September 26, 2019

Census Bureau: American Community Survey Provides New State and Local Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Statistics

The U.S. Census Bureau today released its most detailed look at America’s people, places and economy. New state and local statistics on income, poverty and health insurance are available in briefs, detailed tables, data profiles and more. The American Community Survey (ACS) also produces statistics for more than 40 other topics.

“Each completed survey is important because it is a building block used to create statistics about communities in America,” said Census Bureau American Community Survey Office Chief Donna Daily. “This information provides an important tool for communities to make data-driven decisions, assess the past, and plan for the future.”

These local-level income, poverty and health insurance statistics from the ACS complement the national-level statistics released on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2019. National-level statistics are from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC). The CPS ASEC is the leading source for national-level data on income, poverty and health insurance, while the ACS is the leading source for community and local-level data.

At the state level, 14 states saw an increase in income, and14 states saw a decrease in poverty rates between 2017 and 2018. During 2018, the percentage of people without health insurance at the time of interview ranged from 2.8% in Massachusetts to 17.7% in Texas. Between 2017 and 2018, the uninsured rate decreased in two and increased in five of the 25 most populous metropolitan areas.

The findings are from the Census Bureau’s 2018 ACS, the premier source for detailed population and housing information about our nation. These estimates will be released via the Census Bureau’s new data dissemination platform data.census.gov.

Local-level income, poverty and health insurance statistics from the ACS are highlighted below.

Income

Income Inequality

Poverty

Health Insurance

For more information on the topics included in the ACS, ranging from educational attainment to computer use to commuting, please visit census.gov. To access the full set of statistics released today, please visit data.census.gov.

Additional News Released Today From the ACS

Industry and Occupation

Project management specialists, school psychologists and tutors are among the newly added occupations identified in the ACSThose occupations and otherswere added in response to the implementation of the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). The resulting updates to the 2018 Census Occupation Codelist shows which occupations are identified in the ACS.

Up to 570 occupations can be found in tables available on data.census.gov.     

In addition to occupation updates, the Census Industry Code list was updated to reflect changes in the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)and will be available for the first time on the 2018 ACS.

New Data Dissemination Platform

The Census Bureau has streamlined online data dissemination to be more customer-driven and user-friendly through data.census.gov. The site culminates years of effort by the Center for Enterprise Dissemination Services and Consumer Innovation (CEDSCI) to create a single, enterprise-level data storage point for all Census Bureau data.

To help ensure a smooth transition to the new platform, CEDSCI will hold multiple webinars and trainings. During the upcoming webinars, attendees will learn how to access tables, maps and profiles on data.census.govPreviously recorded webinars also explain how to find and use data on data.census.gov.

Data Visualization Tools

The Census Bureau’s ACS Digital Data Wheel allows users to explore and compare social, economic, housing, and demographic and economic characteristics from all states, U.S. congressional districts and metropolitan statistical areas.

Other visualizations include incomepoverty and health insurance data for states through interactive U.S. maps.

What can you learn about states from the American Community Survey?” answers commonly asked demographic and socio-economic questions using ACS data. In the coming weeks, users will also be able to explore characteristics of U.S. congressional districts and metropolitan statistical areas with interactive maps.  

Additional Annual Releases

In the upcoming months, the Census Bureau will release additional ACS data, including 2018 subject tables and ACS five-year statistics (2014-2018).

These statistics would not be possible without the cooperation of the randomly selected households throughout the country that participated in the ACS.

This post was originally published here.