June 17, 2002

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS

From: Kenneth C. Meyer
Acting Chief, Public Information Office
U.S. Census Bureau

Subject: Policy on Disseminating Summary File 3 sample data files to the media

The following are the broad outlines of the Census Bureau's plans for disseminating Summary File 3 data from late June through September 2002.

Embargoed News Release/Product Announcement General Guidance.

Summary File 3 (SF3) is being released to bona fide media on a state-by-state flow basis, with a national file scheduled to follow at the end of this process. In general, the embargo period will be four work days, with the embargo time beginning on Thursday of each week at 12:01 a.m. (EDT) and ending on the following Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. (EDT). The only exception will be the file for the state of Vermont, which we plan to embargo beginning at 12:01 a.m. (EDT) on June 25, and release to the public at 12:01 a.m. (EDT) on June 28, 2002.

A product announcement will be distributed when the data are placed on the Public Information Office's Internet embargo page <http://www.census.gov/dcmd/www/embargo/embargo_sumfile3.html>. To access the SF3 data on the FTP server, media representatives need two sets of usernames and passwords: one to enter the embargo page, which may be obtained by faxing a request on your organization's letterhead to the Public Information Office on (301) 457-3620; and a second that is posted in the embargo area.

Description of SF3 Characteristics:

SF3 consists of 813 tables of Census 2000 social, economic and housing characteristics compiled from a sample of approximately 19 million housing units (about 1 in 6 households) that received the Census 2000 long-form questionnaire. These data sequence down to block group or census tract levels for the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

There are 484 population tables covering such subjects as:

There are 329 housing tables covering such subjects as:

Summary File 3 state files include data for the following geographic areas:

States
Counties
County subdivisions
Places
Census tracts
Block groups (for selected tables)
Congressional districts (106^th Congress)
Zip Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs)
Hawaiian home lands
State parts of American Indian/Alaska Native areas
State parts of metropolitan areas
Urban areas (urbanized areas and urban clusters)

The SF3 national file includes data for the following geographies:

Fifty-one tables are repeated for nine major race and Hispanic or Latino groups: White alone; Black or African American alone; American Indian and Alaska Native alone; Asian alone; Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander alone; Some other race alone; Two or more races; Hispanic or Latino; and White alone, not Hispanic or Latino.

Where to find this information:

A list of states that have been released and those scheduled for release, along with links to the corresponding product announcements and related data files, may be found on the Web at <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/sumfile3.html>. In addition, links to SF3 data and all Census 2000 products may be found on the American FactFinder main page at <http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet>. CDs and DVDs may be purchased online from the Customer Service Center (Telephone: [301] 763-INFO [4636]; e-mail: <webmaster@census.gov>).

For more information, contact Mark Tolbert or Stephen Buckner in the Census Bureau's Public Information Office on (301) 457-3691.