How to identify head of household from PUMS files?

dcrubi over 4 years ago

Hi all,

I'm using the ACS 1-year PUMS files (2018) and am trying to determine how I can determine whether a respondent is head of household. I saw that on IPUMS there is the RELATE variable and the source variable for RELATE is the RELP variable. With RELP, does "reference person" refer to head of household? That's what IPUMS seems to imply but I'm not sure if I'm understanding that incorrectly.

If someone would help me out, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Thank you!

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Todd Graham over 4 years ago

Hi dcrubi--

Looking at a Census questionnaire, instructions for completion say the head of household should complete the questionnaire (either person of a married couple is fine) and be Person #1.

Also from the ACS Design and Methodology documentation, p 67:
"Usually this is the person, or one of the people, in whose name the home is owned, being bought, or rented, and who is listed as ‘Person 1’ on the survey questionnaire. If there is no such person in the household, any adult household member 15 and older can be designated."

I am wondering now why the documentation says "Usually"... does Census ever recode and reorder the persons listed on an ACS questionnaire? But I see no mention that Census does this. So really it comes down to survey respondents following directions -- and us data users trusting that we can consider Person #1 to be the head of the household.

Person #1 is the reference person (or RELP=00 in the Census PUMS). All other RELP codes describe other people's relationship to Person #1.
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Todd Graham over 4 years ago

Hi dcrubi--

Looking at a Census questionnaire, instructions for completion say the head of household should complete the questionnaire (either person of a married couple is fine) and be Person #1.

Also from the ACS Design and Methodology documentation, p 67:
"Usually this is the person, or one of the people, in whose name the home is owned, being bought, or rented, and who is listed as ‘Person 1’ on the survey questionnaire. If there is no such person in the household, any adult household member 15 and older can be designated."

I am wondering now why the documentation says "Usually"... does Census ever recode and reorder the persons listed on an ACS questionnaire? But I see no mention that Census does this. So really it comes down to survey respondents following directions -- and us data users trusting that we can consider Person #1 to be the head of the household.

Person #1 is the reference person (or RELP=00 in the Census PUMS). All other RELP codes describe other people's relationship to Person #1.
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