The Decennial Census:
The Decennial census is a constitutionally mandated count of the population of the U.S. completed every 10 years. The count is used for apportioning Congressional seats, as well as many other purposes, such as demographic research, allocating funding, and informing public policy. The Decennial Census asks 7 basic questions - name, relationship to people in the household, sex, age, date of birth, Hispanic origin, and race.
American Community Survey:
The ACS is an ongoing survey of a sample population that provides more detailed and current information in between each 10-year Census. It is conducted every month, every year and is sent to a sample of about 3.5 million addresses in the 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. The ACS asks about topics not on the 2020 Census, such as education, employment, internet access, and transportation. ACS data comes in 1-year, 3-year, or 5-year estimates.
1-year estimates are only available for areas with populations of 65,000 or more. 3-year estimates provide data for areas with populations of 20,000 or more. 5-year estimates provide data for all areas.
Census Geography Definitions:
Counties and equivalent areas are the primary divisions of most states, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas.
Minor Civil Divisions (MCDs)/Census County Divisions (CCDs) MCDs are legally defined county subdivisions, such as towns and townships. In 21 states where MCDs do not exist or are not adequate for reporting subcounty statistics, the Census Bureau, in cooperation with state and local officials, delineates county subdivisions known as Census County Divisions.
Places are concentrations of population such as cities, that have legally prescribed boundaries, powers, and functions. Other population center without legally defined corporate limits or corporate powers are defined by the Census Bureau in cooperation with state officials and local data users. These are called Census-Designated Places (CDPs) and are identified in data tables by the acronym CDP following the place name.
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