Resources

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities with reliable and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data for the nation, states, congressional districts, counties, places, and other localities every year. It has an annual sample size of about 3.5 million addresses across the United States and Puerto Rico and includes both housing units and group quarters (e.g., nursing facilities, prisons). The ACS is conducted in every county throughout the nation, and every municipio in Puerto Rico, where it is called the Puerto Rico Community Survey. ACS 1-year estimates have been released annually for geographic areas with populations of 65,000 and more since 2006. ACS 5-year estimates have been released annually for all geographic areas down to the block group level, regardless of population size, since 2010. Data included in this report come from 1-year estimates. For information on the ACS sample design and other topics, visit https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/

For more information, contact:
U.S. Census Bureau Customer Service Center
Phone: 800-923-8282
Website: https://ask.census.gov

The Air Quality System (AQS) contains ambient air pollution data collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state, local, and tribal air pollution control agencies. Data on criteria pollutants consist of air quality measurements collected by sensitive equipment at thousands of monitoring stations located across all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Each monitor measures the concentration of a particular pollutant in the air. Monitoring data indicate the average pollutant concentration during a specified time interval (usually 1 hour or 24 hours). AQS also contains meteorological data, descriptive information about each monitoring station (including its geographic location and its operator), and data quality assurance or quality control information. The system is administered by the EPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Outreach and Information Division, located in Research Triangle Park, NC

For more information, contact:
Nick Mangus
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Phone: 919-541-5549
Website: http://www.epa.gov/aqs

The American Housing Survey (AHS) was mandated by Congress in 1968 to provide data for evaluating progress toward “a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family”. It is the primary source of detailed information on housing in the United States and is used to generate a biennial report to Congress on the conditions of housing in the United States, among other reports. The survey is conducted for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by the U.S. Census Bureau. The AHS encompasses a national survey and 35 metropolitan surveys and is designed to collect data from the same housing units for each survey. The integrated national sample, a representative sample of approximately 66,000 housing units as of 2017, is conducted biennially in odd-numbered years. This includes a representative national sample, representative samples of the 15 largest metropolitan areas, and an oversample of HUD-assisted housing units. Two sets of 10 metropolitan samples of 3,000 housing units per metropolitan area alternate in odd-numbered years on a 4-year cycle. The AHS collects data about the inventory and condition of housing in the United States and the demographics of its inhabitants. The survey provides detailed data on the types of housing in the United States and their characteristics and conditions; financial data on housing costs, utilities, mortgages, equity loans, and market value; and demographic data on family composition, income, education, and race and ethnicity. Rotating supplements to the survey collect information on neighborhood quality, walkability, public transportation, and recent movers; the health and safety aspects of a home; accommodations for older and disabled household members; doubling up of households; working from home; access to arts and culture; use of housing counseling; food security; and energy efficiency.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this report.

For more information, contact:
George Carter
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of Policy Development and Research
Phone: 202-402-5873
Website: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/ahs.html

The American Time Use Survey (ATUS) is a nationally representative sample survey conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. The ATUS measures how people living in the United States spend their time. Estimates show the kinds of activities people do and the time they spend doing them by sex, age, educational attainment, labor force status, and other characteristics, as well as by weekday and weekend day.

ATUS respondents are interviewed one time about how they spent their time on the previous day, where they were, and whom they were with. The survey is a continuous survey, with interviews conducted nearly every day of the year and a sample that builds over time. About 12,000 members of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 15 and over are interviewed each year.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this report.

For more information, contact:
American Time Use Survey Staff
Bureau of Labor Statistics
U.S. Department of Labor
E-mail: atusinfo@bls.gov
Phone: 202-691-6339
Website: http://www.bls.gov/tus/

The Consumer Expenditure (CE) Survey is conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey consists of two separate components: the Quarterly Interview Survey and the Diary Survey. Data are integrated before publication. The data presented in this report are derived from the integrated data available on the CE website. The published data are weighted to reflect the U.S. population.

The Quarterly Interview Survey is designed to obtain data on the types of expenditures that respondents can recall for a period of three months or longer. These include relatively large expenditures, such as those for property, automobiles, and major durable goods and those that occur on a regular basis, such as rent and utilities. Each consumer unit is interviewed once per quarter for four consecutive quarters. The Diary Survey is designed to obtain data on frequently purchased smaller items, including food and beverages both at home and in food establishments, housekeeping supplies, tobacco, nonprescription drugs, and personal care products and services. Each consumer unit records its expenditures in a diary for two consecutive one-week periods. Respondents are less likely to recall such purchases over longer periods.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this report.

