American Community Survey Artist Extracts 5-year Data (ICPSR 39413)

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The American Community Survey (ACS), conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, replaced the long form of the decennial census in 2000. The ACS allows researchers, policy makers, and others access to timely information about the U.S. population to make decisions about infrastructure and distribution of federal funds. The monthly survey is sent to a sample of approximately 3.5 million U.S. addresses, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The ACS includes questions on topics not included in the decennial census, such as those about occupations and employment, education, and key areas of infrastructure like internet access and transportation.

When studying large geographic areas, such as states, researchers can use a single year's worth of ACS data to create population-level estimates. However, the study of smaller groups of the population, such as those employed in arts-related fields, requires additional data for more accurate estimation. Specifically, researchers often use 5-year increments of ACS data to draw conclusions about smaller geographies or slices of the population. Note, the Census Bureau produced 3-year estimates between 2005 and 2013 (resulting in seven files: 2005-2007, 2006-2008, 2007-2009, . . . 2011-2013), which remain available but no additional 3-year estimate files have been created.

Individuals wishing to describe people working in occupations related to the arts or culture should plan to use at least five years' worth of data to generate precise estimates. When selecting data from the U.S. Census Bureau or IPUMS USA, users should select data collected over 60 months, such as 2020-2024. NADAC's Guide to Creating Artist Extracts and Special Tabulations of Artists from the American Community Survey provides information about the occupation codes used to identify artists.

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