Income
and Poverty Estimates |
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| American Community Survey | Current Population Survey | ||
| Principal purpose | Provides detailed socioeconomic data on an annual basis; replacing the once-a-decade census long form. Provides median household and other measures of money income, earnings and poverty estimates for the nation and the states, as well as most cities and metropolitan areas with populations of 250,000 or more. (By 2010, the ACS will release data for areas as small as census tracts.) | Estimates of median household and other measures of money income, health insurance coverage and the official annual estimate of poverty for the nation and the states. | |
| Time frame | Data collected monthly throughout the year for the preceding 12 months. | Calendar year 2004 for national estimates. (Data collected over three months in early 2005.) Three-year average (2002-2004) for states. | |
| Geography | Nation, states, places (cities), counties and, eventually, census tracts (neighborhoods) |
Nation and states | |
| Sample size | 800,000 households a year (about 3 million a year starting in 2005) |
100,000 households | |
| Collection method | Mail, phone, personal visit | Phone or personal visit | |
| Length and detail of questions | Income during previous 12 months using series of eight questions | More than 50 sources of income for 2004 and up to 27 individual income values | |
| Group quarters in sample |
No (will be included starting in 2006) | Yes | |