For more information, contact:
Bureau of Labor Statistics
U.S. Department of Labor
E-mail: CEXINFO@bls.gov
Phone: 202-691-6900
Website: http://www.bls.gov/cex/

The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a nationally representative sample survey of about 60,000 households conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. The CPS is the primary source of information on the labor force characteristics of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 and over, including a comprehensive body of monthly data on the labor force, employment, unemployment, persons not in the labor force, hours of work, earnings, and other demographic and labor force characteristics.

In most months, CPS supplements provide additional demographic and social data. The Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) is the primary source of detailed information on income and poverty in the United States. The ASEC is used to generate the annual Population Profile of the United States, reports on geographical mobility and educational attainment, and is the primary source of detailed information on income and poverty in the United States. The ASEC, historically referred to as the March supplement, now is conducted in February, March, and April with a sample of about 100,000 addresses. The questionnaire asks about income from more than 50 sources and records up to 27 different income amounts, including receipt of many noncash benefits, such as food stamps and housing assistance.

Race and Hispanic origin: CPS respondents are asked to identify themselves as belonging to one or more of five racial groups (White, Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander). People who responded to the question on race by indicating only one race are referred to as the race alone or single-race population, and individuals who chose more than one race category are referred to as the Two or More Races population.

The CPS includes separate questions on Hispanic origin. People who identify themselves as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish are further classified by detailed Hispanic ethnicity (such as Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban). People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

For more information, contact:
Bureau of Labor Statistics
U.S. Department of Labor
E-mail: cpsinfo@bls.gov
Phone: 202-691-6378
Website: http://www.bls.gov/cps
Additional website: http://www.census.gov/cps/

Every 10 years, beginning with the first census in 1790, the United States government conducts a census, or count, of the entire population as mandated by the U.S. Constitution. For most data collections, Census Day was April 1 of the respective year.

For the 2010 Census, the U.S. Census Bureau devised a short-form questionnaire that asked for the age, sex, race, and ethnicity (Hispanic or Not Hispanic) of each household resident; his or her relationship to the person filling out the form; and whether the housing unit was rented or owned by a member of the household. The census long form, which for decades collected detailed socioeconomic and housing data from a sample of the population on education, housing, jobs, and more was replaced by the American Community Survey, an ongoing survey of about 295,000 addresses per month that gathers largely the same data as its predecessor.

Race and Hispanic origin: Starting with the 2000 Census, and continuing in the 2010 Census, respondents were given the option of selecting one or more race categories to indicate their racial identities. People who responded to the question on race by indicating only one of the six race categories (White, Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and Some Other Race) are referred to as the race alone or single-race population. Individuals who chose more than one of the race categories are referred to as the Two or More Races population. The six single-race categories— which made up nearly 98 percent of all respondents— and the Two or More Races category sum to the total population. Because respondents were given the option of selecting one or more race categories in the 2000 Census and the 2010 Census, these data are not directly comparable with data from the 1990 or earlier censuses.

As in earlier censuses, the 2010 Census included a separate question on Hispanic origin. In the 2010 Census, people of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin could identify themselves as Mexican, Mexican American or Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or Another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin. People of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

For more information, contact:
Sex and Age Statistics Branch
Phone: 301-763-2378
Website: https://www.census.gov/2010census/

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, also called the Federal Reserve Board, publishes the “Financial Accounts of the United States” (Z.1) data quarterly (about 10 weeks after the end of the quarter) on their website. This data release presents the financial flows and levels of sectors in the U.S. economy as well as selected balance sheets, supplemental tables, and the Integrated Macroeconomic Accounts (IMA).

The IMA relate production, income, saving, and capital formation from the national income and product accounts (NIPA) to changes in net worth from the “Financial Accounts” on a sector-by-sector basis. The IMA are published jointly by the Federal Reserve Board and the Bureau of Economic Analysis and are based on international guidelines and terminology as defined in the System of National Accounts (SNA 2008).

