Census American Community Survey (ACS)
PurposeTo count every resident in the United StatesTo provide detailed socioeconomic and housing information for communities
FrequencyCount conducted every 10 yearsSurvey conducted on a rolling basis with estimates published every year*
Most recent on April 1, 2020Most recent data available from 2019
Who is questioned Full U.S. population Sample of U.S. population
All householdsApproximately 2.5 percent of households
Type of dataPopulation countsPopulation estimates
Standalone, complete data set Survey relies on census data to generalize responses to full U.S. population, which produces estimates with margins of error
Geographic unitsAvailable at more granular census block level Available at larger census block group level
*ACS data is released in the form of one-year, three-year, and five-year population estimates. Five-year estimates are considered more accurate because they incorporate a greater number of surveys, but this also means they rely on older submissions that are more than five years old at the time ACS data is released. For example, the most recent data currently available is from 2019, but its five-year format includes surveys from 2015-2019.