U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Skip Header
Partners Researchers Educators Survey Respondents
News NAICS Codes Jobs About Us Contact Us Help
Topics
Data & Maps
Surveys & Programs
Resource Library
Search data, events, resources, and more
Topics
Browse our topics and subtopics to find information and data.
View All Topics and Subtopics Index A to Z
Age and Sex Business and Economy Education Emergency Management / Disasters Employment Families and Living Arrangements Geography Health Hispanic Origin Housing
Income and Poverty International Trade Migration/Geographic Mobility Population Population Estimates Public Sector Race Redistricting Research Voting and Registration
Data & Maps
Access demographic, economic and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Explore census data with visualizations and view tutorials.
Explore data on data.census.gov View all data resources
Census Academy Combining Data Data Equity Tools Data Tools and Apps Datasets Developers Experimental Data Products
Interactive Maps Mapping Files Profiles Related Sites Software Tables Training and Workshops Visualizations
Surveys & Programs
Our surveys provide periodic and comprehensive statistics about the nation. This data is critical for government programs, policies, and decision-making.
Survey Help View all Surveys & Programs
2020 Census 2030 Census American Community Survey (ACS) American Housing Survey (AHS) Annual Business Survey (ABS) Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES) Census of Governments County Business Patterns (CBP) Current Population Survey (CPS)
Economic Census Household Pulse Survey International Programs Metro and Micro Areas Population Estimates Population Projections Small Area Income and Poverty Statistics of U.S. Businesses Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)
Resource Library
Browse our collection of stories and more.
View all library resources Glossary
America Counts: Stories Audio Blogs By the Numbers Facts for Features Fact Sheets Infographics and Visualizations
Photos Publications Spotlights Stats for Stories Training (Census Academy) Videos Working Papers
Partners Researchers Educators Survey Respondents
News NAICS Codes Jobs About Us Contact Us Help
View All Topics and Subtopics Index A to Z
Age and Sex Business and Economy Education Emergency Management / Disasters Employment Families and Living Arrangements Geography Health Hispanic Origin Housing Income and Poverty International Trade Migration/Geographic Mobility Population Population Estimates Public Sector Race Redistricting Research Voting and Registration
Explore data on data.census.gov View all data resources
Census Academy Combining Data Data Equity Tools Data Tools and Apps Datasets Developers Experimental Data Products Interactive Maps Mapping Files Profiles Related Sites Software Tables Training and Workshops Visualizations
Survey Help View all Surveys & Programs
2020 Census 2030 Census American Community Survey (ACS) American Housing Survey (AHS) Annual Business Survey (ABS) Annual Integrated Economic Survey (AIES) Census of Governments County Business Patterns (CBP) Current Population Survey (CPS) Economic Census Household Pulse Survey International Programs Metro and Micro Areas Population Estimates Population Projections Small Area Income and Poverty Statistics of U.S. Businesses Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)
View all library resources Glossary
America Counts: Stories Audio Blogs By the Numbers Facts for Features Fact Sheets Infographics and Visualizations Photos Publications Spotlights Stats for Stories Training (Census Academy) Videos Working Papers

ACS Summary File Sequence-Based Format

Skip Navigation
Within Data

ACS Summary File Sequence-Based Format (2005-2021)

Using the American Community Survey Summary File: What Data Users Need to Know
Download Using the American Community Survey Summary File: What Data Users Need to Know [PDF - 6.5 MB]

The American Community Survey (ACS) Summary File Sequence-Based Format is a set of comma-delimited text files that contain all of the Detailed Tables for the ACS data releases. Summary File data in the sequence-based format are only available for data years 2005-2021. The sequence-based format is divided into three file types: estimates, margin of error, and geography files for each release.

In the sequence-based format, Detailed Tables are stored in a series of files with only the data from the tables and without such information as the table title, description of the rows, or geographic identifiers. That information is located in other files that the user must merge with the data files to reproduce complete tables.

The handbook, Using the ACS Summary File: What Data Users Need to Know, provides an overview and more about working with the sequence-based format. Data, instructions, guides, and example SAS programs are provided below for each year.

2010
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016
  • 2015
  • 2014
  • 2013
  • 2012
  • 2011
  • 2010
  • 2009
  • 2008
  • 2007
  • 2006
  • 2005
2010

2010 ACS 1-year Estimates

1-Year Summary File (Sequence-Based)

2008-2010 ACS 3-Year Estimates

3-Year Summary File (Sequence-Based)

2006-2010 ACS 5-Year Estimates

5-Year Summary File (Sequence-Based)

Find 2018-Present Table-Based Format.

Templates

Includes description of variables in each column for all sequence files and for the comma delimited version (.csv) of the geography file.

zip 1-year Templates [2.0M]
zip 3-year Templates [1.9M]
zip 5-year Templates [1.3M]

Special Data Release - 2006-2010 ACS 5-Year Special Population and AIAN Tables

Selected Population Tables Summary File
American Indian & Alaskan Native Tables Summary File

Technical Documents

The technical documents contain information about how to use the ACS Summary File

pdf 1-Year Tech Doc [3.4 MB]
pdf 3-Year Tech Doc [3.4 MB]
pdf 5-Year Tech Doc [3.0 MB]

Special Data Release Technical Documents

pdf Selected Population Tables Tech Doc [2.5 MB]
pdf American Indian & Alaskan Native Tables Tech Doc [3.0 MB]

Summary File User Tools

Note: These tools do not work with the Selected Population Tables Summary File and the American Indian and Alaska Native Tables Summary File

Simplified Geography Files

Contains basic geography information, including LOGRECNO, GEOID, and name, in an Excel file with tabs for the US, as well as each state or state equivalent.  Compared to the standard geography files in .csv and .txt format, these simplified files contain only the geography variables needed to read the ACS Summary File into Excel.

xls 1-year Simplified Geography Files [<1.0 MB]
xls 3-year Simplified Geography Files [1.8 MB]
xls 5-year Simplified Geography Files [24.3 MB]

You May Be Interested In

Page Last Revised - September 7, 2022
✕
Is this page helpful?
Thumbs Up Image Yes Thumbs Down Image No
✕
NO THANKS
255 characters maximum 255 characters maximum reached
✕
Thank you for your feedback.
Comments or suggestions?

Top

Back to Header