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Census webinar walks users through ACS geography, data products and online tools
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Summary
U.S. Census Bureau presenters explained how the American Community Survey (ACS) uses geographic definitions and vintages, demonstrated TigerWeb and data.census.gov features, and described data‑product thresholds and new topic releases.
Ryan Ricciardi of the American Community Survey Office and John Polissino of the Geography Division led a Census Bureau webinar that demonstrated how geography underpins ACS estimates and how users can access and compare ACS data with online mapping tools.
Ricciardi opened the webinar by explaining the ACS’s role and scope: “The survey samples approximately 3,500,000 addresses and about a 150,000 group‑quarter residents each year,” and produces annual social, economic, housing and demographic estimates used by local planners, businesses, nonprofits and federal programs. He outlined ACS data products and timing, saying 1‑year, 1‑year supplemental and 5‑year estimates are released roughly one calendar year after collection and that users should match geographic vintages to the reference year for analysis.
The presenters emphasized population thresholds that determine which ACS products are available for a given area. Ricciardi noted that ACS 1‑year estimates are available for areas with populations of 65,000 or more, that a subset of detailed tables is available as 1‑year supplemental estimates for areas of 20,000 or more, and that 5‑year estimates cover all geographic sizes down to block groups.
John Polissino described how the Geography Division maintains the spatial frame that makes ACS data accurate for where people live. He said the program updates addresses using the U.S. Postal Service Delivery Sequence File, updates roads through partnerships with state and local governments, and runs an annual boundary annexation survey to capture legal changes that affect geographies. “The geography program helps create the frame for the ACS and other surveys,” Polissino said, describing the boundary‑update and code‑assignment processes.
Both presenters demonstrated tools for accessing geography and ACS data. Polissino used TigerWeb to show differences between incorporated places, census‑designated places, ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) and school districts, and to compare dense urban tracts with larger rural tracts. He warned users to confirm which geographic entity they select — for example, Kalamazoo the place versus Kalamazoo County or the Kalamazoo Metropolitan Statistical Area — because similarly named areas can produce different results.
Ricciardi demonstrated data.census.gov’s new GeoInfo table and mapping features. He showed how to run an advanced search to retrieve land area, water area, latitude/longitude and other geographic attributes for all counties in a state, how to toggle between table and map views, how to overlay different boundary layers (place, school district, county), and how to switch between 1‑year and 5‑year estimates or earlier vintages. He also noted new ACS topics added in 2025 — including electric vehicles, solar panels and public sewer connectivity — which the Bureau plans to release in 2026.
The presenters closed by directing users to census.gov/acs and census.gov/geo for handbooks and reference materials, inviting attendees to join the ACS Data Users group, and noting that the webinar recording, slides and transcript will be posted online.
The webinar did not include policy decisions or votes; it focused on guidance, demonstrations and resources for ACS data users.
