Social Capital – ACS Self-response Rate
This indicator reports the survey response rate, defined as the ratio of the estimate of units interviewed after data collection is complete to the estimate of all units that should have been interviewed. Separate rates are calculated for housing unit responses and Group Quarters (GQ) person responses. For housing units, this includes interviews completed after mail, internet, telephone, and personal visit follow-up (with internet data collection starting in 2013 and telephone follow-up ceasing in 2017). For GQ persons, the rate includes all interviews completed after personal visits. The response rates represent community engagement and the overall effectiveness of the survey process.
Note: Group quarter response rate data are only available on state and US level.
Source
Source Description
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities with reliable and timely social, economic, housing, and demographic data every year. The ACS has an annual sample size of about 3.5 million addresses, with survey information collected nearly every day of the year. Data are pooled across a calendar year to produce estimates for that year. As a result, ACS estimates reflect data that have been collected over a period of time rather than for a single point in time as in the decennial census, which is conducted every 10 years and provides population counts as of April 1. The Census Bureau combines 5 consecutive years of ACS data to produce estimates for geographic areas with fewer than 65,000 residents. These 5-year estimates represent data collected over a period of 60 months. Because the ACS is based on a sample, rather than all housing units and people, ACS estimates have a degree of uncertainty associated with them, called sampling error. In general, the larger the sample, the smaller the level of sampling error. Data users should be careful in drawing conclusions about small differences between two ACS estimates because they may not be statistically different.
For more information about this source, including data collection methodology and definitions, refer to the American Community Survey data user’s website.
Methodology
ACS response rate data are obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, representing estimates for the 5-year period from 2019 to 2023.
ACS response rates are measured as the ratio of interviewed units to the total number of units that should have been interviewed, calculated using the following formula:
The American Community Survey (ACS) employs a rigorous methodology to calculate response rates. Separate response rates are calculated for housing unit and Group Quarters (GQ) person responses. For housing units, the survey includes responses collected through mail, internet, telephone, and personal visit follow-up, with internet data collection starting in 2013 and telephone follow-up ceasing in 2017. For GQ persons, the response rate is derived from interviews conducted after personal visits. These response rates are crucial for understanding community engagement, data quality, and the effectiveness of the survey process. Additionally, nonresponse adjustments and weighting are applied to ensure that the estimates accurately reflect the broader population.
For more information on the data reported in the American Community Survey, please refer to the complete American Community Survey 2023 Subject Definitions.
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