I'm currently working with the ACS 2022 5-year data. In past years we could download a Appendices.xlsx file that had two important columns, "Geography Restrictions" and "Topics". But the 2022 ACS has been restructured, and I cannot find this file.
Here is a link to the FTP folder containing the 2021 file: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2021/sequence-based-SF/documentation/tech_docs/
And I have attached a screenshot below of the 2021 Excel file so you can see the exact layout and column names.
Does anyone know where I can find this information for the 2022 ACS data? It does not have to be an Excel file, we are just looking for the "Geography Restrictions" and "Topics" associated with each table.
Thanks so much for your help with this!
-Charles
FWIW, I wouldn't say it's obvious why the switch to the Table-Based Format explains why there's no need for the Appendices any more. The more relevant change is that these "Table Lists" (which are…
Hi Charles,
Copied from the ACS Summary File Data page: "Starting with the 2022 data release, the Table-Based Format is the only format available.The 2021 data release was the final release of the original Sequence-Based Format; it is available for years 2005 through 2021. More information, including data, instructions and example programs are located on the ACS Summary File Sequence-Based Format page. "
There is not a 2022 Appendices file because 2022 ACS uses the table-based Summary File, not the Sequence-based Summary File.
Sounds like you aren't concerned with the summary file per se, but just looking for a resource listing geography restrictions and topics for each table. Please see the Table List for geographic restrictions. I'm unsure if any 2022 documentation has Topics listed by Table but if I find anything I'll reply back.
Best,Caleb
FWIW, I wouldn't say it's obvious why the switch to the Table-Based Format explains why there's no need for the Appendices any more. The more relevant change is that these "Table Lists" (which are also named "DataProductList" files after you download them) came along a few years ago and now provide most of the info that the Appendices used to, aside from a sequence number, start & end positions, and the topics. The switch to the Table-Based Format means that the sequence number and start & end positions are no longer needed, but the geographic restrictions and the list of available summary levels and geographic components are still very important for summary file users. For that reason, it's problematic that there's nothing on the Table-Based Format pages that points users to the Table Lists.
When we started adding the 2022 files into IPUMS NHGIS last fall, I still had not yet encountered the Table Lists. We'd always used the Appendices instead. I recall looking for information like what the Appendices provide for quite a while before I encountered the Table Lists. It'd be great if someone at the Bureau could add a link to the Table Lists pages in a suitable place on the Table-Based Format pages.
Also, we never made use of the Topics list in the Appendices in our work, but if those would be easy to add to the Table Lists, I'd suggest re-adding them in case there are more users who are still looking for something like that.