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Documentation: ACS 2014 (5-Year Estimates)
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Publisher: U.S. Census Bureau
Document: ACS 2014-5yr Summary File: Technical Documentation
citation:
Social Explorer; U.S. Census Bureau; American Community Survey 2014 Summary File: Technical Documentation.
Chapter Contents
Group Quarters Definitions
Instructions for Applying Statistical Testing to ACS 1-Year Data
ACS 2014-5yr Summary File: Technical Documentation
Appendix A
Field of Degree Classification
Five-Group Classification Fifteen-Group Classification Examples
Science and Engineering Computers, Mathematics and Statistics Computer Science, Mathematics, General Statistics
Biological, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Cellular and Molecular Biology, Soil Sciences, Natural Resource Management
Physical and Related Sciences Physics, Organic Chemistry, Astronomy
Psychology Psychology, Counseling, Child Psychology
Social Sciences Criminology, Sociology, Political Science
Engineering Chemical Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Electrical Engineering
Multidisciplinary Studies Nutritional Science, Cognitive Science, Behavioral Science
Science and Engineering Related Science and Engineering Related Pre-Med, Physical Therapy, Mechanical Engineering Technology
Business Business Business Administration, Accounting, Human Resources Development
Education Education Early Childhood Education, Higher Education Administration, Special Education
Arts, Humanities, and Other Literature and Languages English, Foreign Language and Literature, Spanish
Liberal Arts and History Philosophy, Theology, American History
Visual and Performing Arts Interior Design, Dance, Voice
Communications Mass Communications, Journalism, Public Relations
Other Public Administration, Pre-law, Kinesiology

Four Main Group Classifications and Thirty-Nine Subgroup Classifications of Languages Spoken at Home with Illustrative Examples
Four Main Group Classifications Thirty-Nine Subgroup Classifications
Spanish

Spanish or Spanish Creole


Examples: Ladino, Pachuco
 
 

French


Examples: Cajun, Patois
 
 

French Creole


Example: Haitian Creole
 
  Italian
 

Portuguese or Portuguese Creole


Example: Papia Mentae
 
 

German


Example: Luxembourgian
 
  Yiddish
 

Other West Germanic languages


Examples: Dutch, Pennsylvania Dutch Afrikaans
 
 

Scandinavian languages


Examples: Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
 
Other Indo-European languages Greek
  Russian
  Polish
 

Serbo-Croatian


Examples: Croatian, Serbian
 
 

Other Slavic languages


Examples: Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian
 
  Armenian
  Persian
  Gujarati
  Hindi
  Urdu
 

Other Indic languages


Examples: Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi, Romany
 
 

Other Indo-European languages


Examples: Albanian, Gaelic, Lithuanian,

Romanian
 
 
Asian and Pacific Island languages

Chinese


Examples: Cantonese, Formosan, Mandarin
 
  Japanese
  Korean
  Mon-Khmer, Cambodian
  Hmong
  Thai
  Laotian
  Vietnamese
 

Other Asian languages


Examples: Dravidian languages (Malayalam,

Telugu, Tamil), Turkish
 
 
  Tagalog
 

Other Pacific Island languages


Examples: Chamorro, Hawaiian, Ilocano,

Indonesian, Samoan
 
 
All other languages Navajo
 

Other Native North American languages


Examples: Apache, Cherokee, Dakota, Pima,

Yupik
 
 
  Hungarian
  Arabic
  Hebrew
 

African languages


Examples: Amharic, Ibo, Yoruba, Bantu,

Swahili, Somali
 
 
 

Other and unspecified languages


Examples: Syriac, Finnish, Other languages of the Americas, not reported
 



Poverty Factors
The 2013 Poverty Factors:
Interview Month Poverty Factors
January 2.37897
February 2.3821
March 2.38598
April 2.3889
May 2.39102
June 2.39372
July 2.39719
August 2.40107
September 2.40409
October 2.40646
November 2.40839
December 2.41085

