2020 Census Data Product Release Dates

2020 Census Data Product

Release Data 2020 Census Data Product¹

Notes About the 2020 Census Product

Apportionment

April 26, 2021

While the Census Bureau adds statistical noise to other 2020 Census data products, the state-level totals remain unaltered by statistical noise.

The 2020 Census apportionment results were released about 4 months later than the 2010 Census apportionment results.

P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data Summary Files (includes group quarters
data for 2020)

August 12, 2021 (legacy format) and September 16, 2021 (easier-to-use format)

Based on feedback received from the 2010 Census and data user needs, the group quarters data was included as part of the 2020 Census redistricting data release.

Subjects include: Voting age, race, Hispanic or Latino origin, housing occupancy status, and group quarters population by major group quarters type.

The Census Bureau released these data on its public FTP site on August 12, 2021 (about 5 months later than the 2010 Census release of state results). The Census Bureau also released the same data in easier-to-use formats on September 16, 2021.

Demographic Profile

May 25, 2023

This product provides selected demographic and housing characteristics about local communities.

Subjects include: 5-year age groups, sex, race, Hispanic or  Latino origin, household type, relationship to householder, group quarters population, housing occupancy, and housing tenure.

The Demographic Profile was released about 2 years later than the release of the 2010 Demographic Profile.

Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC)

Supplemental Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (S-DHC)

DHC: May 25, 2023

Supplemental DHC: September 2024

The 2020 Census DHC includes many of the demographic and housing tables previously included in the 2010 Census SF1. Some tables are repeated by race and ethnicity.

Subjects include: Age, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino origin, household type, family type, relationship to householder, group quarters population, housing occupancy, and housing tenure.

The DHC was released almost 2 years later in the cycle than the 2010 SF1 release.

The 2020 Census S-DHC will provide data that combine characteristics about households and the people living in them. This includes data on population in households, including average household size by age and tenure, average family size, household/family type of people under 18 years, and total population in households by tenure. These data provide more detailed information on households than users were able to access in earlier data products like the DHC. We often call these “person-household join tables.

Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File A (Detailed DHC-A)

Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File B (Detailed DHC-B)

Detailed DHC-A: September 2023

Detailed DHC-B: September 2024

The Census Bureau had originally planned to produce and release statistics on detailed racial, ethnic, and tribal groups along with data that combine characteristics about households and the people living in them as a single 2020 Census Detailed DHC product. To better facilitate developing disclosure protections for these complex data, we separated the Detailed DHC product into three products: Detailed DHC-A, Detailed DHC-B, and S-DHC.

Detailed DHC-A will provide the population counts and sex and age statistics for approximately 370 detailed racial and ethnic groups and 1,200 American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages. We’ve listened to feedback from data users and are prioritizing the release of these population counts and sex by age statistics for detailed racial and ethnic groups. The Detailed DHC-A is planned for release about 8 months after the AIANSF and about 16 months after the final wave of SF2 data.

Detailed DHC-B will provide household type and tenure information for approximately 370 detailed racial and ethnic groups and 1,200 American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and villages.

Privacy-Protected Microdata (PPMF) File

TBD

A new Privacy-Protected Microdata File (PPMF) will include the complete set of privacy-protected records for people and housing units. It will replace the former PUMS, which was a 10 percent sample of the census population. The PPMF includes the data that were used to produce the tabulations released in the redistricting and Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC) files. The new product format removes the sampling error inherent in the former PUMS. As with the 2010 PUMS, the PPMF includes uncertainty introduced by disclosure avoidance protections.

Congressional District Summary Files (retabulation
of Demographic and Housing Characteristics File)

August 31, 2023

Throughout the decade the Census Bureau retabulates data to apply to new congressional district boundaries reported by states. The first Census Congressional District Summary File
using 2020 Census data for the 118th Congress is a retabulation of the Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC).

Note: More information on the 2020 Census data products is available on the About 2020 Census Data Products webpage at <www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/planning-management/release/about-2020-data-products.html>.

¹  The statistical methods used to protect the confidentiality of census respondents in recent decades cannot sufficiently protect against modern identity threats. For the 2020 Census, the Census Bureau is using an enhanced protection method based on the framework known as differential privacy. More information is available on the Disclosure Avoidance Modernization webpage at <www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/planning-management/process/disclosure-avoidance.html>.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted data collection operations for the 2020 Census (extending them for 2.5 months), as well as early data product releases. However, the pandemic-related disruptions reach far beyond collection operations and the early releases. To prioritize the mandated delivery of the redistricting files in a compressed timeframe, we “split” our processing flows. This delayed work on optimizing the disclosure avoidance system for the much more extensive set of tabulations included in the DHC. It also introduced complexities that increased the development workload and timeline. Since this was a new process, we used demonstration data to “crowd source” data review with the data user community, and that process also added several months to the schedule.

²  The Census Bureau delivered the data state-by-state on a rolling basis in February and March 2011 and released the 2010 Census National Summary file on April 14, 2011.

³  The 113th Congressional District File was released on April 11, 2013, the 115th Congressional District File was released on October 19, 2017, and the 116th Congressional District File was released on September 5, 2019. There was no file released for the 114th Congress as no states reported changes to their congressional boundaries for that cycle. The 117th congressional districts were not collected since that cycle aligns with the decennial census, therefore no data for the 117th Congress was produced by the Census Bureau.

2022 ACS Data Release Schedule

Updated May 2, 2023

Planned Release

Data Products¹

Lowest Level Geography²

September 14, 2023

1-Year Data Release:³

Places, County Subdivisions (where available)⁴ Geographies of 65,000+ population

Data Profiles

Detailed Tables

Summary File

Comparison Profiles

Selected Population Profiles

Subject Tables

October 19, 2023

1-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) Files

Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA)

1-Year Supplemental Estimates Release:

Places, County Subdivisions (where available) Geographies of 20,000+ population

Supplemental Tables

December 7, 2023

5-Year Data Release:³

Data Product

Lowest Level of Geography

Data Profiles

Data Profiles

Census Tracts

Detailed Tables

Detailed Tables

Block Groups

Summary File

Summary File

Block Groups

Comparison Profiles

Comparison Profiles

Places/County Subdivisions

Subject Tables

Subject Tables

Census Tracts

Narrative Profiles (on ACS website)

Narrative Profiles

Census Tracts

January 25, 2024

5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) Files

Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA)

5-Year Variance Replicate Estimates

Block Group

FOOTNOTES

¹ For information on the types of data products available, see the ACS Data Tables.

² The lowest level of geography refers to the Census geographic hierarchy. For more information on census geography, see the Geography Program Glossary.

³ Media embargos will be available 48 hours before the public releases of the ACS 1-year estimates in September and the ACS 5-year estimates in December. To learn more about the embargos and what will be new with upcoming releases, tune into the pre-release webinars. Please check the ACS Events page for updates.

⁴ For definitions of the types of geographic areas listed, see the Geography Program Glossary.