Census Glossary

Selected Definitions taken from the American Community Survey(ACS) and the Current Population Survey (CPS).  Follow the  links at the end of this document for a complete listing of U.S. Census Bureau definitions.

(2) An individual who has a primary night-time residency that is:

(i) A supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill);

(ii) An institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or

(iii) A public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

(3) This term does not include any individual imprisoned or otherwise detained under an Act of Congress or a State law.

People who are at imminent risk of losing their housing, because they are being evicted from private dwelling units or are being discharged from institutions and have nowhere else to go, are usually considered to be homeless for program eligibility purposes.

*Definition taken from the Department of Health and Human Services, available at:http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/progsys/homeless/profile.htm#3

Household.
A household consists of all the people who occupy a housing unit. A house, an apartment or other group of rooms, or a single room, is regarded as a housing unit when it is occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters; that is, when the occupants do not live and eat with any other persons in the structure and there is direct access from the outside or through a common hall.

A household includes the related family members and all the unrelated people, if any, such as lodgers, foster children, wards, or employees who share the housing unit. A person living alone in a housing unit, or a group of unrelated people sharing a housing unit such as partners or roomers, is also counted as a household. The count of households excludes group quarters. There are two major categories of households, "family" and "nonfamily". (See definitions of Family household and Nonfamily household).

Household, family, or subfamily, Size of.
The term "size of household" includes all the people occupying a housing unit. "Size of family" includes the family householder and all other people in the living quarters who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. "Size of related subfamily" includes the husband and wife or the lone parent and their never- married sons and daughters under 18 years of age. "Size of unrelated subfamily" includes the reference person and all other members related to the reference person. If a family has a related subfamily among its members, the size of the family includes the members of the related subfamily.

Household, nonfamily.
A nonfamily household consists of a householder living alone (a one-person household) or where the householder shares the home exclusively with people to whom he/she is not related.

Income, official definition of:
For each person in the sample 15 years old and over, the CPS asks questions on the amount of money income received in the preceding calendar year from each of the following sources:

• Earnings
• Unemployment compensation
• Workers' compensation
• Social security
• Supplemental security income
• Public assistance
• Veterans' payments
• Survivor benefits
• Disability benefits
• Pension or retirement income
• Interest
• Dividends
• Rents, royalties, and estates and trusts
• Educational assistance
• Alimony
• Child support
• Financial assistance from outside of the household
• Other income

The income of the family/household does not include amounts received by people who were members during all or part of the income year if these people no longer resided in the family/household at the time of interview. However, the CPS collects income data for people who are current residents but did not reside in the household during the income year.

Data on consumer income collected in the CPS by the Census Bureau cover money income received (exclusive of certain money receipts such as capital gains) before payments for personal income taxes, social security, union dues, medicare deductions, etc. Therefore, money income does not reflect the fact that some families receive part of their income in the form of noncash benefits, such as food stamps, health benefits, rent-free housing, and goods produced and consumed on the farm. In addition, money income does not reflect the fact that noncash benefits are also received by some nonfarm residents which often take the form of the use of business transportation and facilities, full or partial payments by business for retirement programs, medical and educational expenses, etc. Data users should consider these elements when comparing income levels. Moreover, readers should be aware that for many different reasons there is a tendency in household surveys for respondents to underreport their income. Based on an analysis of independently derived income estimates, the Census Bureau determined that respondents report income earned from wages or salaries much better than other sources of income and that the reported wage and salary income is nearly equal to independent estimates of aggregate income.

The Census Bureau collects data for the following income sources.

Earnings.
The Census Bureau classifies earnings from longest job (or self-employment) and other employment earnings into three types:

1. Money wage or salary income is the total income people receive for work performed as an employee during the income year.
2. Net income from nonfarm self-employment is the net money income from one's own business, professional enterprise, or partnership.
3. Net income from farm self-employment is the net money income from the operation of a farm by a person on their own account, as an owner, renter, or sharecropper.

Unemployment compensation includes payments the respondent received from government unemployment agencies or private companies during periods of unemployment and any strike benefits the respondent received from union funds.

