American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates

The American Community Survey is the U.S. Census Bureau's ongoing national survey of social, economic, housing, and demographic characteristics. The 5-year series pools 60 months of responses into a single estimate, which is what makes reliable numbers possible for small geographies like census tracts and small towns. It is the workhorse behind most of the socioeconomic indicators in this Commons (poverty, income, education, housing, health insurance, and more).

Publisher

U.S. Census Bureau open_in_new

License

Public domain

Coverage

Base Data Commons graph

Updates

Yearly

Source & License

Publisher: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
Access: Published at data.census.gov and via the Census API; served into this Commons through the Google Data Commons base graph.
License: Public domain. ACS data are a work of the U.S. Government and carry no copyright (17 U.S.C. § 105); free to use, redistribute, and cite. Standard practice is to attribute the U.S. Census Bureau.

Methodology

Design: A continuous survey; the Census Bureau samples about 3.5 million addresses per year and combines five consecutive years of responses into each 5-year estimate.
Why 5-year: Pooling five years trades timeliness for precision. It is the ONLY ACS product published for every geography down to the census-tract and block-group level, so it is the right source for neighborhood-scale comparison.
Period: Each estimate is labeled by its final year and represents the full 5-year window (e.g. the 2024 estimate reflects 2020–2024), NOT a single year.
Margins of error: Every ACS estimate is a sample-based figure published with a 90% margin of error. Small-population and small-area estimates can carry wide margins; treat close differences between places as possibly not meaningful.

Coverage & caveats

Geographies: nation, states, counties, places (cities), and census tracts / block groups. The 5-year series is the only ACS product that reaches tracts.
Not for year-over-year change at small areas: because consecutive 5-year estimates share four years of data, comparing adjacent vintages understates real change. Use non-overlapping windows (e.g. 2014 vs 2019 vs 2024) for trends.
Estimates, not counts: every value is a survey estimate with a margin of error, distinct from the decennial census count.

Variables (10)

Variable	Source table
Population in poverty Count of person (below poverty level in the past 12 months). Population personMeasured countStatistic measured valuepoverty status below poverty level in the past 12 months graph node	S1701
Poverty rate Count of person (below poverty level in the past 12 months). Population personMeasured countStatistic measured valuepoverty status below poverty level in the past 12 months graph node	S1701
Median household income Median income of household. Population householdMeasured incomeStatistic median value graph node	S1903
Population with a bachelor's degree or higher Count of person (years 25 onwards, bachelors degree or higher). Population personMeasured countStatistic measured valueage years 25 onwardseducational attainment bachelors degree or higher graph node	S1501
Population without health insurance Count of person (civilian, no health insurance, non institutionalized). Population personMeasured countStatistic measured valuearmed forces status civilianhealth insurance no health insuranceinstitutionalization non institutionalized graph node	S2701
Civilian labor force Count of person (in labor force). Population personMeasured countStatistic measured valueemployment status in labor force graph node	S2301
Employed population Count of person (employed). Population personMeasured countStatistic measured valueemployment employed graph node	S2301
Median gross rent Median gross rent of housing unit (with cash rent, occupied housing unit, renter occupied). Population housing unitMeasured gross rentStatistic median valuecash rent status with cash rentoccupancy status occupied housing unitoccupancy tenure renter occupied graph node	B25064
Median home value Median home value of housing unit (occupied housing unit, owner occupied). Population housing unitMeasured home valueStatistic median valueoccupancy status occupied housing unitoccupancy tenure owner occupied graph node	B25077
Median age Median age of person. Population personMeasured ageStatistic median value graph node	S0101