The
American Community Survey (ACS) and the Current Population Survey-ASEC (CPS-ASEC)
are both valuable tools with their own strengths and weaknesses.
This page is designed to give some help deciding which one to use.
But first a note of caution--the two surveys are too different to allow
comparisons between the two. In other words, a comparison between a
2005 poverty rate from the ACS and a 1984 poverty rate from the CPS-ASEC is
not valid.
What data are you looking for?
The CPS-ASEC and the ACS have considerable overlap
(income, poverty, basic demographics, employment), but they each have
data the other does not. The following is a list of some of the
data unique to each survey:
American Community Survey
- More detailed housing information:
- Home value
- Utility costs
- Real estate taxes
- Mortgage payments
- Length and method of commuting to work.
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Current Population Survey-ASEC
- Health insurance coverage.
- Pension coverage.
- Much more detail on income sources.
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Do you need to compare current statistics with past years?
The CPS-ASEC has been around for decades, enabling analysis of long-term trends. The ACS does not have valid historical comparisons.
What geographic level do you need data for?
On the areas where both surveys
provide
data, the Census Bureau recommends the CPS-ASEC, which
remains the offical source for the national poverty rate. For
geographies below the state level, the ACS is the only option. At the
state level, things get a little trickier. When comparing current rates between states, the ACS is recommended. It is valid to
use the CPS-ASEC at the state level when looking at trends over time or when looking at data
not availablein the ACS (such as health care coverage), but the Census Bureau recommends averaging two years' data together.
Return to main ACS/CPS-ASEC page.
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