Evaluation of Poverty Estimates: A Comparison of the American Community Survey and the Current Population Survey

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Working Paper Number: SEHSD-WP2006-03

Introduction

This report is one in a series of reports that compares data from the American Community Survey (ACS) with data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the Current Population Survey (CPS). The data analysis in this report focuses on comparisons of national estimates of poverty between the 2003 ACS and the 2004 CPS ASEC (income year 2003). This analysis also compares state level estimates from the 2003 ACS with 2-year average estimates from CPS ASEC. The report looks for differences that are both statistically and substantively different, and for those found, looks for possible explanations. Since poverty is an income-based measure, one of the purposes of this report is to examine methodological differences in the collection of income data between the two surveys.

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