Data shown for the most recent quarters are based on preliminary and potentially incomplete information. Nonetheless, when source data are revised or estimation methods are improved, all data are subject to revision. There is no specific revision schedule; rather, data are revised on an ongoing basis. In each release of the “Financial Accounts”, major revisions are highlighted at the beginning of the publication.

The data in the “Financial Accounts” come from a large variety of sources and are subject to limitations and uncertainty resulting from measurement errors, missing information, and incompatibilities among data sources. The size of this uncertainty cannot be quantified, but its existence is acknowledged by the inclusion of “statistical discrepancies” for various sectors and financial instruments.

For more information, contact:
Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Comment form: https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/contactus/feedback.aspx
Website: https://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/fof/

The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is a national panel study conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research under a cooperative agreement with the National Institute on Aging (NIA). The HRS is based on core interviews every two years of over 20,000 individuals representing the U.S. population over age 50. Respondents are followed longitudinally until death (including following people who move into a nursing home or other institutionalized setting). In 1992, the study began with an initial sample of more than 12,600 people from the 1931–1941 birth cohort and their spouses. The HRS was joined in 1993 by a companion study, Asset and Health Dynamics Among the Oldest Old (AHEAD), with a sample of 8,222 respondents (who were born before 1924 and were age 70 and over) and their spouses. In 1998, these two data collection efforts were combined into a single survey instrument and field period and were expanded through the addition of baseline interviews with two new birth cohorts: Children of the Depression Age (1924–1930) and War Babies (1942–1947). The HRS steady-state design calls for the addition every 6 years of a new cohort of Americans entering their 50s. Thus, the Early Boomer birth cohort (1948–1953) was added in 2004, the Mid-Baby Boomer birth cohort (1954–1959) was added in 2010, and the Late Baby Boomers (1960–1965) were added in 2016. The Early GenX cohort (1966–1971) will be added in 2022. The 2010 wave also included an expansion of the minority sample of Early and Mid-Baby Boomers. The minority sample will be expanded again in 2022. Telephone follow-ups are conducted every second year, with proxy interviews after death. Beginning with the 2006 wave, one-half of the sample goes through an enhanced face-to-face interview that includes the collection of physical performance measures and biomarker data. The Aging, Demographics, and Memory Study (ADAMS) and Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) supplement the HRS with data to support population-based research on Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias. Data from a genome-wide scan on saliva samples collected from approximately 19,000 respondents from 2006–2016 supports genetic and genomic studies. Venous blood samples collected in 2016 and 2018 provided new biomarker data and a repository of serum, plasma, and cryo-preserved cells.

The HRS is designed to support research on aging, and the health and well-being of the older population. Survey content includes physical/psychological health and well-being, disabilities, blood-based biomarkers, health services, labor force, economic status, family structure, and early life experiences. Linkages are available to a variety of administrative and contextual data.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this report.

The pension research sample supports analysis of the plan, participant, and financial characteristics of the private pension plan universe and is used to produce the Private Pension Plan Bulletin Abstract of Form 5500 Annual Reports, an annual publication that summarizes data on private pension plans.

For more information, contact:
Health and Retirement Study
E-mail: hrsquestions@umich.edu
Phone: 734-936-0314
Website: https://hrs.isr.umich.edu/about

Intercensal population estimates are produced for the years between two decennial censuses when both the beginning and ending populations are known. They are produced by adjusting the existing time series of postcensal estimates for the entire decade to smooth the transition from one decennial census count to the next. They differ from the annually released postcensal estimates in that they rely on mathematical formulae that redistribute the difference between the April 1 postcensal estimate and the April 1 census count for the end of the decade across the postcensal estimates for that decade. For dates when both postcensal and intercensal estimates are available, intercensal estimates are preferred.

The 2000–2010 intercensal estimates reconcile the postcensal estimates with the 2010 Census counts and provide a consistent time series of population estimates that reflect the 2010 Census results. The 2000–2010 intercensal estimates were produced for the nation, states, and counties by demographic characteristics (age, sex, and race and Hispanic origin).

For a more detailed discussion of the methods used to create the intercensal estimates, see https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/methodology/intercensal/2000-2010-intercensal-estimates-methodology.pdf .

For more information, contact:
Population Estimates Branch
Phone: 301-763-2385
Website: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html

The U.S. Census Bureau produces the International Data Base (IDB), which includes regularly updated population estimates and projections for more than 200 countries and areas. The series of estimates and projections provide a consistent set of demographic indicators, including population size and growth, mortality, fertility, and net migration. The IDB is accessible online at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/about/idb.html.