Workers' compensation includes payments people receive periodically from public or private insurance companies for injuries received at work.

Social security includes social security pensions and survivors' benefits and permanent disability insurance payments made by the Social Security Administration prior to deductions for medical insurance. The Census Bureau does not include medicare reimbursements for health services as social security benefits.

Supplemental security income includes federal, state, and local welfare agency payments to low-income people who are 65 years old and over or people of any age who are blind or disabled.

Public assistance or welfare payments include cash public assistance payments low-income people receive, such as aid to families with dependent children (AFDC, ADC), temporary assistance to needy families (TANF), general assistance, and emergency assistance.

Veterans' payments include payments disabled members of the armed forces or survivors of deceased veterans receive periodically from the Department of Veterans Affairs for education and on-the- job training, and means-tested assistance to veterans.

Survivor benefits include payments people receive from survivors' or widows' pensions, estates, trusts, annuities, or any other types of survivor benefits. Respondents can report payments from ten different sources: private companies or unions; federal government (Civil Service); military; state or local governments; railroad retirement; workers' compensation; Black lung payments; estates and trusts; annuities or paid-up insurance policies; and other survivor payments.

Disability benefits include payments people receive as a result of a health problem or disability (other than those from social security). Respondents can report payments from ten sources: workers' compensation; companies or unions; federal government (Civil Service); military; state or local governments; railroad retirement; accident or disability insurance; Black lung payments; state temporary sickness; or other disability payments.

Pension or retirement income includes payments people receive from eight sources: companies or unions; federal government (Civil Service); military; state or local governments; railroad retirement; annuities or paid-up insurance policies; individual retirement accounts (IRAs), Keogh, or 401(k) payments; or other retirement income.

Interest income includes payments people receive (or have credited to accounts) from bonds, treasury notes, IRAs, certificates of deposit, interest-bearing savings and checking accounts, and all other investments that pay interest.

Dividends include income people receive from stock holdings and mutual fund shares. The CPS does not include capital gains from the sale of stock holdings as income.

Rents, royalties, and estates and trusts include net income people receive from the rental of a house, store, or other property, receipts from boarders or lodgers, net royalty income, and periodic payments from estate or trust funds.

Educational assistance includes Pell Grants; other government educational assistance; any scholarships or grants; or financial assistance students receive from employers, friends, or relatives not residing in the student's household.

Child support includes all periodic payments a parent receives from an absent parent for the support of children, even if these payments are made through a state or local government office.

Alimony includes all periodic payments people receive from ex-spouses. Alimony excludes one-time property settlements.

Financial assistance from outside of the household includes periodic payments people receive from nonhousehold members. This type of assistance excludes gifts or sporadic assistance.

Other income includes all other payments people receive regularly that are not included elsewhere on the questionnaire. Some examples are state programs such as foster child payments, military family allotments, and income received from foreign government pensions.

Government transfers include payments people receive from the following sources: (1) unemployment compensation, (2) state workers' compensation, (3) social security, (4) Supplemental Security Income (SSI), (5) public assistance, (6) veterans' benefits, (7) government survivor benefits, (8) government disability benefits, (9) government pensions, and (10) government educational assistance.

The Census Bureau does not count the following receipts as income: (1) capital gains people received (or losses they incur) from the sale of property, including stocks, bonds, a house, or a car (unless the person was engaged in the business of selling such property, in which case the CPS counts the net proceeds as income from self-employment); (2) withdrawals of bank deposits; (3) money borrowed; (4) tax refunds; (5) gifts; and (6) lump-sum inheritances or insurance payments.

Race.

White — A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "White" or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish.

Black or African American — A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am., or Negro," or provide written entries such as African American, Afro American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.

American Indian or Alaska Native — A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment. It includes people who classified themselves as described below.

American Indian — Includes people who indicated their race as "American Indian," entered the name of an Indian tribe, or reported such entries as Canadian Indian, French-American Indian, or Spanish-American Indian.

