The 2010 Census, ACS, and other
demographic surveys
Census 2010 Short Form
Questionnaire
10 Questions
Name
Sex
Age
Relationship (to Household Head)
Hispanic Origin
Race
Owner/Renter Status
Plus
Whether each member sometimes lives/stays elsewhere
Total number living in residence
Probe for unreported persons
Telephone contact
Census 2010 Short Form
Questionnaire
Product Release Schedule
Redistricting data – February-April 2011
SF 1 – June – August 2011
SF 2 - Dec 2011 – April 2012
The American Community Survey
• Replacement for the “long form” of the
decennial census.
• HH sample fully implemented in January
2005, annual sample of around 3 million.
• Multi-mode: mail, CATI, CAPI
ACS: Sampling Frame
• Master Address File (MAF)
– Official inventory of known living quarters
– Linked to TIGER
• Housing Units
– Based on Census 2000 MAF and updates from the
USPS’ Delivery Sequence File
• Group Quarters
– … and updates from the administrative records and
the FSCPE
– Excluded from ACS are domestic violence shelters,
soup kitchens, commercial maritime vessels,…
ACS: Design of the Sample
• Annual Sample Size of 3 million addresses
• Series of Monthly Samples of 250,000
addresses
• HU sample in each of the 3,141 Counties
• Areas with smaller populations sampled at
higher rates than those with larger populations
• HU Address sampling rate set by Block
• Final sampling rate varies between 1.6% and
10%
• No HU address can be sampled more than once
in 5 years
ACS: Sample Design
• GQ facilities sample for each state
• Two stratum
– Small (15 or fewer residents)
– Large ( more than 15 residents)
• Small
– Data collected on all residents
– Facility eligible once in 5 years
• Large
– Groups of ten residents sub-sampled
– Number of groups determined by size of facility
– Facility eligible every year
ACS: Data Collection
• HU addresses by three modes
– Mailout of paper questionnaire in 1st month
– Telephone (CATI) non-response follow-up in
2nd month
– Personal visit (CAPI) non-response follow-up
in 3rd month to a sub-sample
• GQ
– Personal visit within 6 weeks of sample
selection
Distribution Formats
• Like former decennial census data,
released in both aggregate and microdata
formats
• Because of change to continuous
sampling, however, aggregate data
released at different geographic levels with
differing collection frames
Multi-year estimates
• Larger geographies have multiple options
for estimates – 1 year, 3 year, 5 year
• Comparing and interpreting overlapping
multi-year estimates not intuitive: only
differences come from the nonoverlapping period.
Replicate Weights
• Census Bureau’s replicate weights are not
handled by statistical packages (as an option,
like JK or BRR)
• SAS program that has the algorithm
– https://ctools.umich.edu/access/content/group
/34a72eab-daa4-4d14-80e09150727aed6c/Technical%20%20Statistical/sas_code_example.txt
Census Bureau recommendations
for replicate weights
• Garrett, B. Dale and Michael Starsinic. 2008.
“ACS Public Use Microdata Samples of 2005
and 2006 – How to Use Replicate Weights.”
Presentation at AAPOR Conference, New
Orleans, May 16, 2008.
•
https://ctools.umich.edu/access/content/group/3
4a72eab-daa4-4d14-80e09150727aed6c/Technical%20%20Statistical/How%20to%20Use%20PUMS%2
0Replicate%20Weights.ppt
Demographic (Household) Surveys
• Survey of Income and Program
Participation
• Survey of Program Dynamics
• American Housing Survey
• Current Population Survey
• Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES)
• And more…..
Survey of Income and Program
Participation
The Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) program,
initiated in 1983, is a longitudinal, multi-panel survey primarily of
adults in households in the United States.
