Data In-Depth
Data Sources
The B-5 Explorer shows population estimates of children ages 0-5 based on the Census Bureau’s 2017—2021 5-year American Community Surveys (ACS) data as exported from IPUMS USA. This tool includes multiple filters, such as household income and race, that allows you to drill down to population estimates for a given segment.
Source: https://usa.ipums.org
Steven Ruggles, Sarah Flood, Ronald Goeken, Megan Schouweiler, and Matthew Sobek. IPUMS USA: Version 12.0 [dataset]. Minneapolis, MN: IPUMS, 2022. https://doi.org/10.18128/D010.V12.0
Data Definitions
| Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMA): | Geographic areas are used by the Census Bureau to describe population areas, each of which includes at least 100,000 people. In more populous areas, a PUMA may be within a single county while in less densely populated areas, a PUMA may encompass multiple counties. For more information, please refer to https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/pumas.html. |
| Sample Size: | The number of people surveyed in order to gather data representative of the population. In total, the ACS surveys approximately 2 million households. |
| Population: | Every member of a specific group, such as by location, race, or income level. |
| Annual Household Income: | The amount of money reported as earned in the previous year by all members of the child’s family unit. |
| Household Income as % of Poverty Level: | The ratio of annual household income divided by the federal poverty level. The federal poverty level is determined based on the size of the family and the number of children under 18 years. For more information, please refer to https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/poverty.shtml. |
| Household Income as % of State Median Income (SMI): | The ratio of the annual household income divided by the median income level in the state for a family of four. The median is the level at which half of the population’s household income is higher and half is lower. |
| Child’s Race: | The categories for child’s race are based on self-reported data from the ACS questionnaire, which includes an “Other Race”. We do not have visibility into the variety of racial identities within that broad category. You can view how this question is phrased in the ACS questionnaire at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/about/forms-and-instructions.2021.html#list-tab-9466845. |
| Child’s Ethnicity: | Child’s ethnicity is based on self-reported data from the ACS questionnaire. |
| Parent’s Age: | Indicates whether a child’s parents are over or under 18, based on age in years as of the parents’ last birthday. |
| Parent’s Education: | Indicates the highest level of education a child’s parents have attained. |
| Parent’s Employment: | Indicates the employment status (employed or unemployed/not in labor force) of a child’s parents. |
Methodology
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These estimates are generally low due to the known undercounting of children. The Census Bureau acknowledges that the ASC undercounts young children, similar to undercounting in the diennial census . An analysis of the 2009 and 2015 one-year ACS results suggest these surveys undercounted children ages 0-4 by 11-13% overall, with non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic children more undercounted than non-Hispanic white children. The 2020 census undercounted children ages 0-5 by 2-7% overall. |