Telephone service data should be compared with caution between 2012-2016 and 2017-2021. In 2017, a consistency check was added to the telephone service edit to better determine households with telephone service. Furthermore, beginning in 2019 the telephone service question was revised in its structure and wording as a result of findings from the 2016 ACS Content Test. For more information on this change, view the following ACS User Note. In general, these changes led to an increase in households with telephone service during the 2017-2021 period compared to the 2012-2016 period.
Mortgage status data compared between 2012-2016 and 2017-2021 should be done with caution. In 2020, changes were made to allow those listed without a primary mortgage to have a home equity loan. In previous years, anyone with a home equity loan would have been categorized as having a primary mortgage.