[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 207 (Tuesday, October 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65694-65695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-27280]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of the Census
[Docket Number 151008932-5932-01]
Streamlining Summary Level 070 Tables in the 5-Year American
Community Survey
AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Final Program.
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SUMMARY: The Census Bureau hereby announces that it will streamline the
production and release of American Community Survey (ACS) Summary Level
070 tables (state/county/county subdivision/place remainder (or part))
to the 15 tables necessary for the delineation of metropolitan,
micropolitan, and related statistical areas as defined by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB). The ACS collects detailed demographic,
social, economic, and housing data from about 3.5 million addresses in
the United States and 36,000 in Puerto Rico each year. Annual data
products are released in the form of 1-Year and 5-Year estimates with
5-Year estimates being produced for over 578,000 geographies by 87
different summary levels. Most summary levels and their corresponding
geographies are then produced for approximately 1,000 detailed tables.
As a cost-saving measure and to improve the usability of the estimates,
the Census Bureau has decided to streamline the production and release
of Summary Level 070 tables to the 15 tables necessary for delineation.
Based on data user analytics, customer feedback, and responses from an
earlier Federal Register Notice (June 5, 2015; 80 FR 32084) soliciting
comments on the streamlining of the summary level, we believe that the
streamlining of this summary level will not have a significant impact
to our data users. Therefore, beginning in December 2015, the Census
Bureau will be tabulating and releasing only those 15 tables for
Summary Level 070 that are necessary for the delineation of
metropolitan, micropolitan, and related statistical
[[Page 65695]]
areas (particularly for identification of New England City and Town
Area principal cities), commuting analysis, and basic demographic and
housing analysis.
DATES: This Notice will be effective on December 10, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: KaNin Reese, Room 7H176F, U.S. Census
Bureau, Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division, Washington,
DC 20233, by phone at 301-763-3493 or via email at
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Beginning with the 2010-2014 ACS 5-Year
tables, the Census Bureau will streamline the production and release of
Summary Level 070 tables (state/county/county subdivision/place
remainder (or part)) to the 15 tables necessary for the delineation of
metropolitan, micropolitan, and related statistical areas (particularly
for identification of New England City and Town Area principal cities)
by OMB, for other commuting analysis, and for basic demographic and
housing analysis. The Census Bureau conducts the ACS program under 13
U.S.C. Sections 141 and 193. Streamlining the tables in this summary
level will save the Census Bureau over $100,000 over a 5-Year period.
The Census Bureau has been reviewing and documenting the utility of
releasing Summary Level 070 for all 1,000 tables for several years. In
our last release, this summary level was produced for 69,939 unique
geographies for about 1,000 tables with approximately 70 percent of all
estimates produced as zero since place parts in county subdivisions
represent very small areas. Not only is the data quality insufficient
for many of the individual geographies, but very few data users are
accessing the tables on American FactFinder or the summary files on the
Census File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site. Further, based on user
feedback, we have increasing concern that data users may be using the
summary level incorrectly, mistaking these place parts in county
subdivisions for place-level geographies.
Since the ACS was created as the replacement for the Census long-
form, the ACS began by producing the same summary levels that were
produced in Census 2000. The purpose of Summary Level 070 (state/
county/county subdivision/place remainder (or part)) is for the
delineation of metropolitan, micropolitan, and related statistical
areas under OMB standards. However, not all of the 1,000 detailed
tables being produced for this summary level are needed for
delineation. The Census Bureau has identified ten commuting tables
necessary for the delineation process and for other commuting analysis,
and five basic demographic and housing tables necessary for the
tabulation of the summary level.
The 15 tables available for Summary Level 070 include:
1. B01001--Sex by Age
2. B01003--Total Population
3. B02001--Race
4. B08007--Sex of Workers by Place of Work--State and County Level
5. B08008--Sex of Workers by Place of Work--Place Level
6. B08009--Sex of Workers by Place of Work--Minor Civil Division
Level for 12 Selected States (CT, ME, MA, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI,
VT, WI)
7. B08301--Means of Transportation to Work
8. B08302--Time Leaving Home to Go to Work
9. B08303--Travel Time to Work
10. B08601--Means of Transportation to Work for Workplace Geography
11. B08602--Time Arriving at Work from Home for Workplace Geography
12. B08603--Travel Time to Work for Workplace Geography
13. B08604--Worker Population for Workplace Geography
14. B25001--Housing Units
15. B25003--Tenure
Due to limited resources available to produce the full product
package and limited user need, the Census Bureau has concluded that it
will only produce the 15 tables above for Summary Level 070. If
additional estimates are needed from this summary level, data users are
encouraged to use block group or tract-level data, which will continue
to be available on American FactFinder, the Census Application
Programming Interface (API), and the summary files on the FTP site.
Data are available at: http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.
Summary of Comments Received and the Response of the Census Bureau
The Census Bureau published a Notice and Request for Comments on
streamlining tables for Summary Level 070 in the Federal Register on
June 5, 2015 (80 FR 32084). In response to the notice, the Census
Bureau received only one comment. The comment was from a data user
requesting that all tables currently produced for this summary level
continue to be made available. The data user argued that this summary
level provided useful estimates for those incorporated villages in the
12 minor civil divisions in New York state that are dependent within
towns, but not necessarily contained completely within a single town
and can cross town boundaries. For those incorporated villages,
estimates would not be available. These estimates could be helpful to
local governments that include place parts in county subdivisions.
However, individual local governments have not expressed any interest
in keeping these estimates available.
In response to the commenter, the Census Bureau explained that due
to budgetary constraints to the ACS, we could not continue to produce
all tables for a summary level with so many geographies that so few
people were using when the majority of the estimates were zero.
However, 15 tables will continue to be produced for that summary level,
which will provide basic demographic, housing, and commuting analysis
as well as those tables necessary for the delineation of metropolitan,
micropolitan, and related statistical areas (particularly for
identification of New England City and Town Area principal cities) by
OMB. Based on the singular user response, the Census Bureau determined
that the need for this summary level was not substantial enough to
warrant expenditure of the resources needed to produce it. Therefore,
the Census Bureau determined that the original 15 tables selected to
continue to be produced in Summary Level 070 were sufficient, and no
other tables were added.
The Census Bureau believes that these tables are sufficient for
data user needs for this summary level. For data users who are
accustomed to using Summary Level 070 tables, the Census Bureau
suggests using block group or tract-level data, which will continue to
be released annually through American FactFinder, Census API, and the
summary files on the FTP site. By releasing only a few key demographic,
social, and housing tables for this summary level, the Census Bureau
believes that we are still meeting the true purpose, and maintaining
the integrity, of Summary Level 070 tables while substantially reducing
resources needed for the full production of the product.
Dated: October 20, 2015.
John H. Thompson,
Director, Bureau of the Census.
[FR Doc. 2015-27280 Filed 10-26-15; 8:45 am]
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