For more information, contact:
Demographic and Economic Studies Branch
International Programs Population Division
Phone: 301-763-1360
Website: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs.html

The Social Security Administration maintains a record of Social Security Title II benefits for each beneficiary and applicant for benefits. The administrative database is for each disabled insurance, retired worker insurance, survivor insurance, and spouse insurance beneficiary. The system of records is the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR). The MBR extract file contains a record for every person who has a record on the MBR. This general-purpose extract file is comprised of 134 variables. The MBR extract is produced semiannually, and is used to support a variety of research and statistical projects.

The data in Indicator 9 on Social Security beneficiaries come from tabulations of the MBR data that are published annually in the Statistical Supplement to the Social Security Bulletin. The Supplement tables used in Indicator 9 include 5A.1.2, 5A1.6, 5A5, 5A.6, 5A, and 6B5.t1.

For more information, contact:
Email: statistics@ssa.gov
Website: https://www.socialsecurity.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement

The Medicare claims and enrollment data are captured in the Chronic Condition Warehouse (CCW). The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the CCW, a research database, in response to the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). Section 723 of the MMA outlines a plan to improve the quality of care and reduce the cost of care for chronically ill Medicare beneficiaries. In addition to chronic conditions, the CCW supports health policy analysis and other CMS initiatives.

The CCW data files were designed to facilitate research across the continuum of care, using data files that could be easily merged and analyzed by beneficiary. Each beneficiary in the CCW is assigned a unique, unidentifiable link key, which allows researchers to easily merge data files and perform relevant analyses across different claim types, enrollment files, Part D event data, assessment data, and other CCW file types. CCW data files are available on request from CMS.

The CCW claims data files have been streamlined to include only those variables determined by CMS to be of value and useful for research or analytic purposes. The data files delivered from the CCW contain a subset of the original source files. Variables used infrequently or not applicable to a particular setting have been removed.

For more information, contact:
The Research Data Assistance Center
E-mail: resdac@umn.edu
Phone: 1-888-973-7322
Website: https://www.resdac.org

Chronic Conditions Data Warehouse
E-mail: CCWHelp@gdit.com
Phone: 1-866-766-1915
Website: https://www.ccwdata.org/web/guest/home

The Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) is a continuous, multipurpose survey of a representative sample of the Medicare population designed to help the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) administer, monitor, and evaluate the Medicare program. The MCBS collects information on health care use, cost, and sources of payment; health insurance coverage; household composition; sociodemographic characteristics; health status and physical functioning; income and assets; access to care; satisfaction with care; usual source of care; and how beneficiaries get information about Medicare.

MCBS data enable CMS to determine sources of payment for all medical services used by Medicare beneficiaries, including copayments, deductibles, and noncovered services; develop reliable and current information on the use and cost of services not covered by Medicare (such as long-term care and dental, vision, and hearing services); ascertain all types of health insurance coverage and relate coverage to sources of payment; and monitor the financial effects of changes in the Medicare program on the beneficiaries Additionally, the MCBS is the only source of multidimensional person-based information about the characteristics of the Medicare population and their access to and satisfaction with Medicare services and information about the Medicare program. The MCBS sample consists of Medicare enrollees residing in the community and in institutions.

The survey is conducted in 3 rounds each year, with each round being about 4 months in length. The MCBS has a multistage, stratified, random sample design and a rotating panel survey design. Each panel is followed for 11 interviews. In-person interviews are conducted using computer-assisted personal interviewing. A sample of approximately 16,000 people is interviewed in each round. However, because of the rotating panel design, only 12,000 people receive all 3 interviews in a given calendar year. Information collected in the survey is combined with information from CMS administrative data files.

The MCBS has two components: the Survey file and the Cost Supplement file. The Survey file contains information on beneficiaries’ access to health care, satisfaction with care, usual source of care, health insurance coverage, and social determinants of health. The sample for this file is the “ever enrolled” population, including those who entered the Medicare program, and those who died during the benefit year. Medicare claims are linked to survey-reported events to produce the Cost Supplement file, which provides complete expenditure and source of payment data on all health care services, including those not covered by Medicare. The sample for the Cost Supplement is a subset of those in the Survey file who met criteria for having enough covered days of reporting their expenditures. Both files have weights that also allow for analysis of the continually (always) enrolled Medicare population as well—those who participated in the Medicare program for the entire year.

