American Community Survey, 2008: 1-year Public Use Microdata Sample

<p>The American Community Survey (ACS) is a part of the Decennial Census Program, and is designed to produce critical information about the characteristics of local communities. The ACS publishes social, housing, and economic characteristics for demographic groups covering a broad spectrum of geographic areas in the United States and Puerto Rico. The Public Use Microdata Sample files, or PUMS, are a sample of the actual responses to the American Community Survey and include most population and housing characteristics. The PUMS will allow users to tabulate data to their own specifications. The 2008 ACS 1-Year PUMS currently contains data for the nation, states, Puerto Rico, and Public Use Micro Data Sample Areas (PUMAs). PUMAs are special nonoverlapping areas that partition a state, and each PUMA contains a population of about 100,000. State governments drew the PUMA boundaries at the time of the 2000 Census.</p>