Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released the most recent 5-year American Community Survey estimates (2010-14). This data is available for all geographies down to the block group level.
Although the Census Bureau has been releasing new 5-year data sets every year since 2010, this one is important: it is the first non-overlapping 5-year data set. Users can now compare estimates from 2005-2009 and 2010-2014 to get a better sense of how their communities have changed. All data from this release and earlier releases can be accessed at http://factfinder.census.gov.
In addition to the release of these summary files, the Census Bureau also released a series of maps evaluating county-level change for 6 socioeconomic indicators. These 6 indicators are college graduates, homeownership rates, median monthly owner costs, median gross rent, median household income, and poverty.
Here at Carolina Demography, we use the ACS data almost daily, whether it is to write a blog post, respond to a request for data, or complete a project for a client. The ACS data are used for many purposes, and the Census Bureau provided a look at 10 ways that the ACS data are used to help communities.
For more information on how to access and interpret the ACS data, please visit the links below:
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