October 06, 2006

Exactly Which Geographic Areas Are Identified in the 2005 American Community Survey Tabulations?

The 2005 American Community Survey publishes a wealth of data for areas of 65,000 or more people. On October 3, we published the latest installment of data from this survey. This release gives you access to data on the number of housing units (occupied and vacant), total population in housing units by owner/renter status, heating fuel, owner costs, plumbing and kitchen facilities, bedrooms, vehicles available, and telephone, as well as additional place-of-work data.

Wondering which geographic areas make the cut? That is, which have 65,000 or more people and therefore are published in the survey results? Our online ACS Users Guide includes a spreadsheet listing all the areas in each state that are identified in ACS tabulations. In addition, you can view a map showing counties with over and under 65,000 people and a series of state maps showing counties and cities that meet the threshold.

If you want to see all the areas of a particular kind (e.g., places or school districts), come to the ACS Users Guide, and go to the tool in the left-hand top corner labeled "Geographic Areas in 2005." Then select "United States." The resulting page lets you download a spreadsheet showing all areas covered or select a kind of area and see all such areas in the US.

To find the users guide, check on the "American Community Survey" on the Census Bureau home page and then on "Guide to the ACS data products" under the "Using the Data" tab.

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