Is ACS in Jeopardy?

Do we need Census data every year? People think only of the Census, but the ANNUAL American Community Survey (ACS) could be cut if H.R. 1638 passes. -Susan 

New Congressional Bill Affects American Community Survey On April 18, 2013, Congressman Jeffrey Duncan (R-South Carolina) introduced a bill, H.R. 1638, in the U.S. House of Representatives.  This bill, also known as the "Census Reform Act of 2013," would repeal the authority to conduct certain censuses, including the American Community Survey (ACS). To view the bill in its entirety, please click here and search for bill number H.R. 1638.  The ACS provides reliable statistics that are indispensable to anyone who has to make informed decisions about the future. These statistics are required by all levels of government to manage or evaluate a wide range of programs, but are also useful for research, education, journalism, business and advocacy. If you have questions about this survey, please call our Customer Services Center on 1 (800) 923-8282. Thank you, American Community Survey Office U.S. Census Bureau

WE STILL CALL IT MULTIRACIAL

From Census Bureau Press Release:

Unless otherwise specified, the statistics refer to the population who reported a race alone.  Censuses and surveys permit respondents to select more than one race; consequently people may be one race or a combination of races. The detailed tables show statistics for the resident population by "race alone" and "race alone or in combination."

The federal government treats Hispanic origin and race as separate and distinct concepts. In surveys and censuses, separate questions are asked on Hispanic origin and race. The question on Hispanic origin asks respondents if they are of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin. Starting with the 2000 Census, the question on race asked respondents to report the race or races they consider themselves to be. Hispanics may be of any race. Responses of "Some Other Race" from the 2010 Census were modified for these projections. This results in differences between the population for specific race categories in these projections versus those in the original 2010 Census data.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/12/12/5049574/us-census-bureau-projections-show.html#storylink=cpy

Census Bureau Loses Multiracial Population--Again!

Census Bureau Alert-Current Population Survey: 2011 — The tables include detailed statistics about five-year age groups by sex, the 55-and-older population, the Hispanic population, the black population and the Asian population. The tables provide a wide range of social, economic and housing characteristics, such as marital status, educational attainment, nativity, employment status, occupation, poverty and housing tenure. The Current Population Survey, which has been conducted since 1940, is sponsored jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It is the primary source of the nation's labor force statistics and provides understanding of labor market conditions.

NO MULTIRACIAL VETERANS?

NO MULTIRACIAL VETERANS? 

Below are the numbers released by the US Census Bureau about our veterans. Apparently, multiracial veterans were not included.

 
It's Veteran's Day. The number of black veterans in 2011 2.3 million. Additionally, 1.2 million veterans were Hispanic; 264,695 were Asian; 153,223 were American Indian or Alaska Native; 27,469 were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander; and 17.2 million were non-Hispanic white. (The numbers for blacks, Asians, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, and non-Hispanic whites cover only those reporting a single race.)
Source: 2011 American Community Survey

Multiracial and the Media: The Multiracial Advocacy Blog

Multiracial and the Media 

This past week, most media covered the press release by the Census Bureau about the results of the "Multiple-Race" population. We have been in talks with the bureau about the wording of the classification and as a result they have at least gone to "multiple race," which is better than "People of More than One Race" and "Combination People." They may get to the preferred terminology of "multiracial" yet.

Meanwhile, we rated a portion the media that covered the story:

Excellent Use of the term Multiracial throughout the articles"
Bloomberg News
Washington Examiner
Honolulu Star

Equal time to the use of "Multiracial":
Huff Post

Bad:
Pew Research
The Sacramento Bee 
Money Talks News

The absolute worst use of terminology:
CNN

 Project RACE will continue to try to educate the media.

Did you do your Census Job Today?

