Coverage and Agreement of 

Administrative Records and 

2010 American Community Survey 

Demographic Data

Renuka Bhaskar 

U.S. Census Bureau 

Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology 

Research Conference 

November 4, 2013 

Disclaimer: This presentation is released to inform interested parties of ongoing research and to encourage discussion of work in 

progress. The views expressed on technical, statistical, or methodological issues are those of the authors and not necessarily those 

of the U.S. Census Bureau. 
Background

• Administrative Records (AR) provide high 

coverage of persons and addresses in censuses 

and surveys 

• Demographic data in AR may be useful when 

demographic information are missing 

• Comparisons between AR and 2010 Census 

reveal high agreement and coverage for some 

demographic variables 

2 
Motivation

• Expand on AR/2010 analysis by evaluating AR 

and the American Community Survey (ACS) 

• There may be changes in the population and in 

the coverage of administrative records over time 

• The ACS allows us to evaluate AR throughout 

the decade 

3 
Research Objectives

• Coverage: Evaluate the extent to which AR 

provide data on race, Hispanic origin, age, and 

sex for 2010 ACS respondents 

• Agreement: Evaluate whether demographic 

responses in AR are in agreement with 

responses in the 2010 ACS 

4 
Data and Methodology 

5 
Data

• 2010 ACS data compared to: 

– Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare Enrollment Database 

– Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Public and Indian Housing 

Information Center 

– HUD Tenant Rental Assistance Certification System 

– HUD Computerized Homes Underwriting Management System 

– Indian Health Service Patient Registration File 

– Selective Service System Registration File 

– Health and Human Services Temporary Assistance for Needy Families 

– Social Security Administration (SSA) Supplemental Security Income Record 

– Commercial data (5 vendors, 9 datasets) 

– SSA Numerical Identification File (Numident) 

– Previous Census Records (Census 2000 and ACS 2001-2009)

6 
Methodology

•

7 
Results 

8 
Coverage of Each Demographic Item

• There are 4.47 million people in the 2010 ACS 

• Of the 2010 ACS sample, AR provides: 

– Hispanic origin data for 4.16 million, or 93 percent 

– Race data for 3.61 million, or 81 percent 

– Age data for 4.17 million, or 93 percent 

– Sex data for 4.16 million, or 93 percent 

9 
Demographic Characteristics

• AR provides higher coverage of Hispanic origin data for nonHispanics in the ACS (94 percent) compared to Hispanics (83 

percent) 

• Coverage of race data varies by race group 

– White alone and Black alone: 83 percent 

– American Indian or Alaska Native alone: 82 percent 

– Asian alone and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: 76 

percent 

– Two or More Races: 67 percent 

– Some Other Race alone: 46 percent 

• Coverage of age and sex data high (over 90 percent) for all 

age groups and both sexes 

10
Coverage by Federal or Commercial 

Administrative Records Source File

0 

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Hispanic Origin Race Age Sex 

93

66

80 81

93

63

93

68

Federal 

Commercial 

Source: 2010 American Community Survey and Administrative Records Data 11
Federal AR Files

• Numident 

– Highest coverage of sex and age data 

– Highest coverage of race data for certain groups (Black 

alone, Asian alone, Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander alone) 

• Previous Census Records 

– Highest coverage of Hispanic origin data 

– Second highest coverage of sex and age data 

– Highest coverage of race data for certain groups (White 

alone, Two or More Races, Some Other Race alone) 

• Medicare Enrollment Database 

– High coverage of age data for older population 

12
Agreement 

• Coverage results indicate that AR provides 

substantial data on certain demographic 

items 

• Next, we look at whether demographic 

data in AR and in the 2010 ACS are in 

agreement 

• Restrict to cases whose 2010 ACS 

demographic response was not allocated 

13
Agreement of Hispanic Origin Response 

Administrative Records Source 

File

Percent in 

Agreement: 

Non-Hispanic 

Percent in 

Agreement: Hispanic 

Federal Files 

 Previous Census Records 99.5 91.6

 Numident N/A 52.9

 HUDCHUMS 98.6 82.0

 HUDPIC 98.1 85.6

 HUDTRACS 98.5 77.9

 TANF 98.2 68.9

 MEDB N/A 26.9

Commercial Files 

 Commercial File 1 98.6 78.4

 Commercial File 2 98.2 75.3

 Commercial File 3 98.2 78.4

 Commercial File 4 98.2 75.5
Agreement of Race Response 

2010 ACS Race Range in Percent Agreement by AR 

Source Files 

Federal Commercial 

White Alone 96.9 to 99.0 94.9 to 98.0

Black Alone 88.7 to 98.0 38.8 to 63.2

American Indian Alaska Native Alone 30.4 to 97.9 7.9 to 16.4 

Asian Alone 55.7 to 94.3 73.9 to 85.0

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander Alone 33.6 to 72.9 13.0 to 18.2

Some Other Race Alone 12.3 to 53.6 1.3 to 3.3

Two or More Races 2.5 to 35.0 N/A

15
Agreement of Age Response 

• Age in the ACS calculated as age at the time of survey 

(January 1 – December 31, 2010) 

• Age in AR files calculated as age as of Census reference 

date: April 1, 2010 

• Agreement: AR age is within one year of ACS age 

• Future work will compare AR and ACS date of birth 

16
Agreement of Age Response 

2010 ACS Age Group Range in Percent Agreement by AR Source Files 

Federal Commercial 

0 to 2 96.4 to 99.8 96.2 (only one file) 

3 to 17 92.5 to 99.7 22.7 to 83.6 

18 to 24 98.6 to 99.2 85.3 to 99.2 

25 to 44 98.3 to 99.2 89.4 to 99.3 

45 to 64 97.1 to 99.2 88.8 to 99.3 

65 to 74 94.4 to 99.6 91.3 to 99.2 

75 and older 91.8 to 99.3 94.0 to 98.0 

17
Agreement of Sex Response 

2010 ACS Sex Response Range in Percent Agreement by AR Source Files 

Federal Commercial 

Males 97.9 to 100.0 94.8 to 98.6 

Females 98.0 to 99.7 95.7 to 98.9 

18
Discussion 

• Sex: high coverage, high agreement 

• Age: high coverage, agreement to be recalculated using date of birth 

19
Discussion 

• Hispanic origin and race: coverage and 

agreement more variable but high for 

some groups 

• AR may be able to assist when 

demographic data are missing 

20
Future Research 

• How to determine a single demographic 

response from the various AR files 

• Additional AR data sources 

– Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 

– Medicaid Statistical Information System 

• Agreement of allocated responses 

• Continue analysis throughout the decade 

21
Thank you! 

renuka.bhaskar@census.gov