Since 2018, Esri provides to the GIS community a set of free layers<\/a> that contain a wealth of data from the U.S. Census Bureau\u2019s American Community Survey<\/a>. On March 17, 2022 Census released its updated five-year estimates (2016-2020)<\/a> after validating the effectiveness of the methodology adjustments made in response to methodology due to the pandemic. \u00a0The data is normally released in late November\/early December each year. This document<\/a> describes the accuracy of the 2016-2020 American Community Survey 5-year estimates.<\/p>\n Within days of that release, the Living Atlas Policy Maps team updated the Census ACS layers already available in Living Atlas to provide this latest update from Census as ready to use layers. Maps and apps that already use these layers now reflect the most recent Census ACS figures.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" You can quickly map more than 2,000 Census ACS attributes across 108 layers covering a wide range of demographic topics such as income, housing, age, race, education and more. Each layer already shows an interesting subject on the map, with an informative pop-up so that you can immediately see important patterns anywhere within the U.S. or Puerto Rico. You can also easily use the layers to create your own customized web maps and applications to tell an endless number of stories about the population or housing in your area.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1532902,"id":1532902,"title":"ACS_Release_GIF","filename":"ACS_Release_GIF.gif","filesize":2266342,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ACS_Release_GIF.gif","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-living-atlas\/mapping\/updates-to-american-community-survey-layers-now-available-in-arcgis-living-atlas\/acs_release_gif","alt":"","author":"134231","description":"","caption":"","name":"acs_release_gif","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1529922,"date":"2022-03-25 21:40:15","modified":"2022-03-25 21:40:15","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/gif","type":"image","subtype":"gif","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":966,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ACS_Release_GIF-213x200.gif","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ACS_Release_GIF.gif","medium-width":464,"medium-height":233,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ACS_Release_GIF.gif","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":386,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ACS_Release_GIF.gif","large-width":1920,"large-height":966,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ACS_Release_GIF-1536x773.gif","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":773,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ACS_Release_GIF.gif","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":966,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ACS_Release_GIF-826x416.gif","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":416,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ACS_Release_GIF.gif","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":966}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ACS_Release_GIF.gif"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Some other benefits to these layers:<\/p>\n Local governments, non-profits and businesses are increasingly interested in more specific details about Asian and Hispanic or Latino populations. These new layers provide detailed counts of Census tabulations “Asian alone or in any combination by selected groups” (e.g. Indonesian), and of “Hispanic or Latino origin by specific origin” (e.g. Argentinean). To assist GIS analysts we have added new layers about these useful tabulations.<\/p>\n Explore the pop-ups in these layers to learn more about the top Asian and Hispanic or Latino groups in this area. For example, the pop-up in the Specific Asian layer shows that the most populous Asian groups in Hawaii are Filipino and Japanese.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1532842,"id":1532842,"title":"MicrosoftTeams-image (7)","filename":"MicrosoftTeams-image-7.png","filesize":20759,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-living-atlas\/mapping\/updates-to-american-community-survey-layers-now-available-in-arcgis-living-atlas\/microsoftteams-image-7-4","alt":"","author":"134231","description":"","caption":"","name":"microsoftteams-image-7-4","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1529922,"date":"2022-03-25 21:18:42","modified":"2022-03-25 21:18:42","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":763,"height":624,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7.png","medium-width":319,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7.png","medium_large-width":763,"medium_large-height":624,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7.png","large-width":763,"large-height":624,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7.png","1536x1536-width":763,"1536x1536-height":624,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7.png","2048x2048-width":763,"2048x2048-height":624,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7-569x465.png","card_image-width":569,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7.png","wide_image-width":763,"wide_image-height":624}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/MicrosoftTeams-image-7.png"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" The 2016-2020 ACS estimates are provided in 2020 TIGER boundaries, as specified by the U.S. Census Bureau. Since the 2020 boundaries overlap with a decennial Census year, there are changes to the county and Census tract boundaries. There are nearly 12,000 more census tracts than before. With many areas declining in population and other areas growing in population, there are 11,479 census tracts that were changed\/deprecated. There is also a U.S. county which has been split into two counties.<\/p>\n For more information, read this blog<\/a> on updates to U.S. Census boundaries.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":1533132,"id":1533132,"title":"Tract_change_example","filename":"Tract_change_example.gif","filesize":339280,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Tract_change_example.gif","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-living-atlas\/mapping\/updates-to-american-community-survey-layers-now-available-in-arcgis-living-atlas\/tract_change_example","alt":"Example of change in tracts","author":"4161","description":"","caption":"Many tracts changed shape and their GEOID","name":"tract_change_example","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":1529922,"date":"2022-03-26 17:43:17","modified":"2022-03-26 17:44:09","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/gif","type":"image","subtype":"gif","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1366,"height":768,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Tract_change_example-213x200.gif","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Tract_change_example.gif","medium-width":464,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Tract_change_example.gif","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Tract_change_example.gif","large-width":1366,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Tract_change_example.gif","1536x1536-width":1366,"1536x1536-height":768,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Tract_change_example.gif","2048x2048-width":1366,"2048x2048-height":768,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Tract_change_example-826x465.gif","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Tract_change_example.gif","wide_image-width":1366,"wide_image-height":768}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":" Find the layers:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Learn where to find these Census ACS layers and start using them within your mapping and analysis workflows. Check out\u00a0<\/span>this story map<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to learn how. You can also check out\u00a0<\/span>this ArcGIS Online group<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or find them by searching in\u00a0<\/span>ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Map your community:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Learn how to make a map about your community in four easy steps in <\/span>this blog<\/span><\/a>. You\u2019ll have your own custom web map in minutes!