Poverty Thresholds
Poverty Thresholds in 1982, by Size of Family and Number of Related Children Under 18 Years Old (Dollars)
Size of family unit Related children under 18 years
None One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight or more
One person (unrelated individual) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Under 65 years 5,019 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
65 years and over 4,626 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Two persons N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Householder under 65 years 6,459 6,649 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Householder 65 years and over 5,831 6,624 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Three persons 7,546 7,765 7,772 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Four persons 9,950 10,112 9,783 9,817 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Five persons 11,999 12,173 11,801 11,512 11,336 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Six persons 13,801 13,855 13,570 13,296 12,890 12,649 N/A N/A N/A
Seven persons 15,879 15,979 15,637 15,399 14,955 14,437 13,869 N/A N/A
Eight persons or more 17,760 17,917 17,594 17,312 16,911 16,403 15,872 15,738 N/A
Nine persons or more 21,364 21,468 21,183 20,943 20,549 20,008 19,517 19,397 18,649
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Race Combinations
Two or More Races (57 Possible Specified Combinations)
1 White; Black or African American
2 White; American Indian and Alaska Native
3 White; Asian
4 White; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
5 White; Some Other Race
6 Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native
7 Black or African American; Asian
8 Black or African American; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
9 Black or African American; Some Other Race
10 American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian
11 American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
12 American Indian and Alaska Native; Some other race
13 Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
14 Asian; Some Other Race
15 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
16 White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native
17 White; Black or African American; Asian
18 White; Black or African American; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
19 White; Black or African American; Some Other Race
20 White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian
21 White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
22 White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Some Other Race
23 White; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
24 White; Asian; Some Other Race
25 White; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
26 Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian
27 Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
28 Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Some Other Race
29 Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
30 Black or African American; Asian; Some Other Race
31 Black or African American; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
32 American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
33 American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Some Other Race
34 American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
35 Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
36 White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian
37 White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
38 White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Some Other Race
39 White; Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
40 White; Black or African American; Asian; Some Other Race
41 White; Black or African American; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
42 White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
43 White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Some Other Race
44 White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some other race
45 White; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
46 Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
47 Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Some Other Race
48 Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
49 Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
50 American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
51 White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
52 White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Some Other Race
53 White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
54 White; Black or African American; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
55 White; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
56 Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race
57 White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander; Some Other Race


Median Standard Distributions
In order to provide consistency in the values within and among data products, standard distributions from which medians and quartiles are calculated are used for the American Community Survey.

Standard Distribution for Median Age:
[116 data cells]
Under 1 year
1 year
2 years
3 years
4 years
5 years
.
.
.
112 years
113 years
114 years
115 years and over
Standard Distribution for Median Agricultural Crop Sales:
[5 data cells]
Less than $1,000
$1,000 to $2,499
$2,500 to $4,999
$5,000 to $9,999
$10,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Bedrooms:
[9 data cells]
No bedroom
1 bedroom
2 bedrooms
3 bedrooms
4 bedrooms
5 bedrooms
6 bedrooms
7 bedrooms
8 or more bedrooms



