What is the American Community Survey and why are they conducting it?
The American Community Survey is part of the Decennial Census Program. While the ten-year census shows the number of people who live in the U.S., the American Community Survey shows how people live our education, housing, jobs and more. The American Community Survey asks essentially the same questions that used to be on the long form of the ten-year census, only now its conducted throughout the year and throughout the decade. It allows the Census Bureau to produce new data every year, instead of only once every ten years. So, if the old long form was like a once-a-decade snapshot of an area one that grew increasingly faded with age the American Community Survey is like a moving picture one that allows a year-by-year look at how the area is changing.
