American Community Survey

What is American Community Survey?

The Census Bureau describes the ACS as an ongoing survey that provides vital information on a yearly basis, and says the data help decide how federal funds are distributed each year. Unlike the once-in-ten-years count, it samples households continually. The Bureau's page does not cover sample sizes or margins of error, which are in its information guide. Because the survey is a sample, every number is an estimate with a range around it.

This site cites it as U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B28002, which covers internet subscriptions.

Why does it matter on a fixed wireless connection?

The five-year form pools five years of answers, which makes it usable for small towns and ZIP areas, at the cost of being a blend of those years and not a snapshot. Places with fewer than about 2,000 people have wide ranges, so the pages say about and use whole percents and do not rank two small places. See ZCTA for how ZIP areas are drawn.

The survey has no line for fixed wireless, so homes served that way sit under other categories. Read reading Census internet numbers before drawing conclusions.

What should I do about it?

When you see a share on a town page, such as the share of homes with no internet, read it as an estimate of the area, not a count of named people. It describes subscriptions, not whether service can be installed. The share says nothing about whether any provider can serve a road.

To learn about your own address, use Check my address or call 775-575-9593. The data pages, such as homes without internet, show the numbers by county.