American Community Survey Data Users Group

Key Findings From the 2022 ACS Data Users Survey

Mark Mather, PRB

(December 2022) PRB and the Census Bureau conducted a survey of American Community Survey (ACS) data users in June 2022 to help the Census Bureau understand what's working well and where there are areas for potential improvement for the ACS program. We received feedback from 192 respondents representing a wide range of different data user communities. Thank you to the data users who took the time to complete the survey. We appreciate your input and look forward to engaging with you periodically as we work to enhance and improve the ACS data user experience.

The purpose of this post is to highlight key findings from the survey. We also provide some links to existing Census Bureau resources where data users can find more information. In the survey results presented below, totals may sum to more than 100% because for many questions, respondents could select more than one response.

Here are the key findings:

Characteristics of Survey Respondents

Among survey respondents, one-third (33%) were from nonprofit organizations, 29% were from state or local government agencies, 21% were from colleges or universities, 9% worked in the federal government, and 7% worked in metropolitan or regional planning agencies.
About 82% of respondents had “intermediate” or “expert” knowledge of the ACS and over half of the respondents (53%) reported using ACS data once a week or more.
Nearly three-fifths of respondents (59%) said they have been using the ACS for more than five years.

Suggestions for Events for ACS Data Users

Respondents identified several topics of interest for future webinars on the ACS, including:
- Examples of data user applications based on ACS data (Existing resources: American Community Survey Handbooks for Data Users and ACS Data Stories–Stats in Action!)
- Using the ACS Public Use Microdata Sample (Existing resource: Creating Custom Tables Using the American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample)
- Information about topics covered in the ACS (Existing resource: Subjects Included in the Survey)
- Quality of ACS estimates / Estimating margin of error (Existing resource: Calculating Margins of Error the ACS Way)
- How to access ACS data (Existing resource: Get Started Accessing ACS Data)
- Plans for applying new disclosure avoidance methods to ACS data
- Best practices in using ACS data
About two-thirds of respondents (65%) said they would prefer a hybrid or virtual ACS Data Users Conference in 2023, while 17% said they would prefer an in-person conference in Washington DC. The remaining 18% had no preference or did not plan to attend the conference.

Getting Information About the ACS

About nine in 10 respondents (92%) said they prefer to receive news and updates about the ACS through emails from the Census Bureau. However, the ACS Data User Group Online Community (53%) and social media posts from the Census Bureau (19%) were also cited as sources of information about the ACS.
When respondents have questions about the ACS, 90% refer to materials on the ACS website to get answers. Respondents also get answers by:
- Emailing Census Bureau staff (44%)
- Posting questions in the ACS Online Community (32%)
- Contacting State Data Centers or Census Information Centers (19%)
- Contacting Census Bureau Data Dissemination Specialists (14%)
- Calling the Census Bureau (12%)
- Using the Census Bureau’s Slack Channel (9%)

Tools for Accessing ACS Data

About 85% of respondents access ACS data from data.census.gov, but there were many other Census Bureau sources cited, including:
- Published tables via the ACS website (43%)
- Published tables using the Census API (41%)
- PUMS data download from FTP site (34%)
- PUMS data using microdata access tool on data.census.gov (31%)
- Published tables from the Summary File downloaded from FTP site (30%)
Other external tools and applications respondents mention using to access ACS data include IPUMS, TidyCensus, Esri, Census Reporter, and Social Explorer.

Ability to Access ACS Data and Documentation

Most respondents (61%) reported that they have no difficulty accessing ACS data products, locating geographies (57%) and downloading tables (66%) (see figure).

However, 60% or respondents reported that they have either some difficulty or a lot of difficulty locating the specific ACS estimates they need. A slight majority (52%) also reported at least some difficulty locating data product documentation.
Respondents who reported difficulty in accessing ACS data or documentation cited navigation/search issues in data.census.gov as the primary reason they have trouble finding the data or information they need.
Some respondents also have trouble determining which tables or products (1-year data or 5-year data) are available for different geographic areas.