There are three archived versions of the American Community Survey (ACS) Design and Methodology Report. One version was released in 2009 with some updates in 2010, the second version was released in 2014, and the third version was released in 2022.

The 2024 ACS Design and Methodology Report is currently available.

The American Community Survey (ACS) is the cornerstone of the U.S. Census Bureau's effort to keep pace with the nation's ever-increasing demands for timely and relevant data about population and housing characteristics. The ACS is conducted throughout the United States and Puerto Rico, where it is called the Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS). For ease of discussion, the term ACS is used here to represent both surveys. The ACS is an ongoing monthly survey that collects detailed housing and socioeconomic data. The ACS includes people living in both housing units (HUs) and group quarters (GQs). The ACS allows the Census Bureau to provide timely and relevant statistics, even for low levels of geography. Resulting tabulations from the data are provided on a yearly basis.

The 2022 Version of the Design and Methodology document describes the basic ACS design and methodology through 2019, unless otherwise indicated. Several key developments since the previous version was published in 2014 include the following: discontinuation of the three-year estimates following the 2011-2013 release, discontinuation of the Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing mode for nonresponse follow-up, discontinuation of content-related follow-up in the Field Edit Follow-up operation, changes to how the annual housing unit sample is selected, various content changes, and expansion of internet data collection to non-mailable addresses.

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a relatively new survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It uses a series of monthly samples to produce annually updated estimates for the same small areas (census tracts and block groups) formerly surveyed via the decennial census long-form sample. Initially, five years of samples were required to produce these small-area data. Once the Census Bureau, released its first 5-year estimates in December 2010; new small-area statistics now are produced annually. The Census Bureau also will produce 3-year and 1-year data products for larger geographic areas. The ACS includes people living in both housing units (HUs) and group quarters (GQs). The ACS is conducted throughout the United States and in Puerto Rico, where it is called the Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS). For ease of discussion, the term ACS is used here to represent both surveys.

This document describes the basic ACS design and methodology as of the 2013 data collection year. The purpose of this document is to provide data users and other interested individuals with documentation of the methods used in the ACS. Future updates of this report are planned to reflect additional design and methodology changes. This document is organized into 16 chapters. Each chapter includes an overview, followed by detailed documentation, and a list of references.

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a relatively new survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It uses a series of monthly samples to produce annually updated data for the same small areas (census tracts and block groups) formerly surveyed via the decennial census long-form sample. Initially, 5 years of samples will be required to produce these small-area data. Once the Census Bureau has collected 5 years of data, new small-area data will be produced annually. The Census Bureau also will produce 3-year and 1-year data products for larger geographic areas. The ACS includes people living in both housing units (HUs) and group quarters (GQs). The ACS is conducted throughout the United States and in Puerto Rico, where it is called the Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS). For ease of discussion, the term ACS is used here to represent both surveys.