ACS Data Users Group

Dear all,

I need 2020 zip-code level SES such as median income, % eimployed, % with high school diploma, etc. But I'm not sure which dataset to download. Can anyone provide a link? It will be great if sample code of coverting the dada to SAS can be provided also.

Many thanks,

Yi

Dear Yi,

If you are downloading a lot of geographies and you have SAS use the Summary file

https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2019/acs/acs_summary-file_handbook_2019.pdf

This contains all the ACS tables. To find a table ID for what you want, use the search box at data.census.gov. You can put in keywords such as "employment" "education" etc.

See thread https://acsdatacommunity.prb.org/discussion-forum/f/forum/1136/acs-summary-file-for-zctas

www2.census.gov/.../

www2.census.gov/.../

Dave

Data for Summary files

www2.census.gov/.../

Thank you, Dave. This is so complicated. So if I want to use 2020 data, I need the 5-yr estimate (because the only one-yr estimate is for the year of 2021)? Also I couldn't locate the file the contains the zip-code level data. The state I'm interested in TX.

There was no 1-year data released for 2020. Regardless, you must use 5-year data for ZIP code / ZCTA level data -- you won't find it in the 1-year ACS.

Thank you, Glenn. In my data, I only have zip codes which I just realized that can't be used for linkage because there's no zcta-zip code crosswalk. What to do if my aim is to get zip-code level data?

Actually there are ZIP-to-ZCTA crosswalks available.

Here's a great source:

udsmapper.org/.../

(scroll down for earlier years)

If your aim is to get ZIP code data, you won't find it in the ACS.

You could try ZIP Code Business Patterns (which uses actual ZIP codes, not ZCTAs), but I don't know if that will include all of the SES data you need:

https://data.census.gov/table?q=CBP2020.CB2000CBP&g=010XX00US$8610000

Check the profiles (DP01 through DP05) -- https://data.census.gov/table?g=010XX00US$8600000&d=ACS+5-Year+Estimates+Data+Profiles

DP03 might have all the SES measures you need.

Also, if you need SAS-format data, MCDC's Dexter application can produce that.

This link will get you to the Dexter query form for 2020 5-year ACS profiles for ZCTAs ("uszctas5yr" in our collection):

https://mcdc.missouri.edu/cgi-bin/broker?_PROGRAM=utils.uex2dex.sas&path=/data/acs2020&dset=uszctas5yr&view=0

Under section 1, Output formats, Database file, choose "SAS dataset (Windows)".

This is our standard ACS profile, which is different from the Bureau's ACS Profiles (DP tables), but it should have all of the SES variables you're looking for.