• Sampled households are interviewed at least nine times at fourmonth intervals and followed over the life of the panel. New samples
(panels) are drawn periodically, ranging in size from around 13,000
HHs to around 40,000 HH’s. (annually 1984-1993; 1996, 2001,
2004, 2008)
• The SIPP attempts to interview all members age 15 and older in the
household during the first wave of interviewing. Subsequent
interviews may be in-person or by phone, with the same interviewer
speaking to the same respondents.
• New members who join the household are interviewed after they
join; departing members are interviewed at their new address.
Survey of Income and Program
Participation
• SIPP information falls into two categories: the
core information, and other questions (found in
"topical modules") that produce in-depth
information on specific subjects and are asked at
only one or two interviews.
• SIPP core content covers demographic
characteristics, work experience, earnings,
program participation, transfer income, and
asset income.
Survey of Income and Program
Participation: Topical Modules
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Well-Being
Adult Well-Being:
Children’s Well-Being.
Extended Measures of Well-Being.
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Earnings, Income, Assets, Liabilities, Taxes, Expenses
Annual Earnings and Benefits.
Annual Income and Retirement Accounts.
Property Income and Taxes.
Real Estate Property and Vehicles.
Selected Financial Assets.
Assets, Liabilities, and Eligibility.
Taxes.
Shelter Costs and Energy Usage.
Housing Costs, Conditions, and Energy Usage.
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Labor Force related
Employment History.
Job Offers.
Reasons for Not Working/Reservation Wage.
Time Spent Outside Work Force.
Work Disability History.
Work-Related Expenses.
Work Schedule.
Survey of Income and Program
Participation
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Support of Children
Child Care.
Child Support Agreements.
Child Support Paid.
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Education/Training
Education and Training History. Collects information about respondent's highest level of school completed or
degree received, courses or programs studied, and dates of receipt of high school and postsecondary degrees or
diplomas. The module determines if the respondent attended a public or a private high school.
School Enrollment and Financing.
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Benefits
Employer-Provided Health Benefits.
Retirement Expectations and Pension Plan Coverage.
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Health/Medical
Medical Expenses and Work Disability.
Functional Limitations and Disability.
Health and Disability.
Health Status and Utilization of Health Care Services.
Home Health Care.
Long-Term Care.
Survey of Income and Program
Participation
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Demographic
Household Relationships.
Family Background. Obtains family characteristics at the time of the respondent's 16th birthday, including how
many brothers and sisters the person had, with whom the person lived, the highest grade of school completed by
the parents, and the occupations of the parents.
Fertility History. Asked only of females 15 years of age and older and males 18 and older. Men are asked about
the number of children they have fathered, and women are asked about their birth histories.
Marital History.
Migration History.
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Program Participation
Recipiency History.
Welfare History and Child Support.
Welfare Reform.
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NOT ALL MODULES ASKED IN ALL PANELS:
see http://www.census.gov/sipp/top_mod/topical.html
Current Population Survey
•
The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of about 50,000 to 65,000
households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. The survey has been conducted for more than 50 years.
•
The CPS is the primary source of information on the labor force characteristics of the
U.S. population. The sample is scientifically selected to represent the civilian
noninstitutional population.
•
Households are in the survey eight times: four consecutive months, eight months off,
and then a final four months.
•
Estimates obtained from the CPS include employment, unemployment, earnings,
hours of work, and other indicators. They are available by a variety of demographic
characteristics including age, sex, race, marital status, and educational attainment.
They are also available by occupation, industry, and class of worker.
•
Supplemental questions to produce estimates on a variety of topics including school
enrollment, income, previous work experience, health, employee benefits, and work
schedules are also often added to the regular CPS questionnaire.