Standard Distribution for Median Condominium Fees:
[15 data cells]
Less than $50
$50 to $99
$100 to $199
$200 to $299
$300 to $399
$400 to $499
$500 to $599
$600 to $699
$700 to $799
$800 to $899
$900 to $999
$1,000 to $1,249
$1,250 to $1,499
$1,500 to $1,749
$1,750 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Contract Rent/Quartile Contract Rent/Rent Asked/Gross Rent:
[23 data cells]
Less than $100
$100 to $149
$150 to $199
$200 to $249
$250 to $299
$300 to $349
$350 to $399
$400 to $449
$450 to $499
$500 to $549
$550 to $599
$600 to $649
$650 to $699
$700 to $749
$750 to $799
$800 to $899
$900 to $999
$1,000 to $1,249
$1,250 to $1,499
$1,500 to $1,999
$2,000 to $2,499
$2,500 to $2,999
$3,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Duration of Current Marriage:
[101 data cells]
Under 1 year
1 year
2 years
3 years
4 years
5 years
.
.
.
97 years
98 years
99 years
100 years and over
Standard Distribution for Median Earnings and Median Income (Individuals):
[101 data cells]
Less than $2,500
$2,500 to $4,999
$5,000 to $7,499
$7,500 to $9,999
$10,000 to $12,499
$12,500 to $14,999
$15,000 to $17,499
$17,500 to $19,999
$20,000 to $22,499
$22,500 to $24,999
$25,000 to $27,499
$27,500 to $29,999
$30,000 to $32,499
$32,500 to $34,999
$35,000 to $37,499
$37,500 to $39,999
$40,000 to $42,499
$42,500 to $44,999
$45,000 to $47,499
$47,500 to $49,999
$50,000 to $52,499
$52,500 to $54,999
$55,000 to $57,499
$57,500 to $59,999
$60,000 to $62,499
$62,500 to $64,999
$65,000 to $67,499
$67,500 to $69,999
$70,000 to $72,499
$72,500 to $74,999
$75,000 to $77,499
$77,500 to $79,999
$80,000 to $82,499
$82,500 to $84,999
$85,000 to $87,499
$87,500 to $89,999
$90,000 to $92,499
$92,500 to $94,999
$95,000 to $97,499
$97,500 to $99,999
$100,000 to $102,499
$102,500 to $104,999
$105,000 to $107,499
$107,500 to $109,999
$110,000 to $112,499
$112,500 to $114,999
$115,000 to $117,499
$117,500 to $119,999
$120,000 to $122,499
$122,500 to $124,999
$125,000 to $127,499
$127,500 to $129,999
$130,000 to $132,499
$132,500 to $134,999
$135,000 to $137,499
$137,500 to $139,999
$140,000 to $142,499
$142,500 to $144,999
$145,000 to $147,499
$147,500 to $149,999
$150,000 to $152,499
$152,500 to $154,999
$155,000 to $157,499
$157,500 to $159,999
$160,000 to $162,499
$162,500 to $164,999
$165,000 to $167,499
$167,500 to $169,999
$170,000 to $172,499
$172,500 to $174,999
$175,000 to $177,499
$177,500 to $179,999
$180,000 to $182,499
$182,500 to $184,999
$185,000 to $187,499
$187,500 to $189,999
$190,000 to $192,499
$192,500 to $194,999
$195,000 to $197,499
$197,500 to $199,999
$200,000 to $202,499
$202,500 to $204,999
$205,000 to $207,499
$207,500 to $209,999
$210,000 to $212,499
$212,500 to $214,999
$215,000 to $217,499
$217,500 to $219,999
$220,000 to $222,499
$222,500 to $224,999
$225,000 to $227,499
$227,500 to $229,999
$230,000 to $232,499
$232,500 to $234,999
$235,000 to $237,499
$237,500 to $239,999
$240,000 to $242,499
$242,500 to $244,999
$245,000 to $247,499
$247,500 to $249,999
$250,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Fire, Hazard, and Flood Insurance:
[19 data cells]
$0
$1 to $49
$50 to $99
$100 to $149
$150 to $199
$200 to $249
$250 to $299
$300 to $349
$350 to $399
$400 to $449
$450 to $499
$500 to $599
$600 to $699
$700 to $799
$800 to $899
$900 to $999
$1,000 to $1,499
$1,500 to $1,999
$2,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Gross Rent as a Percentage of Household Income:
[13 data cells]
Less than 10.0 percent
10.0 to 14.9 percent
15.0 to 19.9 percent
20.0 to 24.9 percent
25.0 to 29.9 percent
30.0 to 34.9 percent
35.0 to 39.9 percent
40.0 to 49.9 percent
50.0 to 59.9 percent
60.0 to 69.9 percent
70.0 to 79.9 percent
80.0 to 89.9 percent
90.0 percent or more
Standard Distribution for Median Income in the Past 12 Months (Household/Family/Nonfamily Household):
[101 data cells]
Less than $2,500
$2,500 to $4,999
$5,000 to $7,499
$7,500 to $9,999
$10,000 to $12,499
$12,500 to $14,999
$15,000 to $17,499
$17,500 to $19,999
$20,000 to $22,499
$22,500 to $24,999
$25,000 to $27,499
$27,500 to $29,999
$30,000 to $32,499
$32,500 to $34,999
$35,000 to $37,499
$37,500 to $39,999
$40,000 to $42,499
$42,500 to $44,999
$45,000 to $47,499
$47,500 to $49,999
$50,000 to $52,499
$52,500 to $54,999
$55,000 to $57,499
$57,500 to $59,999
$60,000 to $62,499
$62,500 to $64,999
$65,000 to $67,499
$67,500 to $69,999
$70,000 to $72,499
$72,500 to $74,999
$75,000 to $77,499
$77,500 to $79,999
$80,000 to $82,499
$82,500 to $84,999
$85,000 to $87,499
$87,500 to $89,999
$90,000 to $92,499
$92,500 to $94,999
$95,000 to $97,499
$97,500 to $99,999
$100,000 to $102,499
$102,500 to $104,999
$105,000 to $107,499
$107,500 to $109,999
$110,000 to $112,499
$112,500 to $114,999
$115,000 to $117,499
$117,500 to $119,999
$120,000 to $122,499
$122,500 to $124,999
$125,000 to $127,499
$127,500 to $129,999
$130,000 to $132,499
$132,500 to $134,999
$135,000 to $137,499
$137,500 to $139,999
$140,000 to $142,499
$142,500 to $144,999
$145,000 to $147,499
$147,500 to $149,999
$150,000 to $152,499
$152,500 to $154,999
$155,000 to $157,499
$157,500 to $159,999
$160,000 to $162,499
$162,500 to $164,999
$165,000 to $167,499
$167,500 to $169,999
$170,000 to $172,499
$172,500 to $174,999
$175,000 to $177,499
$177,500 to $179,999
$180,000 to $182,499
$182,500 to $184,999
$185,000 to $187,499
$187,500 to $189,999
$190,000 to $192,499
$192,500 to $194,999
$195,000 to $197,499
$197,500 to $199,999
$200,000 to $202,499
$202,500 to $204,999
$205,000 to $207,499
$207,500 to $209,999
$210,000 to $212,499
$212,500 to $214,999
$215,000 to $217,499
$217,500 to $219,999
$220,000 to $222,499
$222,500 to $224,999
$225,000 to $227,499
$227,500 to $229,999
$230,000 to $232,499
$232,500 to $234,999
$235,000 to $237,499
$237,500 to $239,999
$240,000 to $242,499
