Editing American Community Survey (section)

{{Short description|Demographic survey in the United States}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox recurring event
| name               = American Community Survey
| native_name        = 
| native_name_lang   = 
| logo               = United States Census Bureau Wordmark.svg
| logo_caption       = Logo
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| status             = <!-- e.g. defunct, active, inactive ... -->
| genre              = <!-- e.g. natural phenomena, fairs, festivals, conferences, exhibitions ... -->
| date               = <!-- {{start date|YYYY|mm|dd}} "dates=" also works, but do not use both -->
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| frequency          = <!-- Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-annually, Annually, Bi-annually, 2nd Tuesday of November, etc. -->
| venue              = 
| location           = 4600 Silver Hill Road, [[Suitland, Maryland]], U.S.
| coordinates        = <!-- {{coord|LAT|LON|type:event|display=inline,title}} -->
| country            = U.S.
| years_active       = <!-- {{age|YYYY|mm|dd}} Date of the first occurrence -->
| first              = {{start date and age|2005|1}}
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| last               = <!-- Date of most recent event; if the event will not be held again, use {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD}} -->
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| participants       = 3.5 million households/year
| attendance         = 
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| budget             = 
| activity           = Survey
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| website            = {{URL|https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs|census.gov/acs}}
| footnotes          = 
}}

The '''American Community Survey''' ('''ACS''') is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the [[United States Census Bureau]]. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the [[United States census|decennial census]], including ancestry, US citizenship status, educational attainment, income, language proficiency, migration, [[Disability in the United States|disability]], employment, and housing characteristics. No respondents personal information is released, and only used statistically in these data which are used by many [[Public sector|public-sector]], [[Private sector|private-sector]], and not-for-profit stakeholders to allocate funding, track shifting demographics, plan for emergencies, and learn about local communities.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Eberstadt|first1=Nicholas|last2=Nunn|first2=Ryan|last3=Schanzenbach|first3=Diane W.|last4=Strain|first4=Michael|title=In Order That They Might Rest Their Arguments on Facts: The Vital Role of Government-Collected Data|url=http://www.hamiltonproject.org/papers/in_order_that_they_might_rest_their_arguments_on_facts_the_vital_role_of_go}}</ref>

Sent to approximately 295,000 addresses monthly, or 3.5 million addresses annually, it is the largest household survey that the Census Bureau administers.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|title=ACS Information Guide|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/information-guide.html|website =Census.gov|access-date=July 31, 2015|author=United States Census Bureau|page=8}}</ref>

The American Community Survey gathers information annually in the 50 [[U.S. state|U.S. states]], the federal national [[capital city]] of [[Washington, D.C.]] and the associated [[Puerto Rico|Commonwealth of Puerto Rico]] in the [[Caribbean Sea]] (via the '''Puerto Rico Community Survey''' ('''PRCS'''), which is part of the ACS).{{efn|The U.S. Census has a separate form for Puerto Rico called the Puerto Rico Community Survey, (PRCS). Despite the different form, the U.S. Census Bureau website states that "The PRCS is part of the ACS".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/information-for/puerto-rico.html|title=American Community Survey Resources for Puerto Rico|website=Census.gov|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=2024-05-13}}</ref> A question linking the PCRS with the ACS is if the respondent lived in Puerto Rico should they respond that they have resided in their current residence in the CONUS (or [[Alaska]] or [[Hawaii]]) for one year or less. The questions asked are different from the questions in the ACS.<ref>[https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/puerto-rico-community-survey.html ''About the Puerto Rico Community Survey.''] Accessed 18 October 2020.</ref>}} It does not gather information in the other four major [[Territories of the United States|U.S. territories / commonwealths and associated states]] of [[American Samoa]], [[Guam]], [[Northern Mariana Islands]] in the western [[Pacific Ocean]], and the [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]] in the Caribbean Sea.<ref>https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/section-1557-top-15-languages-faqs.pdf Frequently Asked Questions to Accompany the Estimates of at Least the Top 15 Languages Spoken by Individuals with Limited English Proficiency under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Page 2. Retrieved August 30, 2019.</ref><ref name="ACS_Aug30">http://www3.drcog.org/documents/archive/ACS_Basics.pdf U.S. Census Bureau. An Overview Of the American Community Survey. Page 5. Retrieved August 30, 2019.</ref>