Race and Hispanic origin: The MCBS defines race as White, Black, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, or Other. People are allowed to choose more than one category. There is a separate question on whether the person is of Hispanic or Latino origin. The “Other” category in Table 29c consists of people who answered “No”to the Hispanic/ Latino question and who answered something other than “White” or “Black” to the race question. People who answer with more than one racial category are assigned to the “Other” category.

For more information, contact:
MCBS Staff
Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services
E-mail: MCBS@cms.hhs.gov
Website: https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Research/MCBS/index

The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) is an ongoing annual survey of the civilian noninstitutionalized population that collects detailed information on health care use and expenditures (including sources of payment), health insurance, income, health status, access, and quality of care. The MEPS, which began in 1996, is the third in a series of national probability surveys conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on the financing and use of medical care in the United States. MEPS predecessor surveys are the National Medical Care Expenditure Survey (NMCES) conducted in 1977 and the National Medical Expenditure Survey (NMES) conducted in 1987. Each of the three surveys (NMCES, NMES, and MEPS) used multiple rounds of in-person data collection to elicit expenditures and sources of payments for each health care event experienced by household members during the calendar year. The current MEPS Household Component sample is drawn from respondents to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). To yield more complete information on health care spending and payment sources, followback surveys of health providers were conducted for a subsample of events in the MEPS (and events in the MEPS predecessor surveys).

Since 1977, the structure of the billing mechanism for medical services has grown more complex as a result of increasing penetration of managed care and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) and various cost containment reimbursement mechanisms instituted by Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers. As a result, there has been substantial discussion about what constitutes an appropriate measure of health care expenditures.¹ Health care expenditures presented in this report refer to what is actually paid for health care services. More specifically, expenditures are defined as the sum of direct payments for care received, including out-of-pocket payments for care received. This definition of expenditures differs somewhat from what was used in the 1987 NMES, which used charges (rather than payments) as the fundamental expenditure construct. To improve comparability of estimates between the 1987 NMES and the 1996 and 2001 MEPS, the 1987 data presented in this report were adjusted using the method described by Zuvekas and Cohen (2002).² Adjustments to the 1977 data were considered unnecessary because virtually all of the discounting for health care services occurred after 1977 (essentially equating charges with payments in 1977).

A number of quality-related enhancements were made to the MEPS beginning in 2000, including the fielding of an annual adult self-administered questionnaire (SAQ). This questionnaire contains items regarding patient satisfaction and accountability measures from the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®; previously known as the Consumer Assessment of Health Plans), the VR-12 physical and mental health assessment tool starting in 2018, EQ-5D EuroQol 5 dimensions with visual scale (2000–2003), and several attitude items. Starting in 2004, the K–6 Kessler mental health distress scale and the PH2 two-item depression scale were added to the SAQ.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this report.

For more information:
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Website: http://meps.ahrq.gov/mepsweb

The National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) is a scientific study of how Americans function in later life. The study is led by investigators from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, with data collection by Westat and support from the National Institute on Aging. NHATS is intended to foster research that will guide efforts to reduce disability, maximize health and independent functioning, and enhance quality of life at older ages.

Since 2011, NHATS has been gathering information on a nationally representative sample of Medicare beneficiaries ages 65 and over through annual in-person interviews. The interviews collect detailed information on activities of daily life, living arrangements, economic status and well-being, aspects of early life, and quality of life. Among the specific content areas included are the general and technological environment of the home, health conditions, work status and participation in valued activities, mobility and use of assistive devices, cognitive functioning, and help provided with daily activities (self-care, household, and medical). Study participants are re-interviewed every year in order to compile a record of change over time. The content and questions included in NHATS were developed by a multidisciplinary team of researchers from the fields of demography, geriatric medicine, epidemiology, health services research, economics, and gerontology. As the population ages, NHATS will provide the basis for understanding trends in late-life functioning, how these differ for various population subgroups, and the economic and social consequences of aging and disability for individuals, families, and society.

