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Household Pulse Survey: Measuring Emergent Social and Economic Matters Facing U.S. Households

Household Pulse Survey: Measuring Emergent Social and Economic Matters Facing U.S. Households

ATTENTION: A special implementation of the Household Pulse is being fielded in December 2024 to measure impacts of Hurricanes Milton and Helene in the Southeast United States. Data will be released in early 2025.

Data collection for Phase 4.2 of the Household Pulse Survey (HPS) started on July 23, 2024, and is scheduled to continue until September 16, 2024. This latest version of the survey will utilize continuous data collection throughout each month, with data releases scheduled for September 12 and October 3, 2024. 

What is the Household Pulse Survey?

The U.S. Census Bureau, in collaboration with multiple federal agencies, is in a unique position to produce data on critical social and economic matters affecting American households. The Household Pulse Survey was designed to deploy quickly and efficiently, collecting data to measure how emergent issues are impacting U.S. households from a social and economic perspective. Data will be disseminated in near real-time to inform federal and state action.

 

Data users can access research and presentations using the Household Pulse Survey data from the HPS Research and Presentations webpage.

If you have been invited to participate in the survey, find more information here.

What information does the Household Pulse Survey collect?

The Household Pulse Survey is a 20-minute online survey that measures how emergent social and economic issues are impacting households across the country.

The HPS also asks about core demographic household characteristics (including sexual orientation and gender identity), as well as the following topics:

  • Access to infant formula
  • Children’s mental health treatment
  • COVID-19 vaccinations and long COVID symptoms and impact
  • Education, specifically K-12 enrollment
  • Childcare arrangements
  • Employment
  • Food sufficiency
  • Housing security
  • Household spending, including energy expenditures and consumption
  • Inflation concerns and changes in behavior due to increasing prices 
  • Physical and mental health
  • Feelings of pressure to move from rental home
  • Transportation, including behavioral changes related to the cost of gas
  • Health insurance coverage (including Medicaid)
  • Social isolation
  • Shortage of critical items
  • Participation with the arts
  • Internet access
  • Impact of living through natural disasters

The HPS continues to be a collaborative undertaking and is fielded in partnership with the following federal agencies:

The data collected will enable the Census Bureau to produce statistics at the national and state levels and for the 15 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (metro areas).

When will Data be Made Available from the Household Pulse Survey?

Data releases for Phase 4.2 of the survey are scheduled for September 12 and October 3, 2024.

What are the previous data collection cycles of the survey?

In order to support the nation’s recovery and the social and economic well-being of U.S. households, we need to know the ways emergent issues have affected people’s lives and livelihoods. Data from this survey will show the widespread effects of critical matters on individuals, families, and communities across the country from a social and economic perspective.

Your participation will help federal and state officials direct aid, assistance, and support to the people and places that need it most. This survey provides information that cannot be collected elsewhere. Your response is key. 

Prior data collections phases

Phase 1: April 23, 2020 – July 21, 2020

Phase 2: August 19, 2020 – October 26, 2020

Phase 3: October 28, 2020 – March 29, 2021

Phase 3.1: April 14, 2021 – July 5, 2021

Phase 3.2: July 21, 2021 – October 11, 2021

Phase 3.3: December 1, 2021 – February 7, 2022

Phase 3.4: March 2, 2022 – May 9, 2022

Phase 3.5: June 1, 2022 – August 8, 2022

Phase 3.6: September 14, 2022 – November 14, 2022

Phase 3.7: December 9, 2022 – February 13, 2023

Phase 3.8: March 1, 2023 – May 8, 2023

Phase 3.9: June 7, 2023 – August 7, 2023

Phase 3.10: August 23, 2023 – October 30, 2023

Phase 4.0: January 9, 2024 – April 1, 2024

Phase 4.1: April 2, 2024 – July 22, 2024

How is the Household Pulse Survey Different from Other Surveys Conducted by the Census Bureau?

The Census Bureau and its federal statistical partners are considered the preeminent source of the nation's most important benchmark surveys.  Many of these surveys have been ongoing for more than 80 years and provide valuable insight on social and economic trends. 

The production of these benchmark surveys is by nature a highly deliberative process. The process to release the data from these surveys can take months, sometimes years, before data are made publicly available.  

The approach for the Household Pulse Survey is different: it is designed to be a short-turnaround instrument that provides valuable data with a short turn-around time. The Census Bureau is fielding the Household Pulse Survey as a part of the agency’s Experimental Data Series; as such, data products may not meet some of the Census Bureau’s statistical quality standards. Data are subject to suppression based on overall response and disclosure avoidance thresholds.

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Page Last Revised - December 6, 2024
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