It depends on the type of data you need and whether you need those data at lower levels of geography such as census track or block level. View a side-by-side overview of some of these differences: Differences Among Demographic Releases.

Do you need data tables on detailed race and ethnicity groups? If so, use the Detailed DHC-B for data on household type and tenure, including total count of households, for these groups. If you need population counts and sex-by-age statistics for these groups, use the Detailed DHC-A.

Do you need data on demographic and housing characteristics but don't need detailed race or ethnicity groups? Both the Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC) and Demographic Profile provide data on demographic and housing characteristics without including detailed race and ethnicity data. The DHC consists of multiple data tables and provides data on a range of demographic and housing characteristics than the Demographic Profile. Many DHC tables are repeated by major race and ethnicity categories, and many DHC tables can be viewed down to the census block level. The Demographic Profile consists of one data table and provides an overview of demographic and housing characteristics for a specific geography. 

Do you need redistricting data? The 2020 Census Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171) Summary File consists of six tables that together provide demographic and housing characteristics for selected topics: voting age, race, Hispanic or Latino origin, housing occupancy status, and group quarters population by major group quarters type. It provides less demographic and housing characteristic data than the DHC and no data for detailed race and ethnicity groups.

Do you need all the microdata from the 2020 Census? The 2020 Census Privacy-Protected Microdata File (PPMF) is the only data product that provides all privacy-protected records from the 2020 Census. The PPMF incorporates all data included in the 2020 Census Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171) Summary File, DHC, and Demographic Profile.

The 2020 Census provides the official counts (including Hispanic origin and race) of the population, and the ACS provides estimates of additional characteristics, adding rich context for understanding the nation’s population.

2020 Census Detailed DHC-B data on household type and tenure are generally comparable with the ACS estimates.

Data users should exercise caution when comparing 2020 Census Detailed DHC-B data to ACS estimates. There were a variety of improvements to how we collected, coded, and tabulated race data this decade. We implemented these same improvements in the ACS starting in 2020. As a result, use caution when comparing 2020 Census detailed Asian, NHPI and AIAN race data with 2019 or earlier ACS data.

The detailed White, Black or African American, and Some Other Race groups available in the 2020 Census Detailed DHC-B were historically tabulated from the ancestry question on the ACS. There are key differences between the race and ancestry data collection and tabulation that data users should be aware of before comparing data from the ancestry question to data from the Detailed DHC-B. These differences are explained in the technical documentation.

Detailed Hispanic origin data are tabulated from the ethnicity question on the ACS. Caution is not required when comparing detailed Hispanic origin data from the Detailed DHC-A to the ACS regardless of data year.

The Demographic Profile may provide data in the format you need. Rather than multiple tables like other 2020 Census data products, the Demographic Profile presents an overview of demographic and housing characteristics for a specific geography, all in a single table.

Please note that the Demographic Profile provides less detailed data than the Detailed DHC-B, Detailed DHC-A, and DHC. Access the Demographic Profile.

The Detailed DHC-B (in combination with the Detailed DHC-A) is the successor to the 2010 Census Summary File 2 and the 2010 Census American Indian and Alaska Native Summary File.

Information about key differences between the race and ethnicity data released in the Detailed DHC-B and releases from the 2010 Census is available in the Detailed DHC-B technical documentation.