Isn't this supposed to be the JOB of the US Census Bureau?!

http://www.census.gov/research/challenge/

The American Community Survey

 The American Community Survey

Did you know that the American Community Survey(ACS)  goes to 3.5 MILLION addresses per year? Think of it as an annual census between each 10-year census. The population areas have 65,000 people. About 7000 geographic areas are covered. If you have never been sent an ACS, you may be interested in looking at the questions at
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/questionnaires/2012/Quest12.pdf

Multiracial Numbers from the Census Bureau

Below are the results of the American Community Survey (ACS) for multiracial (two or more races), released today by the Census Bureau for the year 2011. Think of it as the one year census obtained by sampling. It asks questions that used to be on the Census long form, but is more of a profile than a true count.

TOTAL NUMBER OF RACES REPORTED
Total population	8,721,818
One race	(X)
Two races	91.6%
Three races	7.8%
Four or more races	0.6%
SEX AND AGE
Total population	8,721,818
Male	49.9%
Female	50.1%
Under 5 years	15.6%
5 to 17 years	31.6%
18 to 24 years	12.3%
25 to 34 years	12.3%
35to 44 years	9.5%
45 to 54 years	8.3%
55 to 64 years	5.8%
65 to 74 years	2.8%
75 years and over	1.8%
Median age (years)	19.3
18 years and over	52.9%
21 years and over	46.9%
62 years and over	6.1%
65 years and over	4.6%
Under 18 years	4,110,923
Male	50.9%
Female	49.1%
18 years and over	4,610,895
Male	49.0%
Female	51.0%
18 to 34 years	2,143,959
Male	50.5%
Female	49.5%
35 to 64 years	2,064,394
Male	48.4%
Female	51.6%
65 years and over	402,542
Male	43.6%
Female	56.4%
RELATIONSHIP
Population in households	8,473,511
Householder or spouse	32.1%
Child	52.6%
Other relatives	9.9%
Nonrelatives	5.4%
Unmarried partner	1.8%
HOUSEHOLDS BY TYPE
Households	1,964,891
Family households	65.2%
With own children under 18 years	36.1%
Married-couple family	40.9%
With own children under 18 years	21.2%
Female householder, no husband present, family	18.1%
With own children under 18 years	11.7%
Nonfamily households	34.8%
Male householder	16.9%
Living alone	12.4%
Not living alone	4.5%
Female householder	18.0%
Living alone	14.3%
Not living alone	3.7%
Average household size	2.87
average family size	3.54
MARITAL STATUS
Population 15 years and over	5,166,156
Now married, except separated	35.0%
Widowed	3.3%
Divorced	10.4%
Separated	2.6%
Never married	48.7%
Male 15 years and over	2,540,580
Now married, except separated	35.3%
Widowed	1.4%
Divorced	8.9%
Separated	2.1%
Never married	52.3%
Female 15 years and over	2,625,576
Now married, except separated	34.6%
Widowed	5.2%
Divorced	11.9%
Separated	3.1%
Never married	45.2%
SCHOOL ENROLLMENT
Population 3 years and over enrolled in school	3,841,463
Nursery school, preschool	8.6%
Kindergarten	6.6%
Elementary school (grades 1-8)	44.7%
High school (grades 9-12)	19.5%
College or graduate school	20.6%
Male 3 years and over enrolled in school	1,907,602
Percent enrolled in kindergarten to grade 12	72.6%
Percent enrolled in college or graduate school	18.4%
Female 3 years and over enrolled in school	1,933,861
Percent enrolled in kindergarten to grade 12	69.1%
Percent enrolled in college or graduate school	22.6%
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
Population 25 years and over	3,541,922
Less than high school diploma	15.4%
High school graduate (includes equivalency)	24.3%
Some college or associate's degree	34.2%
Bachelor's degree	16.7%
Graduate or professional degree	9.5%
High school graduate or higher	84.6%
Male, high school graduate or higher	83.7%
Female, high school graduate or higher	85.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher	26.2%
Male, bachelor's degree or higher	24.9%
Female, bachelor's degree or higher	27.4%
FERTILITY
Women 15 to 50 years	1,994,125
Women 15 to 50 years who had a birth in the past 12 months	112,631
