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The Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program (PEP) releases several different data series over the course of each decade. If you are looking for a particular estimate, or working on a specific research project, this may cause you to question which dataset is the appropriate choice for you. This guide seeks to assist in pointing you in the right direction.

Each year, PEP utilizes current data on births, deaths, and migration to calculate population change since the date of the most recent decennial census and produce time series of estimates of population, demographic components of change, and housing units. The annual time series of estimates begins with the date of the most recent decennial census data and extends to the vintage year.

As each vintage of estimates includes all years since the most recent decennial census, the latest vintage of data available supersedes all previously produced estimates for those dates. Therefore, in most cases, you should work with the newest vintage of data available. For example, if you are looking for an estimate for July 1, 2020, you should select that estimate from the newest vintage of data available, and not from Vintage 2020. 

Intercensal estimates are produced each decade by adjusting the existing time series of postcensal estimates for a decade to smooth the transition from one decennial census count to the next. They differ from the postcensal estimates that are released annually because they rely on a formula that redistributes the difference between the April 1 postcensal estimate and April 1 census count for the end of the decade (known as the error of closure) across the estimates for that decade. Once produced, the intercensal estimates become the preferred series of data for the decade.

Therefore, if you are looking for an estimate that falls within the years 2000-2010, in most cases, you should select an estimate from the 2000-2010 Intercensal Estimates series. Please note that the intercensal estimates do not include adjusted values for the components of change. To find components of change for 2000-2010, you should refer to our Vintage 2010 Evaluation Estimates.

The 2010 to 2020 Intercensal Estimates will become the official estimates for the 2010-2020 decade and are tentatively scheduled to be released in Fall 2024 (specific timeline for release forthcoming). They are produced by modifying the Vintage 2020 estimates to account for differences between these estimates and the results of the 2020 Census. The result is a consistent time series from the 2010 Census to the 2020 Census. 

Evaluation Estimates cover the same timeframe as the Intercensals (e.g. 2000-2010, 2010-2020, etc.). The evaluation estimates are produced using a similar procedure to that used for our current postcensal estimates series, and with no knowledge of the decennial census count at the end of the decade. The release of Vintage 2020 estimates provided the opportunity to make comparisons with the 2020 Census to assess the accuracy of the estimates. Differences between the estimates and Census counts should be interpreted as inaccuracy accumulated across a decade of postcensal estimates processing. They are not considered errors in the Census counts.

The Vintage 2020 estimates will be superseded by the 2010-2020 Intercensals when they become available. At that time, except for purposes of comparison with the Census, in most cases, all estimates for 2010-2020 should be drawn from the Intercensal Estimates. However, the Vintage 2020 estimates will remain the best source for data on the components of change during that decade, as intercensal estimates of the components of change are not expected to be produced. 

The Census Bureau provides CSV ("Comma Separated Value") data files for download. This format allows for data to be easily loaded into a variety of applications. However, they are best viewed in applications that allow data to be manipulated in columns, most common of which are spreadsheets or databases (Excel, Access, etc.).

Clicking on a .csv will allow you to view it. Typically Internet Explorer will load it into Excel automatically, while other browsers like Firefox will allow you to view the text file in the browser itself.

Right-clicking on the .csv will allow you to download the file to your computer for use in any application that you choose.

Some of the .csv files will not load into Excel directly because they have too many rows of data. This is typical for some of the subcounty files that we provide. There are two ways to fix this.

Solution 1:

• Save .csv to your hard drive.
• Right-click the file and open in a text editor like Notepad or Wordpad
• Highlight the rows of data that you are interested in and copy them.
• Open Excel or another spreadsheet software package and paste the data into a blank worksheet.

Solution 2:

• Save .csv to your hard drive.
• Open up a database software package (i.e. Access)
• Create a new table and import the .csv file.