As of the 2020 five-year CPS ASEC Geographic Mobility table package, table footnotes include clarifications about the migration universe, householder definition, and family householder definition. 

CPS ASEC sample:

The CPS ASEC sample includes persons who are currently living in the United States (50 states and the District of Columbia), are noninstitutionalized, and are either a civilian adult (at least 15 years old) or are living with at least one civilian adult (at least 15 years old). This means that while the sample does include some members of the Armed Forces (for example, those living with their families on or off post), it excludes all other members of the Armed Forces (for example, those living in military barracks).

One-year migration universe:

One-year geographic mobility and migration estimates from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) exclude persons less than one year old.

One-year geographic mobility is measured as living in a different residence exactly one year prior to completing the survey. Movers from Puerto Rico and the United States Island Areas are counted as movers from abroad.

Five-year migration universe:

Five-year geographic mobility and migration estimates from the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) exclude persons less than five years old.

Five-year geographic mobility is measured as living in a different residence exactly five years prior to completing the survey. Movers from Puerto Rico and the United States Island Areas are counted as movers from abroad. 

Counties include county equivalents such as independent cities, as well as alternative terms such as parishes and boroughs. (These are referenced in geographic mobility and migration estimates such as movers within the same county, and movers between different counties but within the same state.)

Additionally, migration universes are not limited to respondents within households, and any householder must be coded as a member of a household.

Householders and Family Householders:

As of the 2022 one-year Geographic Mobility table package, the householder and family householder table footnotes include clarifications about persons in group quarters.

For the 2015, 2016, and 2017 one-year table packages, the Table 9 titles listed on these respective webpages should have referred to householders more generally instead of family householders. And for the 2007 through 2021 one-year table packages and 2010 and 2015 five-year table packages, for Table 9 (as of the 2015 one- and five-year), the titles in the spreadsheets detailing table changes across years should have also referred to householders more generally instead of family householders. The corrected title for Table 9 (as of the 2018 one-year and 2020 five-year table packages) is “General Mobility of Householders, by Household Income in [prior year], Sex, Age, Race and Hispanic Origin, Region, and Tenure”. In the 2015 five-year table comparison spreadsheet, 2010 table numbers 19 through 22 were denoted as not created in 2015 due to metropolitan status content, when they should have been denoted as discontinued along with other tables. Corrections have been made to affected webpages and table comparison spreadsheets. Please replace any previously downloaded table comparison spreadsheets with the corrected version.

Householder definition:

The householder is usually the person (or one of the persons) in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented (maintained) or, if there is no such person, any adult member of the household (at least 15 years old), excluding roomers, boarders, or paid employees. If the housing unit is owned or rented jointly by a married couple, the householder may be either spouse.

Family householder definition:

A family is a group of two persons or more (one of whom is the householder) residing together and related by birth, marriage, or adoption. All such persons (including related subfamily members) are considered as members of one family. The householder is usually the person (or one of the persons) in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented (maintained) or, if there is no such person, any adult member of the household (at least 15 years old), excluding roomers, boarders, or paid employees. If the housing unit is owned or rented jointly by a married couple, the householder may be either spouse.

Persons in group quarters:

Relationship to householder categories include persons in group quarters. Persons in group quarters may be coded as part of a household instead of as a secondary individual. Notably, Table 6 (table number as of the 2022 one-year release) is not only limited to family householders, but also limited to persons not living in group quarters. This applies to versions of Table 6 prior to 2022 as well.

Data users are encouraged to note these clarifications when referring to CPS ASEC geographic mobility tables, especially the 2021 and earlier one-year tables and the 2020 and earlier five-year CPS ASEC tables.

For further information:

Information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions is available at <https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/technical-documentation/complete.html>.