Using the Census Bureau Planning Database with the Response Outreach Area Mapper (ROAM)

June 27, 2018

Access the AudioToll free number: 888-790-1897 Passcode: 9848408

Gretchen Gooding, American Community Survey Office, U.S. Census BureauKathleen Kephart, Center for Survey Measurement, U.S. Census Bureau

Nancy Bates (Slides courtesy of), Senior Researcher for Survey Methodology, U.S. Census BureauSuzanne McArdle, Computer Mapping Specialist, Geography Division, U.S. Census Bureau

Outline

• ACS Basics

• Why Use the Planning Database?

• Low Response Score

• ROAM Demonstration

• Stay in Touch

• Questions

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American Community Survey is Foundational

• The nation’s most current, reliable, and accessible data source for local statistics on critical planning topics such as age, children, veterans, commuting, education, income, and employment

• Surveys about 3.5 million addresses and informs $675 billion of Federal government spending each year

• Designed to produce critical information on small areas and small population groups previously collected on the decennial long form

• Covers 35+ topics, supports over 300 evidence-based Federal government uses, and produces 11 billion estimates each year

• Three key annual data releases:

• 1-year estimates (12 months of data)

• 1-year Supplemental Estimates (12 months of data)

• 5-year estimates (60 months of data)

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Availability of ACS Data Products

Estimated Population of Geographic Area

2017 ACS 1-Year

Estimates

2017 ACS 1-Year

Supplemental Estimates

2013-2017 ACS 5-Year

Estimates

65,000 or more X X X

20,000 to 64,999 X X

Less than 20,000 X

Planned Release Date

September 13, 2018

October 18, 2018

December 6, 2018

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census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/news/data-releases.html

Why Use the Planning Database?

• Easier to download than full ACS Summary Files.

• Contains most popular ACS 5 year tract and block group estimates.

• These estimates are matched to their 2010 Census estimates for each geography.

• The Low Response Score (LRS)

– Now with the ROAM application easier than ever to use!

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Introduction

• In 1990s Census Bureau developed a Hard to Count Score (HTC)

• Households in each census tract assigned a score

• The higher the score, the harder to count

• Field Division used the score to make hiring decisions and resource allocations

• Partnership Specialists used the score in 2000 and 2010 Censuses to identify areas requiring extra effort

• For 2020 Census a new hard-to-survey metric has been developed: the Low Response Score (LRS)

• Methodology of LRS available at https://academic.oup.com/poq/article/81/1/144/2649123

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Low Response Score• LRS = predicted level of Census self non-response at

the tract level

• Values from 0-100

• So, for example, if LRS=25, we are estimating that 25% of households in that tract will not self-respond to the Census

• LRS is updated yearly using new 5-year ACS

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Low Response OLS Linear Model

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Distribution of the LRS

20 30

Num

ber of B

lock G

roups

0 10 40 50

05000

10000

15000

20000

25000

Rule of thumb…areas with LRS = >30 are hardest to count?

Low Response Score

Source: Erdman and Bates, 201710

However, Think Locally…

• What constitutes a “high” LRS depends

• Are you concerned with a particular State, Census Region, Place, or County?

• If yes, extract tracts within that geographic area and produce custom LRS distribution

• What score is cutoff for top decile? Quintile?

• Identify tracts matching your cutoff

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How Do I Access the LRS?

• We have built a Web browser-based LRS application• Branded as: Response Outreach Area Mapper (ROAM)

www.census.gov/roam• Public interface to map and display characteristics of hard-to-

survey areas from the PDB• ROAM displays census tracts indicating hard-to-survey areas

(darker color = higher LRS = harder-to-count)• ROAM also displays selected variables describing the census

tracts• Allows users to set customized parameters and pull extracts

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LRS Limitations/Cautions

• Only considers mail self-response – 2020 Census will offer internet, phone AND mail

• Some tracts have small Ns in mailback universe, e.g. Indian reservations, very rural areas

• If LRS is extremely high, take a closer look

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That Said….LRS Does Pretty Well Predicting ACS Self-response(Tract Level)

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Independent variables

R2 for propensity models2010 Census

mail return raten=71,657

ACS 2013-2016* self-response rate

n=71,454Low Response Score (LRS) 0.59 0.64

*Internet and mail responses combined

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ROAM Demonstration

Access• ROAM application• User Guide• Data Dictionary• FAQs• ROAM REST services

census.gov/roam

Source Us!

U.S. Census Bureau’s [YYYY-YYYY] American Community Survey[1/3/5]-year [estimates/statistics/data release]

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Data Tell Stories. Tell Us Yours!

Your story

Your outcome

Your data details

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census.gov/acs/www/share-your-story/index.php

Sign up for and manage alerts at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USCENSUS/subscriber/new

More information online:https://www.census.gov/acs

Continue the Conversation #ACSdata

1-800-923-8282

acso.users.support@census.gov (ACS)census.pdb.questions@census.gov (Planning Database)

Social media: @uscensusbureau

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Questions?

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Upcoming/Recent Webinars

Upcoming Webinars:

• September: 2017 ACS 1-year Data Release

census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/news/events.html

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Recent Webinars:• Using the Census Application Programming Interface (API) with the ACS• How to Use Geodatabase Files and ArcMap• Using ACS Estimates and Margins of Error• Using the Census Bureau’s ACS for Assessment Officials• Intro to the ACS Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) Files

census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/guidance/training-presentations.html

ACS Data Users Group

• Purpose: – Improve understanding of the value and utility of ACS data.

– Promote information sharing among data users about key ACS data issues and applications

• Membership is free and open to all interested ACS data users

• Webinars and special sessions at professional meetings planned

• Users group website and online community

acsdatacommunity.prb.org

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Need Local Stats?

• FREE Assistance Near You!Our regional data staff can help you access local statistics from the ACS or offer training to help build your skills.

• Contact us at:

1-844-ASK-DATA

(1-844-275-3282)

census.askdata@census.gov

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