$242,500 to $244,999
$245,000 to $247,499
$247,500 to $249,999
$250,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Monthly Housing Costs:
[30 cells]
Less than $100
$100 to $149
$150 to $199
$200 to $249
$250 to $299
$300 to $349
$350 to $399
$400 to $449
$450 to $499
$500 to $549
$550 to $599
$600 to $649
$650 to $699
$700 to $749
$750 to $799
$800 to $899
$900 to $999
$1,000 to $1,249
$1,250 to $1,499
$1,500 to $1,749
$1,750 to $1,999
$2,000 to $2,499
$2,500 to $2,999
$3,000 to $3,499
$3,500 to $3,999
$4,000 to $4,499
$4,500 to $4,999
$5,000 to $5,499
$5,500 to $5,999
$6,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Real Estate Taxes Paid:
[14 data cells]
Less than $200
$200 to $299
$300 to $399
$400 to $599
$600 to $799
$800 to $999
$1,000 to $1,499
$1,500 to $1,999
$2,000 to $2,999
$3,000 to $3,999
$4,000 to $4,999
$5,000 to $7,499
$7,500 to $9,999
$10,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Rooms:
[14 data cells]
1 room
2 rooms
3 rooms
4 rooms
5 rooms
6 rooms
7 rooms
8 rooms
9 rooms
10 rooms
11 rooms
12 rooms
13 rooms
14 or more rooms
Standard Distribution for Median Selected Monthly Owner Costs/Median Selected Monthly Owner Costs by Mortgage Status (With a Mortgage):
[23 data cells]
Less than $100
$100 to $199
$200 to $299
$300 to $399
$400 to $499
$500 to $599
$600 to $699
$700 to $799
$800 to $899
$900 to $999
$1,000 to $1,249
$1,250 to $1,499
$1,500 to $1,749
$1,750 to $1,999
$2,000 to $2,499
$2,500 to $2,999
$3,000 to $3,499
$3,500 to $3,999
$4,000 to $4,499
$4,500 to $4,999
$5,000 to $5,499
$5,500 to $5,999
$6,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Selected Monthly Owner Costs by Mortgage Status (Without a Mortgage):
[17 data cells]
Less than $100
$100 to $149
$150 to $199
$200 to $249
$250 to $299
$300 to $349
$350 to $399
$400 to $499
$500 to $599
$600 to $699
$700 to $799
$800 to $899
$900 to $999
$1,000 to $1,249
$1,250 to $1,499
$1,500 to $1,999
$2,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Selected Monthly Owner Costs as a Percentage of Household Income by Mortgage Status:
[13 data cells]
Less than 10.0 percent
10.0 to 14.9 percent
15.0 to 19.9 percent
20.0 to 24.9 percent
25.0 to 29.9 percent
30.0 to 34.9 percent
35.0 to 39.9 percent
40.0 to 49.9 percent
50.0 to 59.9 percent
60.0 to 69.9 percent
70.0 to 79.9 percent
80.0 to 89.9 percent
90.0 percent or more
Standard Distribution for Median Total Mortgage Payment:
[21 data cells]
Less than $100
$100 to $199
$200 to $299
$300 to $399
$400 to $499
$500 to $599
$600 to $699
$700 to $799
$800 to $899
$900 to $999
$1,000 to $1,249
$1,250 to $1,499
$1,500 to $1,749
$1,750 to $1,999
$2,000 to $2,499
$2,500 to $2,999
$3,000 to $3,499
$3,500 to $3,999
$4,000 to $4,499
$4,500 to $4,999
$5,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Usual Hours Worked Per Week Worked in the Past 12 Months:
[9 data cells]
Usually worked 50 to 99 hours per week
Usually worked 45 to 49 hours per week
Usually worked 41 to 44 hours per week
Usually worked 40 hours per week
Usually worked 35 to 39 hours per week
Usually worked 30 to 34 hours per week
Usually worked 25 to 29 hours per week
Usually worked 15 to 24 hours per week
Usually worked 1 to 14 hours per week
Standard Distribution for Median Value/Quartile Value/Price Asked:
[24 data cells]
Less than $10,000
$10,000 to $14,999
$15,000 to $19,999
$20,000 to $24,999
$25,000 to $29,999
$30,000 to $34,999
$35,000 to $39,999
$40,000 to $49,999
$50,000 to $59,999
$60,000 to $69,999
$70,000 to $79,999
$80,000 to $89,999
$90,000 to $99,999
$100,000 to $124,999
$125,000 to $149,999
$150,000 to $174,999
$175,000 to $199,999
$200,000 to $249,999
$250,000 to $299,999
$300,000 to $399,999
$400,000 to $499,999
$500,000 to $749,999
$750,000 to $999,999
$1,000,000 or more
Standard Distribution for Median Vehicles Available:
[6 data cells]
No vehicle available
1 vehicle available
2 vehicles available
3 vehicles available
4 vehicles available
5 or more vehicles available
Standard Distribution for Median Year Householder Moved Into Unit:
[18 data cells]
Moved in 2013
Moved in 2012
Moved in 2011
Moved in 2010
Moved in 2009
Moved in 2008
Moved in 2007
Moved in 2006
Moved in 2005
Moved in 2004
Moved in 2003
Moved in 2002
Moved in 2001
Moved in 2000
Moved in 1990 to 1999
Moved in 1980 to 1989
Moved in 1970 to 1979
Moved in 1969 or earlier
Standard Distribution for Median Year Structure Built:
[21 data cells]
Built in 2013
Built in 2012
Built in 2011
Built in 2010
Built in 2009
Built in 2008
Built in 2007
Built in 2006
Built in 2005
Built in 2004
Built in 2003
Built in 2002
Built in 2001
Built in 2000
Built 1990 to 1999
Built 1980 to 1989
Built 1970 to 1979
Built 1960 to 1969
Built 1950 to 1959
Built 1940 to 1949
Built 1939 or earlier
Group Quarters Definitions
A group quarters is a place where people live or stay, in a group living arrangement, that is owned or managed by an entity or organization providing housing and/or services for the residents. This is not a typical household-type living arrangement. These services may include custodial or medical care as well as other types of assistance, and residency is commonly restricted to those receiving these services. People living in group quarters are usually not related to each other.
Group quarters include such places as college residence halls, residential treatment centers, skilled nursing facilities, group homes, military barracks, correctional facilities, and workers' dormitories.
1. Correctional Facilities for Adults
Correctional Residential Facilities
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These are community-based facilities operated for correctional purposes. The facility residents may be allowed extensive contact with the community, such as for employment or attending school, but are obligated to occupy the premises at night.