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Update your existing Census ACS maps:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Search your items for “current year ACS” to find any maps that use these layers. If you use the layers “as is” without modifying their symbology or popups, you don’t need to do anything other than verify everything looks as expected.\u00a0 The source layer has adjusted the symbology to reflect the current national figures, and popups in the source layer reflect the latest updates. If you know you modified these layers’ symbology or popups, compare your map to the source layer to decide if you want to make any changes.\u00a0<\/span> Questions?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you have questions about the layers, visit\u00a0<\/span>our<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>FAQ<\/span>,<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or post on\u00a0<\/span>Esri Community\u2019s Living Atlas<\/span><\/a>\u00a0space. You can also learn more about the layers\u00a0<\/span>in this blog<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n"}],"authors":[{"ID":134231,"user_firstname":"Steven","user_lastname":"Aviles","nickname":"Steven Aviles","user_nicename":"saviles","display_name":"Steven Aviles","user_email":"saviles@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2020-12-01 21:32:42","user_description":"Steven is a Product Engineer on ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World's Policy Maps team. He is interested in transportation, housing, and demography. Steven enjoys a good chicken wing or 12.","user_avatar":"Access the Latest Census ACS Data<\/span><\/b><\/h1>\n
\n
\n
\nThis information is sourced directly from Census metadata documents. By adding this information directly into the service, all GIS users have access to it from within ArcGIS products and can know what a field actually is without having to go find up a metadata document.<\/li>\nAdditional Topics Added
\n<\/span><\/b><\/h1>\n\n
Enhancements Just Released<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n
\n
What\u2019s Different with 2016-2020 ACS<\/strong><\/h1>\n
Boundary Changes<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Expect Larger Changes<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
Larger Margins of Error<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
Get started today<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n
"},{"ID":4161,"user_firstname":"Jim","user_lastname":"Herries","nickname":"Jim Herries","user_nicename":"jimhe","display_name":"Jim Herries","user_email":"jherries@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2018-03-02 00:15:47","user_description":"Jim Herries is a geographer with Esri in Redlands, California. He serves as Senior Principal GIS Engineer, GIS Engineering Lead, Cartography on the team responsible for ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World.\r\n\r\nJim works with teams on thematic mapping and other types of maps that bring data to life, reflecting a drive to help GIS users find insights as they go along. He constantly looks for ways to create clear, focused map information products that incorporate meaningful spatial analysis and evocative visualizations. \r\n\r\nWhen he started in GIS at Ohio State, he walked over to the campus library to transcribe census data by hand to paper so that he could hand-enter it into spreadsheets for upload into Arc\/INFO for mapping and analysis. Today, he appreciates how web GIS brings everyone access to good data in useful layers and maps as a starting point for great work.","user_avatar":"
"}],"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ACS_Release_Blog_Gradient_Banner.png","wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2022\/03\/ACS_Release_Blog_Banner.png","related_articles":[{"ID":1437872,"post_author":"6461","post_date":"2022-03-10 12:02:36","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-10 20:02:36","post_content":"","post_title":"2016-2020 ACS Release Includes Important Updates to Census Boundaries","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"acs-2016-2020-updated-boundaries","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-21 09:36:59","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-21 16:36:59","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=1437872","menu_order":0,"post_type":"blog","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1383042,"post_author":"4161","post_date":"2021-12-01 17:28:49","post_date_gmt":"2021-12-02 01:28:49","post_content":"","post_title":"Updates coming to American Community Survey layers in ArcGIS Living Atlas (Spring 2022)","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"updates-coming-to-american-community-survey-living-atlas-layers-spring-2022","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-05-12 09:40:05","post_modified_gmt":"2025-05-12 16:40:05","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=1383042","menu_order":0,"post_type":"blog","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1067481,"post_author":"7121","post_date":"2021-01-07 16:25:46","post_date_gmt":"2021-01-08 00:25:46","post_content":"","post_title":"Reveal demographic trends over time with American Community Survey layers in Living Atlas","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"acs-trends-over-time","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-06-13 15:08:15","post_modified_gmt":"2024-06-13 22:08:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=1067481","menu_order":0,"post_type":"blog","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1163292,"post_author":"6461","post_date":"2021-03-29 10:30:20","post_date_gmt":"2021-03-29 17:30:20","post_content":"","post_title":"The Importance of Margins of Error and Mapping","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"margins-of-error-and-mapping","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-06-13 16:33:20","post_modified_gmt":"2024-06-13 23:33:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=1163292","menu_order":0,"post_type":"blog","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1165982,"post_author":"7121","post_date":"2021-05-03 17:40:37","post_date_gmt":"2021-05-04 00:40:37","post_content":"","post_title":"Show significant differences between two American Community Survey estimates","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"significant-differences","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-25 10:58:00","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-25 18:58:00","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=1165982","menu_order":0,"post_type":"blog","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":457512,"post_author":"6461","post_date":"2019-03-25 13:00:35","post_date_gmt":"2019-03-25 20:00:35","post_content":"","post_title":"Add Census Data to Any Map with the Living Atlas","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"add-census-data-to-any-map-with-the-living-atlas","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-05-20 14:27:57","post_modified_gmt":"2020-05-20 21:27:57","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=457512","menu_order":0,"post_type":"blog","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}]},"yoast_head":"\n