This Month

SANDAG newsletter provides information on key projects
& services

Draft 2007 RTP workshops scheduled for July

SANDAG unveils Super Loop station designs
Compass Card update

Connect to 511 for transit, traffic, and commute information
Vanpool. Your passport to freedom.

RideLink program good medicine for Sharp hospital
American Community Survey data released
SANDAG projects receive awards

SANDAG Board Actions available online

American Community Survey
data released

The latest SANDAG info bulletin highlights the American Community Survey (ACS) and describes how the U.S. Census Bureau is changing the way it conducts the census. As the region’s repository for census and other demographic data, SANDAG would like the public to know about this valuable new information source. “We may very well tie the American Community Survey information in with our existing annual estimates, and if nothing else, the ACS data will be a good benchmark for gauging the accuracy of our own estimating models,” said Kristen Rohanna, SANDAG associate research analyst. SANDAG estimates and forecast data are available through the Profile and Data Warehouses at www.sandag.org/demographics.

In the past, the decennial census, such as the Census 2000, consisted of a short form and a long form. The short form was sent to all households and its data was used to count the population. The long form was sent to one in six households and it provided characteristic data, such as income or commute data. The American Community Survey will replace the long form. Even though ACS data will be gathered and released every year, it is still part of the official census and participation is mandated by law.

The ACS consists of a sample of housing units each month throughout the nation and Puerto Rico. An address has a one in 480 chance of being picked each month. This means that approximately 2,280 housing units will receive the survey in San Diego County each month (about 27,340 each year). No address will be selected more than once within five years.

In 2006, the ACS released 2005 data for areas with populations greater than 65,000, including San Diego County.

• In 2005, the median age of San Diego County’s household population was 34.4 years old. The percentage of males and females was even, with 50 percent each. A slight majority of the County’s household population is White (52 percent) and Hispanics are the second largest race/ethnic group with 30 percent.
  
  
• About a third of the region’s household population (25 years and older) has a high school degree or less (35 percent), some college (31 percent), or a Bachelor’s degree or higher (34 percent).
  
  
• Slightly more than half the region’s residents (household population, age 15 years or older) are married (52 percent). Two out of three households is a family household (66 percent) and almost half of those include children under 18 years old. (A family household includes two or more people living in the same household related by birth, marriage, or adoption.) The average household size is 2.71, and the average family size is 3.33.
  
  
• Sixty-three percent of the housing units in San Diego County are single family. A third of the housing units (33 percent) are multifamily and four percent are mobile homes or other housing stock, like boats, RVs, etc.
  
  
• Fifty-eight percent of all San Diego County occupied housing units are owned by their residents. Correspondingly, 42 percent of households are renter-occupied. The average household size for owner-occupied units is 2.79, and the average household size for renter occupied units is 2.61.

Estimates for areas with populations of at least 20,000 will be released in 2008, and will be based on a three-year average. Data for smaller areas, like census tracts and block groups, will be based on a five-year average beginning in 2010. The ACS will release data for 2006 beginning in August 2007.

Project Manager:
Kristen Rohanna, Associate Research Analyst
kroh@sandag.org, (619) 699-6918