Examples are halfway houses, restitution centers, and prerelease, work release, and study centers.
Federal Detention Centers
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Stand alone, generally multi-level, federally operated correctional facilities that provide "short-term" confinement or custody of adults pending adjudication or sentencing. These facilities may hold pretrial detainees, holdovers, sentenced offenders, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) inmates, formerly called Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) inmates. These facilities include: Metropolitan Correctional Centers (MCCs), Metropolitan Detention Centers (MDCs), Federal Detention Centers (FDCs), Bureau of Indian Affairs Detention Centers, ICE Service Processing Centers, and ICE contract detention facilities.

Federal and State Prisons
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Adult correctional facilities where people convicted of crimes serve their sentences. Common names include: prison, penitentiary, correctional institution, federal or state correctional facility, and conservation camp. The prisons are classified by two types of control: (1) "federal" (operated by or for the Bureau of Prisons of the Department of Justice) and (2) "state." Residents who are forensic patients or criminally insane are classified on the basis of where they resided at the time of interview. Patients in hospitals (units, wings, or floors) operated by or for federal or state correctional authorities are interviewed in the prison population. Other forensic patients will be interviewed in psychiatric hospital units and floors for long-term non-acute patients. This category may include privately operated correctional facilities.
Local Jails and Other Municipal Confinement Facilities
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Correctional facilities operated by or for counties, cities, and American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments. These facilities hold adults detained pending adjudication and/or people committed after adjudication. This category also includes work farms and camps used to hold people awaiting trial or serving time on relatively short sentences. Residents who are forensic patients or criminally insane are classified on the basis of where they resided at the time of interview. Patients in hospitals (units, wings, or floors) operated by or for local correctional authorities are counted in the jail population. Other forensic patients will be interviewed in psychiatric hospital units and floors for long-term non-acute patients. This category may include privately operated correctional facilities.
Military Disciplinary Barracks and Jails
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Correctional facilities managed by the military to hold those awaiting trial or convicted of crimes.