For more information, contact:
National Health and Aging Trends Study
E-mail: NHATSdata@westat.com
Website: http://www.nhats.org/

The National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) is the principal source of information on the health of the civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States and is one of the major data collection programs of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

The main objective of the NHIS is to monitor the health of the United States population through the collection and analysis of data on a broad range of health topics. A major strength of this survey is its ability to display these health characteristics by many demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.

The NHIS is a cross-sectional household interview survey. The target population for the NHIS is the civilian noninstitutionalized population residing in the United States at the time of the interview. Excluded from the survey are persons in long-term care institutions (e.g., nursing homes for the elderly, hospitals for the chronically ill or physically or intellectually disabled, wards for abused or neglected children), correctional facilities (e.g., prisons or jails, juvenile detention centers, halfway houses), and U.S. nationals living in foreign countries. Active-duty Armed Forces personnel are also excluded from the survey, unless at least one other family member is a civilian eligible for the survey (e.g., a child whose parents are both active-duty military). In that case, data for these Armed Forces members (259 persons in 2018) are collected and included in all relevant files in order to aid any analyses pertaining to the family (e.g., family structure, relationships, income), but these persons are given a final weight of zero so that their individual characteristics will not be counted when making national (i.e., weighted) estimates. Weighted estimates cover only the civilian noninstitutionalized household population.

Race and Hispanic origin: Starting with data year 1999, race-specific estimates in the NHIS were collected according to 1997 standards for Federal data on race and ethnicity, which specify five single-race categories and multiple race categories and are not strictly comparable with estimates for earlier years. In Older Americans 2020, estimates presented by race and Hispanic origin calculated from the NHIS include persons of multiple race. See Health, United States, 2018, Appendix II for details on race and ethnicity in the NHIS.

For more information, contact:
Division of Health Interview Statistics
E-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov
Phone: 301-458-4901
Website: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm

The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. The survey is unique in that it combines interviews and physical examinations. NHANES is a major program of the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

The NHANES program began in the early 1960s and has been conducted as a series of surveys focusing on different population groups and health topics. In 1999, the survey became a continuous program with a changing focus on a variety of health and nutrition measurements to meet emerging needs. The survey examines a nationally representative sample of about 5,000 persons each year. These persons are located in counties across the country, 15 of which are visited each year.

The NHANES interview includes demographic, socioeconomic, dietary, and health-related questions. The examination component consists of medical, dental, and physiological measurements, as well as laboratory tests administered by highly trained medical personnel.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this report.

For more information, contact:
Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
E-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov
Phone: 1-800-232-4636
Website: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm

The biennial National Study of Long-Term Care Providers (NSLTCP) monitors trends in the supply, provision, and use of the major sectors of paid, regulated long-term care services. NSLTCP uses survey data on the residential care community and adult day services sectors and administrative data on the home health, nursing home, and hospice sectors.

The main goals of NSLTCP are to

• estimate the supply and use of paid, regulated long-term care services providers.
• estimate key policy-relevant characteristics and practices.
• produce national and state-level estimates, where feasible.
• compare estimates among sectors.
• monitor trends over time.

NSLTCP replaces NCHS’ previous National Nursing Home Survey, National Home and Hospice Care Survey, and National Survey of Residential Care Facilities.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this survey are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this report.

For more information, contact:
Long-Term Care Statistics Branch
E-mail: ltcsbfeedback@cdc.gov
Phone: 1-800-232-4636
Website: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsltcp/index.htm

The National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) collects and disseminates official vital statistics. These data are provided through contracts between the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and vital registration systems operated in the various jurisdictions legally responsible for the registration of vital events—births, deaths, marriages, divorces, and fetal deaths.

In the United States, legal authority for the registration of these events resides individually with the 50 States, 2 cities (Washington, DC, and New York City), and 5 territories (Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). These jurisdictions are responsible for maintaining registries of vital events and for issuing copies of birth, marriage, divorce, and death certificates.

Mortality data from the NVSS are a fundamental source of demographic, geographic, and cause-of-death information. The NVSS is one of the few sources of health-related data that are comparable for small geographic areas and available for a long time period in the United States. The data are also used to present the characteristics of those dying in the United States, determine life expectancy, and compare mortality trends with other countries.

Race and Hispanic origin: Race and Hispanic origin are reported separately on the death certificate. Beginning in 2018, all states reported deaths using the 2003 revision of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Death, which allows the reporting of more than one race. The race categories on the 2003 version of the certificate are consistent with the 1997 Office of Management and Budget standard. See Health, United States 2018, Appendix II for more information on race and Hispanic origin in the mortality files of the NVSS.

