Here is a preview of our maps and dashboards exploring data from the 2017-2021 American Community Survey, provided by IPUMS-USA. This preview features general demographic variables and variables that indicate probable vulnerability, such as poverty and self-care difficulty.

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Basic data for States and PUMAs

This dashboard features demographic information and some general variables, featuring maps of states and Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMA).

Basic data for Counties

This dashboard features demographic information and some general variables on maps of counties. Please keep in mind that county information is not available for most people in this dataset.

Glossary

ACS: American Community Survey, a U.S. Census Bureau program that helps understand changes in demographic, economic, educational, and other aspects of people in the US territory. ACS data is commonly used by government, private, and nonprofit institutions to allocate funding, debate policy issues, and plan for emergencies.

Diversity Index: The Diversity Index is a statistical tool that measures the likelihood that two persons, selected at random, within a given population, will belong to different races/ethnic groups. This measure has a range of 0-1, with 0 representing no diversity (presence of people from one group only) and 1 representing complete diversity (People from more than one group and in equal proportions). Darker areas on the map indicate higher levels of diversity within the geographic area.

Income: Indicates the average total pre-tax personal income or losses from all sources from the previous year. Adjusted for inflation and expressed as 2019 dollars. This measure is based on the INCTOT variable found in 2018-2022 ACS (5-year) data.

IPUMS: A research program that provides census and survey data from around the world integrated across time and space. IPUMS is a part of the Institute for Social Research and Data Innovation at the University of Minnesota and is directed by Regents Professor Steven Ruggles. IPUMS originally stood for Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, but it is no longer treated as an acronym.

Linguistic Isolation: Linguistic isolation is a term used by the U.S. Census Bureau to describe households within the United States that speak limited English. This metric is presented in this map as a count of households within a given geographic region that do not speak English well or at all. Darker areas on the map indicate higher counts of linguistic isolation within the PUMA.

Poverty: Indicates the frequency or count of people who live below the poverty line. This measure uses detailed income and family structure information from the 2018-2022 ACS (5-year) data and is based on the POVERTY variable. Poverty thresholds were established by the Social Security Administration in 1964 and subsequently revised in 1980, adjusting for inflation.

PUMA: PUMA stands for Public Use Microdata Area. PUMAs are small geographic areas with no less than 100,000 people residing within them. PUMAs are developed and maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau, with the intent to maintain confidentiality of residents. PUMAs do not necessarily match with counties, metropolitan areas, or any other region.

Race/Ethnicity: This measure is derived from the RACE and HISPAN variables from the 2018-2022 ACS (5-year) data. Race and Hispanic ethnicity are defined and released by the U.S. Census Bureau. This measure includes five mutually exclusive race/ethnicity categories: 1) American Indian/Alaska Native, 2) Asian/Pacific Islander, 3) Black/African American, 4) Hispanic/Latino, and 5) White.

Self-care Difficulty: Indicates whether respondents have any physical or mental health condition that has lasted 6 months and makes it difficult for them to take care of their own personal needs, such as bathing, dressing, or getting around inside the home.

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Representations and Warranties

Claude Pepper Center provides Maps and Dashboards “as is.” Claude Pepper Center does not represent or warrant that insights from our Maps and Dashboards are statistically significant, free of inaccuracies or errors, and/or representative of any population or territory whatsoever. Claude Pepper Center hereby disclaims any and all implied warranties, including without limitation, warranties of fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, and non-infringement.

Suggested Citation

Claude Pepper Center (2024). 2017-2021 American Community Survey. Tallahassee: Florida State University. fsu.edu | archive.org

References

Steven Ruggles, Sarah Flood, Matthew Sobek, Daniel Backman, Annie Chen, Grace Cooper, Stephanie Richards, Renae Rogers and Megan Schouweiler (2023). IPUMS USA: Version 14.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V14.0

U.S. Census Bureau. (2022, December 08). American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Data Release [dataset]. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-kits/2022/acs-5-year.html