2015 ACS Data Users Conference

More than 250 ACS data users attended the second annual ACS Data Users Conference, held May 11-13, 2015, at the College Park Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in Hyattsville, Maryland. The program included a pre-meeting workshop for novice ACS data users, more than 30 contributed presentations, and three invited panel sessions. Invited panelists included John H. Thompson, director of the U.S. Census Bureau and Dr. Mark Doms, Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs.

The purpose of the conference was to bring together ACS data users and staff from the U.S. Census Bureau to increase understanding of the value and utility of ACS data and to promote information sharing among data users about key ACS data issues and applications. The conference was organized by the Population Reference Bureau and Sabre Systems in partnership with staff from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Conference Sessions

  • Pre-Meeting Workshop for Novice ACS Data Users
  • Plenary Session: The American Community Survey: Looking Ahead
  • Custom Aggregations of ACS Estimates and Dealing with Sampling Error
  • Uses of ACS Data: Federal, Local, and Non-Profit Applications
  • Applications of ACS Data for Health Insurance and Disability
  • Applications of ACS Data for Transportation and Planning
  • Specialized ACS Applications and Tools (for Novice/Intermediate Users)
  • Specialized ACS Applications and Tools (for Advanced Users)
  • Plenary Session: Looking Ahead: Key ACS Issues and Data User Needs
  • Comparing or Combining ACS Data with Other Data Sources
  • Applications of ACS Data for Policy Analysis
  • Invited Panel Session: Looking Ahead: Communicating the Value of the ACS

View/Download 2015 ACS Conference Presentations

Monday, May 11, 2015
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM Pre-Meeting Workshop

Overview of ACS Basics | Gretchen Gooding, U.S. Census Bureau
Gooding.pdf

Beth Jarosz, Research Associate, PRB
Jarosz1.pdf

Cliff Cook, Planning Information Manager, City of Cambridge, MA

Jeanne Gobalet, Vice President, Lapkoff & Gobalet Demographic Research, Inc.
8284.gobalet_769453.pdf

Overview of the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) | Katie Genadek, Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota
Genadek1.pdf

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

8:30 AM – 8:45 AM Welcoming Remarks

Linda A. Jacobsen, Vice President, U.S. Programs, PRB; Lisa M. Blumerman, Associate Director, Decennial Census Programs, U.S. Census Bureau; Deborah Stempowski, Chief, American Community Survey Office, U.S. Census Bureau

8:45 AM – 10:15 AM Plenary Session
The American Community Survey: Looking Ahead

Linda A. Jacobsen, PRB
Jacobsen_Plenary 1.pdf

John H. Thompson, Director, U.S. Census Bureau

Lisa M. Blumerman, Associate Director, Decennial Census
Programs, U.S. Census Bureau

Rebecca Blash, Program Manager, Center for Enterprise
Dissemination Services and Consumer Innovation, U.S. Census Bureau

Census Bureau plenary.pdf

10:45 AM – 12:15 PM Breakout Session 1
Custom Aggregations of ACS Estimates and Dealing with Sampling Error

Small Area Data Aggregation – Lessons from NYC's ACS Aggregation Tool | Joel A. Alvarez and Joseph J. Salvo, New York City Department of City Planning
1362.alvarez_845882.pdf

ACS Multiyear PUMS Estimates and Usage: User-Created PUMS Files | Nate Ramsey, U.S. Department of Education
2451.ramsey.pdf

Design Effect Anomalies in the ACS ? Michel Boudreaux, University of Maryland, Michael Davern, NORC at the University of Chicago, and Peter Graven, Oregon Health Sciences University
6746.boudreaux.pdf

Remapping the ACS: What Makes a Good Neighborhood-Scale Census Geography? | Seth E. Spielman, University of Colorado and David C. Folch, Florida State University
Spielman.pdf

10:45 AM – 12:15 PM Breakout Session 2
Uses of ACS Data: Federal, Local, and Non-Profit Applications

Federal Statistical Products Based on the ACS | Andrew Reamer, George Washington Institute of Public Policy, George Washington University
Reamer.pdf

Measuring Marriage Rates Over Time: Implications for Empirical Analyses | Joelle Abramowitz, U.S. Census Bureau
3465.abramowitz.pdf

Using the ACS to Understand Our Potential Users of a Coworking or Collaborative Workspace |Marissa Garnett and Jennifer Lindley, Town of Queen Creek, Arizona
Garnett.pdf

Hidden Communities: The Geography of Manufactured Home Parks in the United States | Lance George, Housing Assistance Council 

George.pdf

1:45 PM – 3:15 PM Breakout Session 3
Applications of ACS Data for Health Insurance and Disability

Life Cycle of a Piece of Census Data: Tracing the Path of Question 16 on the ACS Form | David Kraiker, U.S. Census Bureau, New York Regional Office
Kraiker.pdf

A Case Study of Two Health Insurance Marketplaces: Leveraging Interactive Maps, Administrative and ACS Data to Find the Remaining Eligible | Brett Fried, Elizabeth Lukanen, and Karen Turner, University of Minnesota - SHADAC
Fried.pdf

People With Disabilities in Rural America: Using the ACS to Better Understand Our Communities | Keith Wiley, Housing Assistance Council
Wiley.pdf

Use of ACS to Estimate Lifetime Loss of Earning Capacity as a Result of Disability | David Gibson, Vocational Economics, Inc.
gibson1.pdf   Gibson2.pdf