2. Juvenile Facilities
Correctional Facilities Intended for Juveniles
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Includes specialized facilities that provide strict confinement for its residents and detain juveniles awaiting adjudication, commitment or placement, and/or those being held for diagnosis or classification. Also included are correctional facilities where residents are permitted contact with the community, for purposes such as attending school or holding a job.
Examples are residential training schools and farms, reception and diagnostic centers, group homes operated by or for correctional authorities, detention centers, and boot camps for juvenile delinquents.
Group Homes for Juveniles (non-correctional)
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Includes community-based group living arrangements for youth in residential settings that are able to accommodate three or more clients of a service provider. The group home provides room and board and services, including behavioral, psychological, or social programs. Generally, clients are not related to the care giver or to each other.
Examples are maternity homes for unwed mothers, orphanages, and homes for abused and neglected children in need of services. Group homes for juveniles do not include residential treatment centers for juveniles or group homes operated by or for correctional authorities.
Residential Treatment Centers for Juveniles (non-correctional)
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Includes facilities that primarily serve youth that provide services on-site in a highly structured live- in environment for the treatment of drug/alcohol abuse, mental illness, and emotional/behavioral disorders. These facilities are staffed 24-hours a day. The focus of a residential treatment center is on the treatment program. Residential treatment centers for juveniles do not include facilities operated by or for correctional authorities.

3. Nursing Facilities/Skilled Nursing Facilities
Nursing Facilities/Skilled-Nursing Facilities
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Includes facilities licensed to provide medical care with seven day, twenty-four hour coverage for people requiring long-term non-acute care. People in these facilities require nursing care, regardless of age. Either of these types of facilities may be referred to as nursing homes.
4. Other Health Care Facilities
Hospitals with Patients Who Have No Usual Home Elsewhere
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Includes hospitals if they have any patients who have no exit or disposition plan, or who are known as "boarder patients" or "boarder babies." All hospitals are eligible for inclusion in this category except psychiatric hospitals, units, wings or floors operated by federal, state or local correctional authorities. Patients in hospitals operated by these correctional authorities will be interviewed in the prison or jail population. Psychiatric units and hospice units in hospitals are also excluded. Only patients with no usual home elsewhere are interviewed in this category.
In-Patient Hospice Facilities
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Includes in-patient hospice facilities (both free-standing and units in hospitals) that provide palliative, comfort, and supportive care for the terminally ill patient and their families. All patients in these GQs are included in the ACS GQ sample.
Mental (Psychiatric) Hospitals and Psychiatric Units in Other Hospitals
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Includes psychiatric hospitals, units and floors for long-term non-acute care patients. The primary function of the hospital, unit, or floor is to provide diagnostic and treatment services for long-term non-acute patients who have psychiatric-related illness.
Military Treatment Facilities with Assigned Patients
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These facilities include military hospitals and medical centers with active duty patients assigned to the facility. Only these patients are interviewed in this category.
Residential Schools for People with Disabilities
Includes schools that provide the teaching of skills for daily living, education programs, and care for students with disabilities in a live-in environment.
Examples are residential schools for the physically or developmentally disabled.
5. College/University Student Housing
College/University Student Housing
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Includes residence halls and dormitories, which house college and university students in a group living arrangement. These facilities are owned, leased, or managed either by a college, university, or seminary, or by a private entity or organization. Fraternity and sorority housing recognized by the college or university are included as college student housing.
Students attending the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military Academy (West Point), the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy are interviewed in military group quarters.

