American Community Survey

• About the American Community Survey
  • Why were you selected?
  • Why should you participate?
    • ACS helps communities (video)
  • How to respond to the survey or get help
    • Respond Online
    • Respond Online Video
    • Respond by Mail
    • Respond by Phone
    • In-person Interview
    • FAQs
  • For people living in group housing
  • Questions on the form and why we ask
    • Income
    • Place of work/Journey to work
  • How we protect your privacy
    • Census Oath of Non-Disclosure
  • Is the American Community Survey legitimate?
  • Sample forms and instructions
• American Community Survey and 2010 Census
• About the Puerto Rico Community Survey
  • Sample forms and instructions
• Operations and Administration of the ACS
  • ACS Program Review
    • FAQs
  • 2011 American Community Survey Improvements

Resources for

• American Indian and Alaska Native Population
• Media
• Congress

For people living in group housing

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The American Community Survey collects data that help make sure that communities with residents in group housing get a fair share of federal funds. Group housing facilities (also called "group quarters") are randomly selected throughout the year depending on the size of your facility.

Here's the process:

1. Before we conduct the American Community Survey, we try to make an appointment with a manager, director, administrator, or other contact person in your group housing.
2. During the brief on-site interview, a trained field representative from the Census Bureau asks your contact person basic questions about your facility. We also ask for a list of the people staying there so we can select a random sample of residents to complete our questionnaire.
3. Then we conduct face-to-face interviews with the selected residents. The interview takes less than 30 minutes per person.

Information that could identify residents is kept absolutely confidential.

The Census Bureau has strict regulations to guard individual privacy. We know that your facility may also have special privacy regulations such as HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act) and FERPA (Family Education Rights & Privacy Act). These regulations do not prevent you from participating in the ACS.

For more information, contact the nearest regional office.

Thank you for your time and effort. It makes a difference!