We are pleased to announce the release of the 2016-2020 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files.
The ACS 5-year PUMS files show the full range of population and housing unit responses collected on individual ACS questionnaires for a subsample of ACS housing units and group quarters persons (approximately five percent of the United States population).
PUMS files allow data users to conduct a custom analysis, though the files also tend to be more complicated to use. Working with PUMS data generally involves downloading large datasets onto a local computer and analyzing them using statistical software such as R, SPSS, Stata, or SAS.
PUMS data can be accessed via data.census.gov and the Census Bureau's FTP site.
Visit our Microdata section on the ACS website to find all resources related to PUMS files. This section contains access to PUMS data, the PUMS Handbook, How-to instructions, FAQs, and PUMS documentation.
The PUMS Documentation page is updated with the 2020 release to include the PUMS ReadMe, Accuracy of the PUMS, PUMS Estimates for User Verification, Subjects in the PUMS, and Data Dictionary. Code Lists have also been posted to help users with the release of the 2016-2020 ACS 5-year PUMS files.
We are pleased to announce the release of the 2016-2020 ACS 5-year Variance Replicate Estimate Tables.
These tables allow advanced users to calculate margins of error (MOEs) when collapsing data within a table or across geographies. This method provides a more accurate MOE than available approximation formulas.
To access these estimates, visit the Variance Replicate Estimate Tables page or through the Census Bureau's FTP site. This page also includes technical documentation, a table and geography list, and table shells.