Missing Data in 2022 Census Flat File

Hello everyone,

I'm trying to update a report using the 2022 Census Flat File, which uses ACS data.

https://www.ffiec.gov/censusapp.htm

The data dictionary indicates that Urban/rural flag is column #10, however column #10 is 100% missing values in the actual data. I've also noticed that Population and Tract Income Designation are also very off.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Thank you.

  • According to the documentation (https://www.ffiec.gov/Census/Census_Flat_Files/cen2022_26AUG22.pdf, page 2):

    The Census Bureau has not released the Urban/Rural block level data. Therefore, the Urban/Rural flag is not included in this release of the 2022 FFIEC Census File.

  • And regarding the tract income, page 1 of the documentation says:

    In March, using the Census Redistricting Data, the FFIEC released a limited flat file as the first part of the FFIEC 2022 release. These fields cover only demographic information, not tract income categories used in CRA or other fields that are derived from the ACS Five Year Survey (2016-2020).

    and...

    In calendar year 2023, the 2022 FFIEC Census flat file will be updated for a third time. The missing demographic fields from the earlier releases will be backfilled with the Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC, formerly known as SF-1) files.