[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 207 (Tuesday, October 27, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65694-65695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-27280]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

[Docket Number 151008932-5932-01]


Streamlining Summary Level 070 Tables in the 5-Year American 
Community Survey

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Final Program.

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SUMMARY: The Census Bureau hereby announces that it will streamline the 
production and release of American Community Survey (ACS) Summary Level 
070 tables (state/county/county subdivision/place remainder (or part)) 
to the 15 tables necessary for the delineation of metropolitan, 
micropolitan, and related statistical areas as defined by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB). The ACS collects detailed demographic, 
social, economic, and housing data from about 3.5 million addresses in 
the United States and 36,000 in Puerto Rico each year. Annual data 
products are released in the form of 1-Year and 5-Year estimates with 
5-Year estimates being produced for over 578,000 geographies by 87 
different summary levels. Most summary levels and their corresponding 
geographies are then produced for approximately 1,000 detailed tables. 
As a cost-saving measure and to improve the usability of the estimates, 
the Census Bureau has decided to streamline the production and release 
of Summary Level 070 tables to the 15 tables necessary for delineation. 
Based on data user analytics, customer feedback, and responses from an 
earlier Federal Register Notice (June 5, 2015; 80 FR 32084) soliciting 
comments on the streamlining of the summary level, we believe that the 
streamlining of this summary level will not have a significant impact 
to our data users. Therefore, beginning in December 2015, the Census 
Bureau will be tabulating and releasing only those 15 tables for 
Summary Level 070 that are necessary for the delineation of 
metropolitan, micropolitan, and related statistical

[[Page 65695]]

areas (particularly for identification of New England City and Town 
Area principal cities), commuting analysis, and basic demographic and 
housing analysis.

DATES: This Notice will be effective on December 10, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: KaNin Reese, Room 7H176F, U.S. Census 
Bureau, Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division, Washington, 
DC 20233, by phone at 301-763-3493 or via email at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Beginning with the 2010-2014 ACS 5-Year 
tables, the Census Bureau will streamline the production and release of 
Summary Level 070 tables (state/county/county subdivision/place 
remainder (or part)) to the 15 tables necessary for the delineation of 
metropolitan, micropolitan, and related statistical areas (particularly 
for identification of New England City and Town Area principal cities) 
by OMB, for other commuting analysis, and for basic demographic and 
housing analysis. The Census Bureau conducts the ACS program under 13 
U.S.C. Sections 141 and 193. Streamlining the tables in this summary 
level will save the Census Bureau over $100,000 over a 5-Year period.
    The Census Bureau has been reviewing and documenting the utility of 
releasing Summary Level 070 for all 1,000 tables for several years. In 
our last release, this summary level was produced for 69,939 unique 
geographies for about 1,000 tables with approximately 70 percent of all 
estimates produced as zero since place parts in county subdivisions 
represent very small areas. Not only is the data quality insufficient 
for many of the individual geographies, but very few data users are 
accessing the tables on American FactFinder or the summary files on the 
Census File Transfer Protocol (FTP) site. Further, based on user 
feedback, we have increasing concern that data users may be using the 
summary level incorrectly, mistaking these place parts in county 
subdivisions for place-level geographies.
    Since the ACS was created as the replacement for the Census long-
form, the ACS began by producing the same summary levels that were 
produced in Census 2000. The purpose of Summary Level 070 (state/
county/county subdivision/place remainder (or part)) is for the 
delineation of metropolitan, micropolitan, and related statistical 
areas under OMB standards. However, not all of the 1,000 detailed 
tables being produced for this summary level are needed for 
delineation. The Census Bureau has identified ten commuting tables 
necessary for the delineation process and for other commuting analysis, 
and five basic demographic and housing tables necessary for the 
tabulation of the summary level.
    The 15 tables available for Summary Level 070 include:
    1. B01001--Sex by Age
    2. B01003--Total Population
    3. B02001--Race
    4. B08007--Sex of Workers by Place of Work--State and County Level
    5. B08008--Sex of Workers by Place of Work--Place Level
    6. B08009--Sex of Workers by Place of Work--Minor Civil Division 
Level for 12 Selected States (CT, ME, MA, MI, MN, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, 
VT, WI)
    7. B08301--Means of Transportation to Work
    8. B08302--Time Leaving Home to Go to Work
    9. B08303--Travel Time to Work
    10. B08601--Means of Transportation to Work for Workplace Geography
    11. B08602--Time Arriving at Work from Home for Workplace Geography
    12. B08603--Travel Time to Work for Workplace Geography
    13. B08604--Worker Population for Workplace Geography
    14. B25001--Housing Units
    15. B25003--Tenure
    Due to limited resources available to produce the full product 
package and limited user need, the Census Bureau has concluded that it 
will only produce the 15 tables above for Summary Level 070. If 
additional estimates are needed from this summary level, data users are 
encouraged to use block group or tract-level data, which will continue 
to be available on American FactFinder, the Census Application 
Programming Interface (API), and the summary files on the FTP site. 
Data are available at: http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml.

Summary of Comments Received and the Response of the Census Bureau

    The Census Bureau published a Notice and Request for Comments on 
streamlining tables for Summary Level 070 in the Federal Register on 
June 5, 2015 (80 FR 32084). In response to the notice, the Census 
Bureau received only one comment. The comment was from a data user 
requesting that all tables currently produced for this summary level 
continue to be made available. The data user argued that this summary 
level provided useful estimates for those incorporated villages in the 
12 minor civil divisions in New York state that are dependent within 
towns, but not necessarily contained completely within a single town 
and can cross town boundaries. For those incorporated villages, 
estimates would not be available. These estimates could be helpful to 
local governments that include place parts in county subdivisions. 
However, individual local governments have not expressed any interest 
in keeping these estimates available.
    In response to the commenter, the Census Bureau explained that due 
to budgetary constraints to the ACS, we could not continue to produce 
all tables for a summary level with so many geographies that so few 
people were using when the majority of the estimates were zero. 
However, 15 tables will continue to be produced for that summary level, 
which will provide basic demographic, housing, and commuting analysis 
as well as those tables necessary for the delineation of metropolitan, 
micropolitan, and related statistical areas (particularly for 
identification of New England City and Town Area principal cities) by 
OMB. Based on the singular user response, the Census Bureau determined 
that the need for this summary level was not substantial enough to 
warrant expenditure of the resources needed to produce it. Therefore, 
the Census Bureau determined that the original 15 tables selected to 
continue to be produced in Summary Level 070 were sufficient, and no 
other tables were added.
    The Census Bureau believes that these tables are sufficient for 
data user needs for this summary level. For data users who are 
accustomed to using Summary Level 070 tables, the Census Bureau 
suggests using block group or tract-level data, which will continue to 
be released annually through American FactFinder, Census API, and the 
summary files on the FTP site. By releasing only a few key demographic, 
social, and housing tables for this summary level, the Census Bureau 
believes that we are still meeting the true purpose, and maintaining 
the integrity, of Summary Level 070 tables while substantially reducing 
resources needed for the full production of the product.

    Dated: October 20, 2015.
John H. Thompson,
Director, Bureau of the Census.
[FR Doc. 2015-27280 Filed 10-26-15; 8:45 am]
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