Unmarried women 15 to 50 years who had a birth in the past 12 months	50,272
As a percent of all women with a birth in the past 12 months	44.6%
RESPONSIBILITY FOR GRANDCHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS
Population 30 years and over	2,965,880
Living with grandchild(ren)	4.7%
Responsible for grandchild(ren)	40.0%
VETERAN STATUS
Civilian population 18 years and over	4,571,685
Civilian veteran	7.2%
DISABILITY STATUS
Total civilian noninstitutionalized population	8,575,563
With a disability	10.9%
Civilian noninstitutionalized population under 18 years	4,103,123
With a disability	4.9%
Civilian noninstitutionalized population 18 to 64 years	4,080,238
With a disability	13.5%
Civilian noninstitutionalized population 65 years and older	392,202
With a disability	45.3%
RESIDENCE 1 YEAR AGO
Population 1 year and over	8,451,855
Same house	79.6%
Different house in the U.S.	19.5%
Same county	12.5%
Different county	7.0%
Same state	3.9%
Different state	3.1%
Abroad	0.8%
PLACE OF BIRTH, CITIZENSHIP STATUS AND YEAR OF ENTRY
Native	7,731,773
Male	49.9%
Female	50.1%
Foreign born	990,045
Male	50.1%
Female	49.9%
Foreign born; naturalized U.S. citizen	486,162
Male	47.8%
Female	52.2%
Foreign born; not a U.S. citizen	503,883
Male	52.4%
Female	47.6%
Population born outside the United States	990,045
Entered 2000 or later	36.1%
Entered 1990 to 1999	25.1%
Entered before 1990	38.8%
WORLD REGION OF BIRTH OF FOREIGN BORN
Foreign-born population excluding population born at sea	990,045
Europe	3.8%
Asia	37.9%
Africa	3.0%
Oceania	1.9%
Latin America	51.9%
Northern America	1.3%
LANGUAGE SPOKEN AT HOME AND ABILITY TO SPEAK ENGLISH
Population 5 years and over	7,363,159
English only	77.3%
Language other than English	22.7%
Speak English less than "very well"	8.2%
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Population 16 years and over	4,973,223
In labor force	64.8%
Civilian labor force	64.0%
Employed	54.3%
Unemployed	9.7%
Percent of civilian labor force	15.2%
Armed Forces	0.8%
Not in labor force	35.2%
Females 16 years and over	2,533,138
In labor force	61.7%
Civilian labor force	61.4%
Employed	52.5%
Unemployed	9.0%
Percent of civilian labor force	14.6%
COMMUTING TO WORK
Workers 16 years and over	2,666,307
Car, truck, or van - drove alone	69.7%
Car, truck, or van - carpooled	12.6%
Public transportation (excluding taxicab)	7.1%
Walked	4.0%
Other means	2.3%
Worked at home	4.2%
Mean travel time to work (minutes)	25.9
OCCUPATION
Civilian employed population 16 years and over	2,702,154
Management, business, science, and arts occupations	32.1%
Service occupations	22.6%
Sales and office occupations	26.1%
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	8.0%
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	11.2%
Male civilian employed population 16 years and over	1,373,491
Management, business, science, and arts occupations	28.6%
Service occupations	20.2%
Sales and office occupations	19.2%
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	14.8%
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	17.2%
Female civilian employed population 16 years and over	1,328,663
Management, business, science, and arts occupations	35.7%
Service occupations	25.1%
Sales and office occupations	33.2%
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	0.9%
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	5.1%
INDUSTRY
Civilian employed population 16 years and over	2,702,154
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining	1.2%
Construction	5.0%
Manufacturing	8.0%
Wholesale trade	2.3%
Retail trade	13.6%
Transportation and warehousing, and utilities	4.6%
Information	2.5%
Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing	5.6%
Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services	10.7%
Educational services, and health care and social assistance	22.4%
Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services	13.5%
Other services (except public administration)	5.0%
Public administration	5.6%
CLASS OF WORKER
