The New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (NYCHVS) is a comprehensive survey that collects and produces data on the quality and quantity of housing in the City and the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of the people in those housing units. Public officials, private organizations, and individual researchers use the information from the survey to develop, analyze, and evaluate policies and programs.

The 2005 NYCHVS data are generally comp arable to the 2002 NYCHVS data. However, included in the large amount of information from the survey are counts and characteristics of the population by race and ethnicity. Over the last several surveys, questions have been raised as to the consistency of the race and ethnicity estimates within each survey and from one survey to the next. To properly use and understand these data from the NYCHVS requires knowledge of the methodology and techniques used by the Census Bureau to collect, process, and present the data. That information is provided in detail in the form of questions and answers below beginning with options on how to best use the race and ethnicity data from the 2002 and 2005 NYCHVS.