All About Us - What the American Community Survey Says About Minnesota

by Rachel Vilsack - rachel.vilsack@state.mn.us
July 2009

Decisions are often made based on facts. Good decisions require good, timely facts. For many who need to describe or understand the population and its characteristics, timely data might be collected only once every 10 years through the decennial census. The census allows us to identify, for instance, the percent of the population born outside of the United States (a question that’s been asked since 1850), when they arrived here, and their country of origin. For planning purposes this may be important information for organizations that provide services to immigrants. Yet in 2009 it may be more difficult to make good decisions when all you have are statistics from April 1, 2000. That is changing.

The American Community Survey (ACS), a nationwide household survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, has become the preeminent source of annual demographic, social, and economic estimates of the population. Conducted year-round, the ACS sample includes three million addresses each year, and data are collected by mail, phone, and personal in-home visits.

Detailed demographic data are captured by the ACS for every county in the nation. [1] While the ACS is an ongoing survey, annual estimates are not available for every geographic region. In Minnesota the survey provides annual estimates for the state, 12 counties, eight cities, Metropolitan Statistics Areas, eight congressional districts, and 17 school districts (see Figure 1). In December 2008 more expanded data became available as three-year estimates between 2005 and 2007 for geographic areas with populations of 20,000 or greater. And in 2010 five-year estimates will be available for all areas.

Since data are collected year-round, single-year estimates reflect the population’s characteristics aggregated that year versus a point-in-time estimate like the decennial census data, which reflects the nation’s demographic, social, and economic characteristics on a given day. Since 1940 the U.S. Census has been done on April 1. Since ACS data are based on a sample, the data are subject to sampling variability, and estimates include a margin of error. Estimates for smaller geographic levels reflect multiple years’ worth of data collection or a larger sample on which estimates are based. The larger sample size and the smaller margins of error allow for more reliable estimates.

What data are available?

The ACS is a household survey so the data collected describe not only the house’s occupants (gender, educational attainment, occupation), but the house itself (how many bedrooms, median mortgage cost).

The major data topics include:

Demographic Characteristics:

• Age
• Gender
• Race
• Ethnicity

Social Characteristics:

• Ancestry
• Place of Birth
• Citizenship
• Year of Entry
• Marital Status
• Educational Attainment
• Language Spoken at Home
• Disability
• Veteran Status
• Fertility
• Grandparent Caregivers

Economic Characteristics:

• Labor Force Status
• Place of Work
• Commuting to Work
• Industry
• Occupation
• Income
• Benefits

Housing Characteristics:

• Occupancy and Structure
• Tenure
• Housing Value
• Mortgage or Rent Costs
• Taxes and Insurance
• Utilities

Added to the 2008 survey form are three additional questions that cover health insurance coverage, veteran’s service-connected disability status, and marital history.

What the data say about Minnesota

Table 1 highlights some characteristics of Minnesota’s population. In 2005-2007 we are an older, more diverse, and better educated population that makes more money and travels just a little bit further to work, overall, than in 2000. A smaller percentage of Minnesotans were veterans, and a larger share of individuals lived below the poverty level during the 2005-2007 time period than in 2000.

Routinely collected statistics provide a common framework for understanding characteristics of an area in order to identify its strengths, weaknesses, or key differences compared to other geographic areas. Tracking key demographic, social, and economic characteristics across time can be a useful benchmark for measuring progress.

What really makes the ACS data so useful, however, is the cross-tabulation of topics, which allow for a greater degree of specificity. For instance, we can get estimates of educational attainment by gender or the means of transportation to work by race and ethnicity.

An example of this cross-tabulation is represented in Table 2. In the seven-county Twin Cities region both male and female residents of Hennepin and Ramsey County are more likely to use public transportation to get to work than residents in other counties during the 2005-2007 time period. Female residents were more likely than male residents to work at home during the same period.

This might be important information to know if you are studying transportation issues and making policy recommendations. So, too, might other transportation data elements available through the ACS, including:

• Time leaving home to go to work by gender
• Travel time to work by gender
• Means of transportation by age, race and ethnicity, poverty status, occupation, and industry
• Median earnings by means of transportation
• Means of transportation to work by vehicles available
• And many more options

Finding data online

Quick facts and detailed tables of ACS data are easily and readily available online at the U.S. Census Bureau’s American FactFinder Web site: factfinder.census.gov .

There are many different ways to access the data, depending on the level of detail desired. Figure 2 displays the main American FactFinder Web site. Quick community Fact Sheets (1) are available for cities, communities, and states. Access to detailed data tables (2) is also available.

Selecting a community Fact Sheet will display the most current ACS data available, as well as corresponding 2000 Census statistics on a separate tab. Figure 2.1 displays Minnesota’s Fact Sheet. A “show more” option provides additional social, economic, and general characteristics, and a “map” options allows a quick visual study of the characteristic across states in the country.

Opting for more detailed ACS data sets (see figure 2.2) will display options for viewing:

• Predefined subject tables for a geographic region (such as employment characteristics of families in Hennepin County)
• Quick geographic comparison tables for states and counties (such as the median age of the population for all counties in Minnesota)
• View data by thematic and reference maps
• Detailed tables on all geographic regions for hundreds of data variables

Conclusion

The American Community Survey provides a wealth of information to describe the population and workforce, which is needed by many individuals and organizations in Minnesota to aid their decision-making process. It doesn’t just occur locally, either. Many federal programs use these data to influence planning, policies, and even the disbursement of federal dollars to state and local areas. Without annual or multi-year updates, reliance on decennial census data may be insufficient to show the changes within a geographic region. And that could lead to bad decisions.

 [1]Because of the annual data collection, the 2010 Census will no longer include a long form. More on the 2010 Census will be featured in the Minnesota Employment Review later this year.