American Community Survey

The yearly ACS replaces the decennial Census long form.

"The ACS is more timely and relevant ... every year, rather
than once a decade. Information ..includes topics ranging from housing values and educational attainment to commute times and language spoken at home."

"Each year, the Census Bureau will mail the mandatory survey to a
rolling, random sample of about 3 million households throughout the country
and Puerto Rico. Roughly ... 1-in-40 households - will participate in the survey each year. By comparison, 1-in-6 households received the Census 2000 long form."

The ACS has been in development and testing since 1996. Multnomah County was one of the first counties where it was tested.

"The Census Bureau will release data for areas with populations of 65,000
or more annually beginning in summer 2006. For smaller areas, it will take
three or five years, depending on their population size, to accumulate a
large enough sample to produce data."

"The ACS eliminates the need for a census long form in 2010. The census
short form will continue to produce the official count of the nation's
population every 10 years, fulfilling the constitutionally mandated
function of determining congressional apportionment."

For more information, visit the Census Bureau Web.