American Indian Tribe — Respondents who identified themselves as American Indian were asked to report their enrolled or principal tribe. Therefore, tribal data in tabulations reflect the written entries reported on the questionnaires. Some of the entries (for example, Iroquois, Sioux, Colorado River, and Flathead) represent nations or reservations. The information on tribe is based on self identification and therefore does not reflect any designation of a federally- or state-recognized tribe. Information on specific American Indian tribes is presented in summary files. The information for Census 2000 is derived from the American Indian Tribal Classification List for the 1990 census that was updated based on a December 1997 Federal Register Notice.

Alaska Native — Includes written responses of Eskimos, Aleuts, and Alaska Indians as well as entries such as Arctic Slope, Inupiat, Yupik, Alutiiq, Egegik, and Pribilovian. The Alaska tribes are the Alaskan Athabaskan, Tlingit, and Haida. The information for Census 2000 is derived from the American Indian Tribal Classification List for the 1990 census and was expanded to list the individual Alaska Native Villages when provided as a written response for race.

Asian — A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam. It includes "Asian Indian," "Chinese," "Filipino," "Korean," "Japanese," "Vietnamese," and "Other Asian." A more detailed listing of the Asian groups is presented below and in Figure A.

Asian Indian — Includes people who indicated their race as "Asian Indian" or identified themselves as Bengalese, Bharat, Dravidian, East Indian, or Goanese.

Chinese — Includes people who indicated their race as "Chinese" or who identified themselves as Cantonese, or Chinese American. In standard census products, written entries of Taiwanese are included with Chinese. In special reports on the Asian population, information on respondents who identified themselves as Taiwanese are shown separately.

Filipino — Includes people who indicated their race as "Filipino" or who reported entries such as Philipino, Philipine, or Filipino American.

Japanese — Includes people who indicate their race as "Japanese" or who reported entries such as Nipponese or Japanese American.

Korean — Includes people who indicated their race as "Korean" or who provided a response of Korean American.

Vietnamese — Includes people who indicated their race as "Vietnamese" or who provided a response of Vietnamese American.

Cambodian — Includes people who provided a response such as Cambodian or Cambodia.

Hmong — Includes people who provided a response such as Hmong, Laohmong, or Mong.

Laotian — Includes people who provided a response such as Laotian, Laos, or Lao.

Thai — Includes people who provided a response such as Thai, Thailand, or Siamese.

Other Asian — Includes people who provided a response of Bangladeshi, Burmese, Indonesian, Pakistani, or Sri Lankan.

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander — A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicate their race as "Native Hawaiian," "Guamanian or Chamorro," "Samoan," and "Other Pacific Islander." A more detailed listing of the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander groups is presented below and in Figure A.

Native Hawaiian — Includes people who indicated their race as "Native Hawaiian" or who identified themselves as "Part Hawaiian" or "Hawaiian."

Guamanian or Chamorro — Includes people who indicated their race as such, including written entries of Chamorro or Guam.

Samoan — Includes people who indicated their race as "Samoan" or who identified themselves as American Samoan or Western Samoan.

Other Pacific Islander — Includes people who provided a write-in response of a Pacific Islander group such as Tahitian, Northern Mariana Islander, Palauan, Fijian, or a cultural group such as Melanesian, Micronesian, or Polynesian.

Some Other Race — Includes all other responses not included in the "White," "Black or African American," "American Indian or Alaska Native," "Asian," and "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander" race categories described above. Respondents providing write-in entries such as multiracial, mixed, interracial, Wesort, or a Hispanic/Latino group (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban) in the "Some other race" category are included here.

Hispanic Origin      Viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person’s parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.  During interviews, persons were asked to select one category, based on self-identification, the group which best described his or her origin or descent. If a person could not provide a single group, the origin of the person's mother was used. If a single group could not be provided for the person's mother, the first origin reported by the person was used. 

Links to Census Bureau pages:

o        American Community Survey (ACS)

o        Census Geographic Terms

o        Current Population Survey (CPS)

o        Decennial Census Terms