For more information, contact:
Division of Vital Statistics
E-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov
Phone: 1-800-232-4636
Website: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/index.htm

The 2017 National Population Projections provide projections of the resident population and demographic components of change (births, deaths, and international migration) through 2060. Population projections are available by age, sex, and race and Hispanic origin. Where both estimates and projections are available for the same time period, the U.S. Census Bureau recommends the use of the population estimates. The following is a general description of the methods used to produce the 2017 National Population Projections.

The 2017 National Population Projections start with the Vintage July 1, 2016, population estimates and are developed using a cohort-component method. Many of the characteristics of the U.S. resident population, as measured by the 2010 Census, are preserved as demographic patterns that work their way through the projection period. The components of population change (births, deaths, and international migration) are projected for each birth cohort (persons born in a given year). For each passing year, the Census Bureau advances the population 1 year of age. The Census Bureau updates the new age categories using survival rates and levels of international migration projected for the passing year. A new birth cohort is added to form the population under 1 year of age by applying projected age-specific fertility rates to the female population ages 14–54 and by updating the new cohort for the effects of mortality and international migration.

The assumptions for the components of change are based on time series analysis. Because of limited information about racial characteristics in the fertility and mortality historical series, the assumptions were developed for mutually exclusive and exhaustive groups. Five groups were used for the fertility assumptions: native-born Asian/ Pacific Islander, all other native-born, foreign-born non-Hispanic Asian/Pacific Islander, all other non-Hispanic foreign-born, and foreign-born Hispanic. Three groups were used for the mortality assumptions: non-Hispanic White/Asian/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic Black/American Indian/Alaska Native, and Hispanic of any race. The resulting births and deaths were then applied to the matching racial and ethnic categories to project the population.

For more information, contact:
Population Evaluation
Analysis and Projections Branch
Phone: 301-763-2438
Website: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popproj.html

Each year, the U.S. Census Bureau produces and publishes population estimates of the nation, states, counties, state/county equivalents, and Puerto Rico.³ The Census Bureau estimates the resident population for each year since the most recent decennial census by using measures of population change. The resident population includes all people currently residing in the United States.

The population estimates are used for Federal funding allocations, as controls for major surveys including the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey, for community development, to aid business planning, and as denominators for statistical rates.

Overall, the estimate time series from 2000 to 2010 was very accurate, even accounting for 10 years of population change. The average absolute difference between the final total resident population estimates and 2010 Census counts was only about 3.1 percent across all counties. ⁴

The population estimate at any given time point starts with a population base (the last decennial census or the previous point in the time series), adds births, subtracts deaths, and adds net migration (both international and domestic).⁵ The individual methods used by the Census Bureau account for additional factors, such as input data availability and the requirement that all estimates be consistent by geography, age, sex, and race and Hispanic origin.

The Census Bureau produces these estimates using a “top-down” approach. It first estimates the national population and the populations of states and counties. All of these follow a cohort component method. One key principle used by the Census Bureau is that all estimates produced must be consistent across geography and demographic characteristics. To accomplish this, the Census Bureau controls the estimates of the smaller geographic areas so that they sum to the totals produced at higher levels.

For more information contact:
Population Estimates Branch
Phone: 301-763-2385
Website: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/methodology.html

Concerns about the adequacy of the official measure of poverty culminated in a congressional appropriation in 1990 for an independent scientific study of the concepts, measurement methods, and information needed for a poverty measure. In response, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) established the Panel on Poverty and Family Assistance, which released its report in spring 1995. ⁶

In 2010, an interagency technical working group, which included representatives from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the U.S. Census Bureau, the Economics and Statistics Administration, the Council of Economic Advisers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Office of Management and Budget, issued a series of suggestions to the Census Bureau and the BLS on how to develop the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). Their suggestions drew on the recommendations of the 1995 NAS report and the extensive research on poverty measurement conducted after the report’s publication. ⁶

Since 2011, the Census Bureau has published poverty estimates using the new measure based on these suggestions.⁷ The SPM serves as an additional indicator of economic well-being and provides a deeper understanding of economic conditions and policy effects. The SPM creates a more complex statistical picture incorporating additional items such as tax payments, work expenses, and medical out-of-pocket expenditures in its family resource estimates. The resource estimates also take into account the value of noncash benefits, including nutritional, energy, and housing assistance. Thresholds used in the new measure are derived by staff at the BLS from Consumer Expenditure Survey expenditure data on basic necessities (food, shelter, clothing, and utilities) and are adjusted for geographic differences in the cost of housing.

