American Community Survey (ACS)

The American Community Survey and the Federal Statistical System

The American Community Survey offers a number of features that can improve the federal statistical system. They are:

• Increased sampling options;
• Flexibility in design and content; and
• More frequent data for evaluation.

Because the current federal statistical system is decentralized, surveys are conducted independently of one another. Each one must collect the same core data: number of occupied units, number of people, and the general characteristics of people. After these core data are collected, each survey focuses on its specific needs. The American Community Survey can provide better estimates of the core data as well as provide a vehicle for collecting some specific survey data, thereby reducing this duplication.

The American Community Survey can screen for households with specific characteristics, identified through the basic survey, or through the use of supplemental questions. These households can then be candidates for follow-up interviews, thus providing a more robust sampling frame for other surveys. Moreover, the prohibitively expensive screening interviews now required would no longer be necessary.

State and local governments are becoming more involved in administering and evaluating programs traditionally controlled by the federal government. This devolution of responsibility is often accompanied by federal funding through block grants. The data collected via the American Community Survey will be useful not only to the federal agencies, but also to state, local, and tribal governments in planning, administering, and evaluating programs.

Finally, the American Community Survey will provide more timely data for use in area estimation models that provide estimates of various concepts for small geographic areas. In essence, detailed data from national household surveys (whose samples are too small to provide reliable estimates for states or localities) can be combined with data from the American Community Survey to create reliable estimates for small geographic areas.

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