Overview of ACS 5-Year Estimates
The American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates are a comprehensive data source updated annually by the U.S. Census Bureau. They provide detailed information about people, housing, income, vehicle access, educational attainment, poverty, and more. These estimates are derived from survey responses collected over five years.
Key Features of ACS 5-Year Estimates
Granularity: Data is available for small geographies like block groups and tracts, making it useful for detailed community analysis.
Annual Updates: New estimates are released every December, replacing the previous vintage.
Accuracy: Pooled data from five years reduces margins of error, especially for smaller areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
When are the new 5-Year Estimates available?
The U.S. Census Bureau releases new ACS 5-Year Estimates every December. mySidewalk integrates these updates into all our products within five business days of release.
What do I need to do to access the updated data?
You don’t need to take any action. mySidewalk automatically replaces the previous estimates with the new vintage across all our products.
What updates automatically?
Both the data values and corresponding footnotes are automatically updated to reflect the latest release.
How mySidewalk Updates ACS Data
Our team handles every aspect of the ACS data update process, including:
Acquiring raw data directly from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Cleaning and transforming the data, removing placeholders, and creating custom data combinations.
Performing rigorous programmatic and manual quality assurance checks.
Apportioning data for the non-Census geographies of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO), City Council Districts, and Neighborhoods using weighted block-to-block group calculations.
This meticulous process ensures the highest data quality and reliability for over 1.4 billion ACS data values.
Important Notes About ACS 5-Year Estimates
Estimates, Not Counts: The ACS is based on a sample of the population, not a full count.
Timeframe Representation: Data reflects characteristics over a five-year interval, not a single point in time.
Comparability: Avoid comparing overlapping 5-Year Estimates. For example, comparing 2016–2020 data with 2015–2019 data is not recommended.
Use with Decennial Census Data: 5-Year Estimates can be compared to Decennial Census data (e.g., 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020).
Coming in 2025
We are excited to announce two enhancements planned for 2025:
Non-Overlapping 5-Year Estimates
We will add non-overlapping ACS 5-Year Estimates and restructure the time groupings so that you can view trends over time with only ACS data.
1-Year Estimates
We will add the 1-Year Estimates, for use by larger communities and for use cases when the year-to-year trend is more important than granularity and stability.
These updates will provide greater flexibility and deeper insights for all users.