Notes on ACS Data

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Notes on ACS Data

Notes on Variable Endings and Annotation Values.

ACS 2015 and 2016 1-Year data contains variables ending in E, EA, M, MA, PE, PEA, PM, PMA and SS. See the table below for each variable type and its meaning. Please note the Census Bureau is currently working on converting the 2014 1-year data and prior to be in the same format as the ACS 2015 and 2016 1-year data.

Variable Type	Title	Related Products	Meaning
E	Estimate	Detailed Tables, Subject Tables, Data Profiles, Comparison Profiles	A numeric representation of the estimate.
EA	Estimate Annotation	Detailed Tables, Subject Tables, Data Profiles, Comparison Profiles	A character representation of the estimate. If an Estimate Annotation exists, use this value in place of the Estimate.
M	Margin of Error	Detailed Tables, Subject Tables, Data Profiles	A numeric representation of the margin of error.
MA	Margin of Error Annotation	Detailed Tables, Subject Tables, Data Profiles	A character representation of the margin of error. If a Margin of Error Annotation exists, use this value in place of the Margin of Error.
PE	Percent Estimate	Data Profiles Only	A numeric estimate represented as a percent.
PEA	Percent Estimate Annotation	Data Profiles Only	A character estimate represented as a percent. If a Percent Estimate Annotation exists, use this in place of the Percent Estimate.
PM	Percent Margin of Error	Data Profiles Only	The numeric Margin of Error for the corresponding Percent Estimate (PE) variable.
PMA	Percent Margin of Error Annotation	Data Profiles Only	The character Margin of Error for the corresponding Percent Estimate (PE) variable. If a Percent Margin of Error Annotation exists, use this value in place of the Percent Margin of Error.
SS	Statistical Significance	Comparison Profiles Only	Returns ‘’ or ‘c’ representing the Statistical Significance for the corresponding estimate (E) variable. An indicates that the estimate is significantly different (at a 90% confidence level) than the estimate from the most current year. A "c" indicates the estimates for that year and the current year are both controlled; a statistical test is not appropriate.

Estimate and Annotation Values

Annotation values are character representations of estimates and have values when non-integer information needs to be represented. See the table below for a list of common Estimate/Margin of Error (E/M) values and their corresponding Annotation (EA/MA) values. Estimate values are all numeric values, but the accuracy of the Estimate value can be to the tenths or hundredths if the variable has an accuracy to the tenths or hundredths.

Please note that ACS data may return the following in place of data.

Estimate Value	Annotation Value	Meaning
-999999999 -999999999.0 -999999999.00	N	An 'N' entry in the estimate and margin of error columns indicates that data for this geographic area cannot be displayed because the number of sample cases is too small.
-888888888 -888888888.0 -888888888.00	(X)	An '(X)' means that the estimate is not applicable or not available.
-666666666 -666666666.0 -666666666.00	-	A '-' entry in the estimate column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute an estimate, or a ratio of medians cannot be calculated because one or both of the median estimates falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of an open-ended distribution.
-555555555 -555555555.0 -555555555.00	*****	A '*****' entry in the margin of error column indicates that the estimate is controlled. A statistical test for sampling variability is not appropriate.
-333333333 -333333333.0 -333333333.00	***	A '***' entry in the margin of error column indicates that the median falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of an open-ended distribution. A statistical test is not appropriate.
-222222222 -222222222.0 -222222222.00	**	A '**' entry in the margin of error column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute a standard error and thus the margin of error. A statistical test is not appropriate.
Varies	-	A '-' entry in the estimate column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute an estimate, or a ratio of medians cannot be calculated because one or both of the median estimates falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of an open-ended distribution.
Varies	+	A '+' following a median estimate means the median falls in the upper interval of an open-ended distribution.
N/A	*	An * indicates that the estimate is significantly different (at a 90% confidence level) than the estimate from the most current year. A "c" indicates the estimates for that year and the current year are both controlled; a statistical test is not appropriate.