Current Population Survey
•
Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC)
– (formerly called the Annual Demographic Survey or March Supplement)
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Voting and Registration (November)
School Enrollment (October)
Food Security; every year since 1995
Computer Ownership
Fertility and Marital History
Fertility and Birth Expectations
Contingent Workers and Alternative Employment
Displaced Workers
Job Tenure and Occupational Mobility
Race and Ethnicity
Tobacco Use
Work Experience
Work Schedules
Current Population Survey
• Annual Social and Economic
Supplement (ASEC)
• Larger sample
• Source of official poverty estimates
• Contains family and household
information, annual income, health
insurance, migration, ethnicity and
nativity
American Housing Survey
• Provides information on the size and composition of the housing
inventory in the United State, neighborhood characteristics,
characteristics of occupants. household characteristics, income,
housing and neighborhood quality, housing costs, equipment and
fuels, size of housing unit, and recent movers.
• The AHS returns to the same housing units year after year to gather
data; therefore, this survey is ideal for analyzing the flow of
households through housing.
• Sample of ~ 65,000
• Collected for HUD
• Separate national (fixed sample for ~50,000, followed since 1985)
and metropolitan samples (~3,200 – 4,800 per area, every 6 years,
12-14 areas/year)
• More detailed data, less geographic detail, than census
Consumer Expenditure Survey
•
The Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES) provides information on the buying habits
of American consumers and also furnishes data to support periodic revisions of the
Consumer Price Index. A new sample is drawn annually, and includes about 60,000
households.
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The survey consists of two separate components: (1) a quarterly Interview Survey in
which each consumer unit in the sample is interviewed every three months over a
fifteen-month period, and (2) a Diary Survey completed by the sample consumer
units for two consecutive one-week periods.
•
The quarterly interview gathers retrospective data on purchases, and focuses on
regular and large expenses.
•
The Diary Survey contains consumer information on small, frequently-purchased
items such as food, beverages, food consumed away from home, gasoline,
housekeeping supplies, nonprescription drugs and medical supplies, and personal
care products and services. Participants are asked to maintain expense records, or
diaries, of all purchases made each day for two consecutive one-week periods.
Selected Other Data
• National Crime Victimization Survey
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–
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48,000 addresses in 809 PSU’s in US
Operating since 1972
7 interviews over 3 ½ year period
• National Corrections Reporting Program
–
Prison Admission and discharges. Variables include incarceration history, current offenses,
and total time served. Background information on individuals includes year of birth, sex, age,
race, Hispanic origin, and educational attainment.
• A variety of surveys for NCHS, e.g.
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–
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National Health Interview Survey
National Hospital Discharge Survey
National Survey of Ambulatory Surgery
• National Survey of College Graduates
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Baseline Survey based on Census
• 1993 from 1990 census, 2003 from 2000 census
• Follow-up surveys every 2 years (4 total per decade)
Economic Data from the Census
Census Terminology
• Economic
• data collected from businesses
• Demographic
• data collected from households
Surveys vs Census
Economic Surveys
Economic Census
•Annual, quarterly, •Every 5 years
monthly
•Limited detail
•Mostly national
(years ending in 2 & 7)
•Industry/product
detail
•Detailed Geography
Census
Economic
Data
for Local
Areas
•5-year intervals
–Economic Census
–Survey of Business Owners
•Annual
–County Business Patterns
–Nonemployer Statistics
–Annual Survey of Manufactures
–Statistics of U.S. Business
ECONOMIC CENSUS
• All domestic non-farm business establishments, other
than those operated by governments. Most reports are
confined to businesses with paid employees
• Basic data obtained for all establishments including kind
of business, geographic location, type of ownership, total
revenue, annual and first quarter payroll, and employees
in the pay period including March 12. Additional inquiries
vary from sector to sector and, in some cases, industry
to industry.
• Every 5 years since 1967, for years ending in "2" and
"7." Previous economic censuses were conducted for
years 1963, 1958, and 1954
Increasing Census Coverage
Economic Census Coverage
Sector contribution to GDP
Manufacturing
Mining
Construction
Agriculture
Transp, Utilities
Wholesale
Retail
Finance, Insurance, Real Estate
Governments
Not covered
Service
Economic Census Table
• Data classified by industry
Standard Industrial Classification
System
• Developed in 1930's
SIC
• Updated every 10-15 years
•Dominated by manufacturing
New Numbering System
Level
Code
51
515
Industry Group 5151
Industry
51511
U.S. Industry 515112
Sector
Subsector
Description
Example
Information
Broadcasting (except Internet)
Radio and Television Broadcasting
Radio Broadcasting
Radio Stations
Economic Census Geography
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U.S.
