The U.S. Census Bureau will hold a prerelease webinar on January 22 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss the upcoming release of the 2020-2024 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates. The session aims to help users understand how to access ACS data and offers guidance on comparing statistics across different geographic areas and time periods.
The ACS collects information on topics such as language spoken at home, education, commuting, employment, mortgage status and rent, income, poverty, and health insurance coverage. It remains the primary source for local estimates on more than 40 subjects.
Embargo subscribers will have early access to the new statistics starting January 27 at 10 a.m. ET. This access covers various geographic regions including all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, congressional and state legislative districts, metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, counties, places, census tracts, and block groups. The embargo period ends January 29 at 12:01 a.m. ET. During this time, wire services are not permitted to distribute news stories or data files before the public release date in accordance with the Census Bureau’s embargo policy. All datasets will be available to the public by January 29 at 10 a.m. ET.
Those interested in embargo access can register at www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/embargoed_releases.
Presenters for the webinar include Gretchen Gooding, chief of the American Community Survey Office Outreach and Education Branch; Vicki Mack, statistician in the American Community Survey Office; and Jewel Jordan from the Public Information Office.
According to the Census Bureau’s announcement: “The webinar will consist of a simultaneous audio conference and online presentation. Attendees do not have to call into the webinar to hear the audio. Credentialed media and data users will be able to ask questions during the webinar utilizing the Q&A feature and after the presentation through audio.”
Registration for participation is available at www.census.gov/data/academy/webinars/2026/2020-2024-acs-5-year-prerelease.html.