6. Military Group Quarters
Military Quarters
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These facilities include military personnel living in barracks (including "open" barrack transient quarters) and dormitories and military ships. Patients assigned to Military Treatment Facilities and people being held in military disciplinary barracks and jails are not interviewed in this category. Patients in Military Treatment Facilities with no usual home elsewhere are not interviewed in this category.
7. Other Noninstitutional Facilities
Emergency and Transitional Shelters (with Sleeping Facilities) for People Experiencing Homelessness
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Facilities where people experiencing homelessness stay overnight. These include:
  1. shelters that operate on a first-come, first-serve basis where people must leave in the morning and have no guaranteed bed for the next night;
  2. shelters where people know that they have a bed for a specified period of time (even if they leave the building every day); and
  3. shelters that provide temporary shelter during extremely cold weather (such as churches). This category does not include shelters that operate only in the event of a natural disaster.


Examples are emergency and transitional shelters; missions; hotels and motels used to shelter people experiencing homelessness; shelters for children who are runaways, neglected or experiencing homelessness; and similar places known to have people experiencing homelessness.

Group Homes Intended for Adults
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Group homes are community-based group living arrangements in residential settings that are able to accommodate three or more clients of a service provider. The group home provides room and board and services, including behavioral, psychological, or social programs. Generally, clients are not related to the care giver or to each other. Group homes do not include residential treatment centers or facilities operated by or for correctional authorities.
Residential Treatment Centers for Adults
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Residential facilities that provide treatment on-site in a highly structured live-in environment for the treatment of drug/alcohol abuse, mental illness, and emotional/behavioral disorders. They are staffed 24-hours a day. The focus of a residential treatment center is on the treatment program. Residential treatment centers do not include facilities operated by or for correctional authorities.
Religious Group Quarters
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These are living quarters owned or operated by religious organizations that are intended to house their members in a group living situation. This category includes such places as convents, monasteries, and abbeys.
Living quarters for students living or staying in seminaries are classified as college student housing not religious group quarters.
Workers' Group Living Quarters and Job Corps Centers
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Includes facilities such as dormitories, bunkhouses, and similar types of group living arrangements for agricultural and non-agricultural workers. This category also includes facilities that provide a full-time, year-round residential program offering a vocational training and employment program that helps young people 16-to-24 years old learn a trade, earn a high school diploma or GED and get help finding a job.
Examples are group living quarters at migratory farm worker camps, construction workers' camps, Job Corps centers, and vocational training facilities, and energy enclaves in Alaska.


Instructions for Applying Statistical Testing to ACS 1-Year Data
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This document provides some basic instructions for obtaining the ACS standard errors needed to do statistical tests, as well as performing the statistical testing.
Obtaining Standard Errors
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The location and type of ACS data, as well as when it was released, will determine if standard errors are readily available or users have to calculate them. If the estimate of interest is published on American FactFinder (AFF), then AFF should also be the source of the standard errors. Possible sources for data and where to get standard errors are:
1. ACS data from published tables on American FactFinder
All ACS estimates from tables on AFF include either the 90 percent margin of error or 90 percent confidence bounds. The margin of error is the maximum difference between the estimate and the upper and lower confidence bounds. Most tables on AFF containing 2005 or later ACS data display the margin of error.
Use the margin of error to calculate the standard error (dropping the "+/-" from the displayed value first) as:
Standard Error = Margin of Error / Z
where Z = 1.645 for 2006 ACS data and recent years. Users of 2005 and earlier ACS data should use Z= 1.65
If confidence bounds are provided instead (as with most ACS data products for 2004 and earlier), calculate the margin of error first before calculating the standard error:
Margin of Error = max (upper bound - estimate, estimate - lower bound)
All published ACS estimates use 1.645 (for 2006 and recent years) to calculate 90 percent margins of error and confidence bounds. ACS estimates for years earlier than 2006 should use 1.65. Other surveys may use other values.
2. ACS public-use microdata sample (PUMS) tabulations
Using the methods described in the Accuracy of the PUMS documentation users can calculate standard errors for their tabulations using a design factor method or a replicate weight method. For example, 2012 Accuracy of the PUMS documentation can be used with the 2012 ACS PUMS file to calculate standard errors. This document is available under Data and Documentation on the ACS website http://www.census.gov/acs/www/ .