States
Metro areas
Counties
Places of 2,500+ Inhabitants
ZIP Codes
Geographic Areas
in the Economic Census
MA's
Coun-
Places
ZIP
ties
2500+
Codes
Sector
States
Mining
X
Utilities
X
Construction
X
Manufacturing
X
X
X
X
Wholesale Trade
X
X
X
X
Retail Trade
X
X
X
X
Transportation and Warehousing
X
X
Information
X
X
X
X
Finance and Insurance
X
X
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
X
X
X
X
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
X
X
X
X
X
Management of Companies and Enterprises
X
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and
Remediation Services
X
X
X
X
X
Educational Services
X
X
X
X
X
Health Care and Social Assistance
X
X
X
X
X
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation
X
X
X
X
X
Accommodation and Food Services
X
X
X
X
X
Other Services (Except Public Administration)
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
2002 Economic Census by sector
States
Coun-
Places
ZIP
MA's
ties
2500+
Codes
Comparative Statistics
X
Nonemployer Statistics
X
X
X
Survey of Business Owners (minority- and women-owned
business)
X
X
X
X
Coun-
Places
ZIP
ties
2500+
Codes
Current Economic Programs
States
Annual Survey of Manufactures
x
Current Industrial Reports
s
MA's
New Residential Construction in Selected MSA's
s
Housing Units Authorized by Building Permits
s
Statistics of U.S. Businesses
x
x
County Business Patterns
x
x
ZIP Code Business Patterns
x
Foreign Trade: Exports
x
s
x
x
Nonemployer Statistics
P Businesses w/o paid employees account for
70% of all businesses
 3.5% of all sales
P Excluded from other census reports
P U.S., State, county & metro data
P Updated annually
Survey of Business Owners
• Women
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Formerly the surveys of
Minority- and Women-Owned
Business Enterprises
Black
Hispanic
American Indians and Alaska Natives
Asians and Pacific Islanders
Company Summary
Characteristics of Business Owners
Principal Economic Indicators
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Advance Monthly Retail Sales
Manufacturing and Trade: Inventories and Sales
Monthly Wholesale Trade
Manufactures’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders
Quarterly Services Survey [NEW]
Housing Starts
Value of New Construction Put in Place
Housing Completions
New Homes Sold and for Sale
US International Trade in Goods and Services
Quarterly Financial Report (two releases)
Housing Vacancies
• Commodity Flow Survey
• The Commodity Flow Survey (CFS) is the primary source of national
and state-level data on domestic freight shipments by American
establishments in mining, manufacturing, wholesale, auxiliaries, and
selected retail industries. Data are provided on the types, origins
and destinations, values, weights, modes of transport, distance
shipped, and ton-miles of commodities shipped. The CFS is a
shipper-based survey and is conducted every five years as part of
the Economic Census. It provides a modal picture of national freight
flows, and represents the only publicly available source of
commodity flow data for the highway mode. The CFS was
conducted in 1993, 1997, 2002, and most recently in 2007.
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SURVEY OF BUSINESS OWNERS
(Formerly known as the Surveys of Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprises)
PURPOSE
The Survey of Business Owners (SBO) provides the only comprehensive, regularly collected source of information
on selected economic and demographic characteristics for businesses and business owners by gender, ethnicity,
and race. Title 13 of the United States Code authorizes this survey and provides for mandatory responses.