Civilian employed population 16 years and over	2,702,154
Private wage and salary workers	78.8%
Government workers	15.4%
Self-employed workers in own not incorporated business	5.6%
Unpaid family workers	0.1%
INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS (IN 2011 INFLATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARS)
Households	1,964,891
Median household income (dollars)	44,115
With earnings	82.0%
Mean earnings (dollars)	63,655
With Social Security income	21.2%
Mean Social Security income (dollars)	14,200
With Supplemental Security Income	7.9%
Mean Supplemental Security Income (dollars)	8,909
With cash public assistance income	5.2%
Mean cash public assistance income (dollars)	3,619
With retirement income	12.1%
Mean retirement income (dollars)	20,132
With Food Stamp/SNAP benefits	20.5%
Families	1,280,196
Median family income (dollars)	51,603
Married-couple family	62.7%
Median income (dollars)	68,859
Male householder, no spouse present, family	9.5%
Median income (dollars)	38,438
Female householder, no husband present, family	27.8%
Median income (dollars)	25,996
Individuals	8,721,818
Per capita income (dollars)	14,669
With earnings for full-time, year-round workers:
Male	941,210
Female	759,319
Mean earnings (dollars) for full-time, year-round workers:
Male	55,614
Female	44,031
Median earnings (dollars) full-time, year-round workers:
Male	41,608
Female	35,623
HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE
Civilian noninstitutionalized population	8,575,563
With private health insurance	58.7%
With public coverage	33.3%
No health insurance coverage	14.4%
POVERTY RATES FOR FAMILIES AND PEOPLE FOR WHOM POVERTY STATUS IS DETERMINED
All families	17.9%
With related children under 18 years	24.2%
With related children under 5 years only	24.3%
Married-couple family	9.0%
With related children under 18 years	11.9%
With related children under 5 years only	8.3%
Female householder, no husband present, family	37.4%
With related children under 18 years	44.7%
With related children under 5 years only	52.4%
All people	21.4%
Under 18 years	24.2%
Related children under 18 years	23.9%
Related children under 5 years	27.2%
Related children 5 to 17 years	22.3%
18 years and over	18.8%
18 to 64 years	19.3%
65 years and over	14.4%
People in families	19.3%
Unrelated individuals 15 years and over	35.4%
HOUSING TENURE
Occupied housing units	1,964,891
Owner-occupied housing units	50.1%
Renter-occupied housing units	49.9%
Average household size of owner-occupied unit	3.09
Average household size of renter-occupied unit	2.65
UNITS IN STRUCTURE
Occupied housing units	1,964,891
1-unit, detached or attached	58.9%
2 to 4 units	11.1%
5 or more units	24.6%
Mobile home, boat, RV, van, etc.	5.4%
YEAR STRUCTURE BUILT
Occupied housing units	1,964,891
Built 2000 or later	15.7%
Built 1990 to 1999	12.3%
Built 1980 to 1989	13.9%
Built 1960 to 1979	27.6%
Built 1940 to 1959	16.5%
Built 1939 or earlier	14.1%
VEHICLES AVAILABLE
Occupied housing units	1,964,891
None	13.1%
1 or more	86.9%
HOUSE HEATING FUEL
Occupied housing units	1,964,891
Gas	51.4%
Electricity	38.1%
All other fuels	7.2%
No fuel used	3.3%
SELECTED CHARACTERISTICS
Occupied housing units	1,964,891
No telephone service available	3.5%
1.01 or more occupants per room	5.4%
SELECTED MONTHLY OWNER COSTS AS A PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS
Housing units with a mortgage (excluding units where SMOC cannot be computed)	728,399
Less than 30 percent	55.5%
30 percent or more	44.5%
OWNER CHARACTERISTICS
Owner-occupied housing units	985,233
Median value (dollars)	177,400
Median selected monthly owner costs with a mortgage (dollars)	1,567
Median selected monthly owner costs without a mortgage (dollars)	422
GROSS RENT AS A PERCENTAGE OF HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS
Occupied units paying rent (excluding units where GRAPI cannot be computed)	914,472

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey