necessary to understand the impact of different collection methods on the resulting estimates. Doing so will both facilitate comparisons of C2SS estimates with those from the 1990 Census long form, and enable users of the ACS data to differentiate actual change over time after Census 2000 from changes in measures related to using new data collection methods.

The fact that the C2SS data are for the household population and the 1990 Census data are for the total population (of which 2.7 percent resided in Group Quarters) yields a slight inconsistency in data for individuals (but not for data on households, families, and housing). In general, this slight inconsistency in population universe does not produce a significant limitation to comparisons; however, this inconsistency is more important for some estimates than for others. Following is a list of items for which it appears that C2SS data and 1990 Census data are most comparable.

Population items:

Age, sex, marital status, place of birth, citizenship, year of entry, educational attainment, language spoken at home, veteran status (including era of military duty and years of military duty), and commuting (including place of work, means of transportation to work, and travel time), class of worker.

Housing items:

Rooms, plumbing facilities, kitchen facilities, telephone service, vehicles available, house heating fuel, tenure (owner/renter), monthly rent, mortgage status, selected monthly owner costs, and selected monthly renter costs.

ITEMS FOR WHICH DATA CAN BE COMPARED WITH CAUTION BETWEEN C2SS AND 1990 CENSUS

Many of the items in the C2SS reflect improvements made to questions asked in the 1990 Census. These changes include things such as rewording of questions, changes in response categories, revised placement on the questionnaire, and modifications in the editing procedures. For example, some of the categories in the industry item in C2SS are comparable to categories used in the 1990 Census, and others are not. Following is a list of items in the C2SS that, while not directly comparable to items in the 1990 Census, can be compared with some limitations. Users are strongly encouraged to discuss the limitations with subject-matter experts before making any comparisons.

Population items:

Household relationship (some differences in categories, editing changes), ancestry (two write-in boxes provided, editing changes), occupation (some differences in categories, editing changes), industry (some differences in categories, editing changes).

Housing items:

Occupancy status (slight difference in residency rules), year built (some differences in categories), year householder moved in (some differences in categories), housing value (some differences in categories).

SELECTED COMPARISONS OF C2SS DATA AND 1990 CENSUS DATA

Educational attainment - for the population 25 years and over

  1. In 1990, 24.8 percent had less than a high school education, and 20.3 percent had a bachelor's degree or more.
  2. In 2000, 18.4 percent had less than a high school education, and 25.1 percent had a bachelor's degree or more.
  3. The proportion with a graduate or professional degree rose from 7.2 percent to 9.0 percent during the 1990-2000 decade, while the proportion with less than a 9th grade education fell from 10.4 percent to 6.9 percent.

Language spoken at home - for the population 5 years and over

  1. In 1990, 13.8 percent spoke a language other than English at home.
  2. In 2000, 17.6 percent spoke a language other than English at home.
  3. Among non-English speakers at home, the proportion who spoke Spanish at home increased from 54.5 percent in 1990 to 59.6 percent in 2000.

Industry - for the employed civilian population 16 years and over

  1. In 1990, 17.7 percent of workers were in manufacturing industries.
  2. In 2000, 14.2 percent of workers were in manufacturing industries.
  3. The proportion of workers in construction industries rose slightly from 6.2 percent in 1990 to 6.8 percent in 2000.

Rooms - for total housing units

  1. The median number of rooms increased from 5.2 in 1990 to 5.8 in 2000.
  2. The rise in the median number of rooms reflects the decline from 1990 to 2000 in the proportion of housing units with 1 to 4 rooms (from 35.2 percent to 33.2 percent) and the increase in the proportion with 7 or more rooms (from 24.6 percent to 26.4 percent).

House heating fuel - for occupied housing units

  1. The proportion using electricity rose from 25.8 percent in 1990 to 30.8 percent in 2000.
  2. The proportion using fuel oil or kerosene dropped from 12.2 percent in 1990 to 9.4 percent in 2000, and the proportion using wood fell from 3.9 percent to 1.7 percent.
  3. Utility gas was the leading house heating fuel in both years, used in 51.0 percent of occupied housing units in 1990, and in 50.4 percent in 2000.

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Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Public Information Office
(301) 763-3030
Last Revised: February 13, 2008 at 11:48:28 AM

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