NOTE: ACS PUMS design factors provided in the Accuracy of the PUMS document should not be used to calculate standard errors of full ACS sample estimates, such as those found in data tables on AFF. In addition, Census 2000 design factors should not be used to calculate standard errors for any ACS estimate.
Obtaining Standard Errors for Derived Estimates
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Once users have obtained standard errors for the basic estimates, there may be situations where users create derived estimates, such as percentages or differences that also require standard errors.

All methods in this section are approximations and users should be cautious in using them. This is because these methods do not consider the correlation or covariance between the basic estimates. They may be overestimates or underestimates of the derived estimate's standard error depending on whether the two basic estimates are highly correlated in either the positive or negative direction. As a result, the approximated standard error may not match direct calculations of standard errors or calculations obtained through other methods.
  • Sum or Difference of Estimates

As the number of basic estimates involved in the sum or difference increases, the results of this formula become increasingly different from the standard error derived directly from the ACS microdata. Care should be taken to work with the fewest number of basic estimates as possible. If there are estimates involved in the sum that are controlled in the weighting then the approximate standard error can be tremendously different.
  • Proportions and Percents

Here we define a proportion as a ratio where the numerator is a subset of the denominator, for example the proportion of persons 25 and over with a high school diploma or higher.
Let

If the value under the square root sign is negative, then instead use

If P = 1 then use

If Q = 100% x P (a percent instead of a proportion), then SE(Q) = 100% x SE(P).
  • Means and Other Ratios

If the estimate is a ratio but the numerator is not a subset of the denominator, such as persons per household, per capita income, or percent change, then


  • Products

For a product of two estimates - for example if users want to estimate a proportion's numerator by multiplying the proportion by its denominator - the standard error can be approximated as


Users may combine these procedures for complicated estimates. For example, if the desired estimate is then SE(A+B+C) and SE(D+E) can be estimated first, and then those results used to calculate SE(P).
For examples of these formulas, please see any Accuracy of the Data document available under Data and Documentation on the ACS website http://www.census.gov/acs/www/.
Instructions for Statistical Testing
Once standard errors have been obtained, doing the statistical test to determine significance is not difficult. The determination of statistical significance takes into account the difference between the two estimates as well as the standard errors of both estimates. For two estimates, A and B, with standard errors SE(A) and SE(B), let

If Z < -1.645 or Z > 1.645, then the difference between A and B is significant at the 90 percent confidence level. Otherwise, the difference is not significant. This means that there is less than a 10 percent chance that the difference between these two estimates would be as large or larger by random chance alone.

This is the method used in determining statistical significance for the ACS Comparison Profiles published on AFF. Note that the user's determination of statistical significance may not match the results in the Comparison Profile for the same pair of estimates, because the significance tests for Comparison Profiles are made using unrounded standard errors. Standard errors obtained from the rounded margins of error or confidence bounds are unlikely to match the unrounded standard error, and so statistical tests may differ.
Users may choose to apply a confidence level different from 90 percent to their tests of statistical significance. For example, if Z < -1.96 or Z > 1.96, then the difference between A and B is significant at the 95 percent confidence level.
This method can be used for any types of estimates: counts, percentages, proportions, means, medians, etc. It can be used for comparing across years, or across surveys. If one of the estimates is a fixed value or comes from a source without sampling error (such as a count from the 2010 Census), use zero for the standard error for that estimate in the above equation for Z.
NOTE: Making comparisons between ACS single-year and multiyear estimates is very difficult, and is not advised.
In addition, using the rule of thumb of overlapping confidence intervals does not constitute a valid significance test and users are discouraged from using that method.


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