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About the 2005 ACS Special Product for the Gulf Coast Area
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey that provides annually updated and accurate demographic,
socioeconomic, and housing information for communities across the country. Approximately 3 million addresses are sampled
annually. In 2005, ACS data collection took place in all counties in the United States, including all of the areas in
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas that were most affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
The ACS was not designed to produce estimates based on data for less than a full year, but due to the unprecedented
effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, estimates are being released for the affected areas for the first eight months
(January through August) of 2005 and the last four months (September through December) of 2005.
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) designated many counties
throughout the Gulf Coast as "disaster counties." This designation made these identified counties eligible to receive
disaster assistance from the federal government. A total of 117 counties were designated by FEMA as receiving
"Individual and Public Assistance" as of October 7, 2005 for Hurricane Katrina and October 20, 2005 for Hurricane Rita.
In these areas, in addition to state and local governments receiving assistance, individuals and households were receiving
assistance. The Census Bureau selected these 117 counties as the geographic universe for this special product and refers
to these areas as "FEMA-designated IPA counties." Data have been published for various combinations of the 117
FEMA-designated IPA counties and parishes.
The FEMA-designated IPA area includes parts of the following states, with the number of affected counties or parishes
in parentheses:
Texas (22 counties),
Louisiana (37 parishes),
Mississippi (47 counties), and
Alabama (11 counties).
The 2005 ACS Special Product for the Gulf Coast Area focuses on two distinct areas:
1) the 117 FEMA-designated IPA counties, and
2) the remaining counties in each state, which are referred to as the "balance of the state."
The 2005 ACS Special Product for the Gulf Coast Area contains two snapshots:
1) the first eight months of 2005 (January through August), and
2) the last four months of 2005 (September through December).
The FEMA disaster designation includes two tiers:
1) counties designated for Individual and Public Assistance, and
2) counties designated for Public Assistance. Please see the FEMA web site (www.fema.gov) for press releases
and maps that define the disaster counties. Since the initial disaster declarations issued by FEMA, updates have been
made to the counties that are designated IPA counties. Several additional counties have been designated IPA counties
and several counties are no longer designated IPA counties. These changes are not reflected in the 2005 ACS Special
Product for the Gulf Coast Area.
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