Creating Small Area Health Indicators with ACS 5-Year Estimates | Morgan Robinson, The Reinvestment Fund
robinson.pdf


1:45 PM – 3:15 PM Breakout Session 4
Applications of ACS Data for Transportation and Planning

Commuting in America – Using the ACS to Develop a National Report on Commuting Patterns and Trends | Penelope Weinberger, AASHTO
weinberger.pdf

Mobility, Economic Opportunity and NYC Neighborhoods: Informing Transit Policy with ACS, Google Maps, and LODES Data | Richard Dunks, Datapolitan, LLC; Sarah M. Kaufman, NYU; and Jeff Ferzoco, linepointpath.com
Dunks.pdf

Using ACS Data to Estimate the Impact of State Employees on Austin Congestion | Maarit Moran, Stacey Bricka, and Kristi Miller, Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Moran.pdf

 Automating Tabulation and Reporting of ACS Data for Emergency Management | Matthew Graham, U.S. Census Bureau
  Graham1.pdf   Graham2.pdf


3:30 PM – 5:00 PM Breakout Session 5

Specialized ACS Applications and Tools (for Novice/Intermediate Users)

Obtaining ACS Data from IPUMS | Katie Genadek, Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota
genadek2.pdf

Census Explorer: Making ACS and Census Data Engaging through Interactive Visualizations | Andrew Beveridge and Ahmed Lacevic, Social Explorer, Inc. 
Beveridge.pdf

ACS Data in the MAG Demographic Map Viewers | Anubhav Bagley, Maricopa Association of Governments
Bagley.pdf

Census Business Development Tool: Helping Entrepreneurs Make Informed Decisions | Andrew Hait, U.S. Census Bureau
Hait.pdf

Using the Census API to Develop ACS-Related Data Products | John R. Maurer and Jennifer Shultz, Pennsylvania State Data Center
Maurer.pdf


3:30 PM – 5:00 PM Breakout Session 6
Specialized ACS Applications and Tools (for Advanced Users)

Estimates with Errors and Errors with Estimates: Using the R "acs" Package for Analysis of ACS Data | Ezra Glenn, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
glenn.pdf

Using the R Language and “acs” Package to Compile and Update a Social Vulnerability Index for New Hampshire | Michael Laviolette, Dennis Holt, and Kristin K. Snow, State of New Hampshire Health and Human Services
Laviolette1.pdf  laviolette2.pdf   laviolette3.pdf

Automated Standard Error Calculation with PUMS Data Excel Pivot Table | Toshihiko Murata, Salem, Oregon
murata.pdf

On the Use of ACS Data to Construct Synthetic Populations | Samarth Swarup, Henning S. Mortveit, Ana Aizcorbe, Stephen G. Eubank, and Madhav V. Marathe, Virginia Tech
Mortveit.pdf

Wednesday, May 13, 2015
8:30 AM – 8:45 AM Welcome & Recap of Day 1

Deborah Stempowski, Chief, American Community Survey Office, U.S. Census Bureau

8:45 AM – 10:15 AM Plenary Session
Looking Ahead: Key ACS Issues and Data User Needs

Mark Mather, Associate Vice President, U.S. Programs, PRB
Mather.pdf

Joseph J. Salvo, Director, Population Division, New York City Department of City Planning
salvo.pdf

Constance F. Citro, Director, Committee
on National Statistics, National Academy of Sciences

Citro_revised.pdf


10:45 AM – 12:15 PM Breakout Session 7
Comparing or Combining ACS Data with Other Data Sources

Producing Synthetic Estimates of Children’s Health and Well-Being for Local Areas | Mark Mather, Beth Jarosz, and Linda A. Jacobsen, PRB
jarosz2.pdf

A Stronger Community: Using ACS and Other Community Data to Target Neighborhood Enrichment | Toby Sallee, University of Cincinnati, and Annie Ryan, United Way of Greater Cincinnati
Sallee.pdf

 How Does the ACS Compare to Local Utility Data for Understanding Local Housing Occupancy? | Jeff Hardcastle, University of Nevada, Reno
hardcastle.pdf

Comparing Estimates of Rare Events in the ACS to Administrative Records | Katherine Nesse, Kansas State University; Mallory Rahe, Oregon State University; and Andi Irawan, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Nesse_final_revised.pdf


10:45 AM – 12:15 PM Breakout Session 8
Applications of ACS Data for Policy Analysis

The Judicious Use of ACS-Based Citizen Voting Age Population Estimates in Political Redistricting | Jeanne Gobalet and Shelley Lapkoff, Lapkoff & Gobalet Demographic Research, Inc.
gobalet_662081.pdf

Adapting the ACS PUMS for Housing Policy Analysis | Matt Schroeder and Todd Graham, Metropolitan Council (Twin Cities)
Schroeder.pdf

State-Level Microsimulation Modeling of Tax and Benefit Policies with the ACS: Past Work and Future Potential | Linda Giannarelli, Urban Institute
giannarelli.pdf


12:45 PM – 1:45 PM Invited Panel
Looking Ahead: Communicating the Value of the ACS

The Value of the ACS: Better Data for Better Decisions in Business, Government, and Society | Dr. Mark Doms, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Department of Commerce
 DOMS_Lunch Cover.pptx

How Zillow Leverages ACS Data to “Turn on the Lights” | Aaron Terrazas, Senior Economist, Zillow
Terrazas_revised.pdf

How To Tell the ACS Story | Joan G. Naymark, Director, Minnesotans for the American Community Survey (MACS)
Naymark.pdf