COVERAGE
Included are all nonfarm businesses filing Internal Revenue Service tax forms as individual proprietorships,
partnerships, or any type of corporation, and with receipts of $1,000 or more. The SBO covers both firms with paid
employees and firms with no paid employees. The SBO is conducted on a company or firm basis rather than an
establishment basis. A company or firm is a business consisting of one or more domestic establishments that the
reporting firm specified under its ownership or control.
The data are compiled by combining data collected on businesses and business owners in the SBO with data
collected on the main economic census and administrative records.
Business ownership is defined as having 51 percent or more of the stock or equity in the business and is
categorized by:
Gender: Male; Female; or Equally Male-/Female-Owned
Ethnicity: Hispanic or Latino Origin; Not Hispanic or Latino Origin
Race: White; Black or African American; American Indian or Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific
Islander
Data have been collected every 5 years since 1972, for years ending in "2" and "7" as part of the economic
census. The program began as a special project for minority-owned businesses in 1969 and was incorporated into
the economic census in 1972 along with the Survey of Women-Owned Businesses.
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The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey - Insurance Component (MEPS-IC), also called the Health Insurance Cost Study, is conducted by the United
States Census Bureau for the Department of Health and Human Services. It provides national and state level estimates on employer-sponsored health
insurance coverage. The survey is conducted under the authority of Title 13, Section 8(b) of the United States Code and Section 913 of the Public
Health Service Act (Title 42, U.S.C., Section 299b-2).
COVERAGE
The MEPS-IC collects data from a sample of private- and public-sector employers. The sample consists of approximately 40,000 private industry
establishments and 3,000 state and local governments.
CONTENT
The MEPS-IC fields questionnaires to private and public sector employers to collect data on the number and types of private health insurance plans
offered, benefits associated with these plans, premiums, contributions by employers and employees, eligibility requirements, and employer
characteristics.
FREQUENCY
This survey has been conducted annually since 1996 with a new sample selected every year.
METHODS
The MEPS-IC uses multiple data collection methods. Establishments and government units are initially screened by telephone to confirm their mailing
addresses and to establish a point-of-contact with a knowledgable respondent. If an establishment does not offer health insurance to any of its
employees, the questions about establishment and firm characteristics are asked at that time, and the survey is completed by telephone.
Establishments that offer health insurance and those that do not respond to the telephone screening are mailed survey questionnaires. The mailing
consists of an establishment-level questionnaire and separate questionnaires for each health plan offered up to four plans. A second mailing is sent if
the first mailing is not returned within a three-week period. If the establishment does not return either mailing, it is called and interviewed over the
telephone. Large companies and governments are occasionally interviewed in person due to the large amount of data being requested of them.
PRODUCTS
The MEPS-IC provides national- and state-level estimates by industry and firm size. Data for the private- and public-sectors are tabulated separately.
Private-sector tables are posted to the MEPS website in July and the public-sector tables five months later in December. For the first time ever the
MEPS-IC is collecting data in the current year. For example, data used to create the 2008 MEPS-IC tables are being collected in 2008, and the tables
will be posted in July and December of 2009. All released data can be found at www.meps.ahrq.gov under the section entitled "Summary Data Tables."
USES
Accurate and timely health insurance data are critical given the rapidly-rising cost of health care. Data are needed to track industry trends and examine
how these trends have changed health insurance coverage over time. These data are national benchmarking estimates of how Americans use and pay
for their health care services. Policy makers at the national and state levels use the data to assess the status of employer-sponsored health insurance
throughout the United States and to monitor the impact of the laws governing health insurance.
Annual national estimates of aggregate spending on employer-sponsored health insurance are used by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to
calculate employer contributions to group health insurance, which accounts for about one-half of "other labor income" in the calculation of U.S. Gross
Domestic Product. BEA also uses these data to monitor trends at the national and state level and to support estimates for the National Health Accounts.
Researchers and policy analysts, both public and private, use these data to analyze a number of issues, such as the factors associated with a firm's
decision to self-insure or offer more insurance, and to model the tax implications of proposed legislation.