The American Community Survey 2012 3-year demographic-economic estimates were released by Census on November 14, 2013. These data may now be accessed using the CV XE API Gateway. The APIGateway enables access to the data online through a client-server application. Unlike the Census Bureau American FactFinder, which also provides access to these data, the APIGateway enables knitting together multi-sourced data into profiles and ready to use extractions for viewing the data visually in thematic maps.
As summarized in more detail in the ACS 2012 section, the ACS 2012 3-year data provide demographic-economic estimates, centric to 2011, for geographic areas of 20,000 or more population (documentation, xls table shells). A complete list of all geographic tabulation areas is available in this spreadsheet (opens Excel spreadsheet). In comparison to the ACS 2012 1-year estimates (tabulation areas of 65,000 population or more), these 3-year estimates provide the most recent wide-ranging demographic-economic data for all Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) — metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and micropolitan statistical areas (MISAs).
The ACS 2012 5-year estimates will be released on December 17, 2013. The 5-year estimates provide largely the same scope of subject matter, as for the 1-year and 3-year data, for most Census Bureau demographic tabulation areas above the census block level. In particular, the 5-year data include all block groups, census tracts, ZIP code areas, cities/places, counties and metros. Most of the 5-year data will be available using the APIGateway and reviewed in upcoming posts.
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