In addition to the annual report, the Census Bureau makes available a research data file that enables analysts to create their own SPM estimates and cross tabulations. ⁸

For more information, contact:
Dr. Trudi J. Renwick
U.S. Census Bureau
E-mail: trudi.j.renwick@census.gov
Phone: 301-763-5133
Website: https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/supplemental-poverty-measure.html

The Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) is a triennial, cross-sectional, national survey of noninstitutionalized Americans conducted by the Federal Reserve Board with the cooperation of the Statistics of Income Division of the Internal Revenue Service. It includes data on household assets and debts, use of financial services, income, demographics, and labor force participation.

The survey is considered one of the best sources for wealth measurement because of its detailed treatment of assets and debts and because it oversamples wealthy households. ⁹, ¹⁰ The data for the panels of the SCF used in this study were collected by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. The SCF uses a dual-frame sample consisting of both a standard random sample and a special over-sample of wealthier households in order to correct for the underrepresentation of high-income families in the survey. It uses multiple imputation techniques to deal with missing data, which results in the creation of five data sets called “implicates”. There are five implicates for every record. In the SCF, a household unit is divided into a “primary economic unit” (PEU)—the family—and everyone else in the household. The PEU is intended to be the economically dominant single person or couple (whether married or living together as partners) and all other persons in the household who are financially interdependent with the economically dominant person or couple.¹¹ The Indicator 10 data represent the PEU, which are referred to as households in the chart and discussion.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data in this report for the head of the PEU are shown for White and Black. Data are not shown by Hispanic origin.

For more information, contact:
Chris Tamborini
Social Security Administration E-mail: chris.tamborini@ssa.gov
Phone: 202-358-6109

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) uses the VA Enrollee Health Care Projection Model (Model) to project enrollment and utilization of the enrolled veteran population for 20 years into the future for approximately 140 categories of health care services. First, VA uses the Model to determine how many veterans will be enrolled each year and their age, priority, and geographic location. Next, VA uses the Model to project the total health care services needed by those enrollees and then estimates the portion of that care that those enrollees will demand from VA.

The Model accounts for the unique demographic characteristics of the enrolled veteran population, including Post-9/11 Era Combat Veteran and other enrollee cohorts, as well as other factors that impact a veteran’s decision to enroll in VA and use VA health care services:

• Enrollee age, gender, income, travel distance to VA facilities, and geographic migration patterns
• Significant morbidity of the enrolled veteran population, particularly for mental health services
• Economic conditions, including changes in local unemployment rates and home values (as a proxy for asset values) and the long-term downward trend in labor force participation, particularly for high school-educated males
• Enrollee transition between enrollment priorities as a result of movement into service-connected priorities or changes in income
• Enrollee reliance on VA health care versus the other health care options available to them (i.e., Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and commercial insurance)
• Unique health care utilization patterns of Post-9/11 Era Combat Veteran, female, and new enrollees, and other enrollee cohorts with unique utilization patterns for particular services
• New policies, regulations, and legislation, including the Choice Act and MISSION Act
• VA health care initiatives, such as the mental health capacity improvement initiative
• A continually evolving VA health care system (e.g., quality and efficiency initiatives)
• Changes in health care practice and technology, such as new diagnostics, drugs, and treatments

For more information, contact:
Maggie Heimann
Veterans Health Administration
Chief Strategy Office
E-mail: margaret.heimann@va.gov
Phone: 202-461-4194
Website: https://www.va.gov/HEALTHPOLICYPLANNING/planning.asp

The VA Analytics Service provided veteran population projection by key demographic characteristics such as age and gender as well as geographic areas. VetPop2016 was last updated using 2000 Census data, VA administrative data, and Department of Defense data. VetPop2018 was released in spring 2020.

Race and Hispanic origin: Data from this model are not shown by race and Hispanic origin in this report.

For more information, contact:
The National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics
E-mail: VANCVAS@va.gov
Website: http://va.gov/vetdata/veteran_population.asp