Demographic High-Frequency Surveys: 

Household Pulse Survey 2.0

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Presented at the 2023 Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology

(FCSM)

October 25, 2023

Hyon B. Shin

Assistant Division Chief, Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division

U.S. Census Bureau 

Any opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author and do not represent the views of the U.S. Census Bureau. All results 

are from the Household Pulse Survey website that notes the following: The U.S. Census Bureau reviewed this data product for unauthorized 

disclosure of confidential information and approved the disclosure avoidance practices applied to this release. CBDRB-FY23-0488.
The Original Demographic High-Frequency Survey (DHFS): 

Household Pulse Survey 

• The Household Pulse Survey (HPS) was developed to address the need 

for ongoing and more timely insight into the impacts of the COVID-19 

pandemic on American households. 

• The initial survey was developed in collaboration with five other federal 

agencies.

• Sampled one million households every cycle and data collection was 

completed in one- then two-week and now monthly cycles using an 

internet self-response instrument). 

• HPS represents a new approach for producing Federal statistics that are 

timely and relevant, while preserving the integrity and transparency for 

which Federal statistics are known. 

• Experimental data collection – proof of concept – accepting this may not 

meet regular program quality standards.

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Household Pulse Survey Overview

Household Pulse Survey (HPS)

Designed to understand impacts of Covid-19 on American 

families relating to employment, food security, housing, 

health and educational disruption

Timeline for HPS Data Collection

April 23, 2020 – Current

Partners

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

Department of Defense (DOD)

Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS-ASPE)

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB)

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

USDA Economic Research Service (USDA-ERS)

USDA Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS)

The White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)

The White House Domestic Policy Council (DPC)

Platform: Qualtrics

Frame

Census Bureau’s Master Address File (MAF)

Census Contact Frames (Existing email and cell-phone frames)

Email and Text Invitations to Take an Online Survey

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Current Content

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Basic demographics

Age, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, educational attainment

SOGI (Census/OMB/DPC)

Disability status (NCHS/CDC)

Armed forces status (DOD)

Employment questions

Employment and employment income (BLS/Census)

Unemployment Insurance receipt (BLS)

Spending source of funds (BLS)

Series on expenditures and price increases (BLS) 

Essential worker occupations (NIOSH)

Telework (BTS)

Food security questions

Past and current food sufficiency (USDA-ERS)

Free meals (USDA-ERS)

SNAP receipt (USDA-ERS)

Access to Infant Formula (USDA-FNS)

Health questions

Health insurance (NCHS/Census) 

Medicaid Coverage (HHS-ASPE)

Vaccination/booster receipt (CDC/HHS-ASPE)

Children’s vaccination/booster receipt (CDC/HHS-ASPE)

Long Covid and Ability to Carry Out Day-to-Day Activities (NCHS)

Covid Testing and Diagnosis (HHS-ASPE)

Covid Treatments (HHS-ASPE)

Pediatric Mental Health Treatment (MCHB)

Mental Health Symptoms (NCHS)

Difficulty with Self Care (NCHS)

Housing questions

Tenure (HUD)

Living quarters (HUD) 

Rent and mortgage current payment status (HUD) 

Eviction and foreclosure expectations (HUD)

Feelings of pressure to move (HUD)

Months behind on rent/mortgage (CFPB)

Use of rent assistance (CFPB)

Energy assistance and use (EIA)

Natural disaster displacement (Census)

Education questions

K-12 Enrollment (NCES)
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Interactive Data Tool – Displaced Last Year by Natural Disaster
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Detailed Food Table 3 – Recent Food Insufficiency for Households
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Developing a Sustainable High-Frequency Surveys Program

• Prepared to transition from an “emergency” mindset to one that builds upon the capabilities 

developed from HPS and the other demonstration efforts in two ways:

o Develop a new, high-frequency surveys program that becomes an established capability at 

the Bureau

o Establish a sustainable structure to enable rapid deployment of surveys or production of 

non-survey data products as national, regional, or state-level events demand

• High-frequency and rapid-response outcomes would supplement data collected via established 

benchmark surveys 

• Build on partnerships with other Federal statistical agencies to develop a central service hub and 

associated assets that enable agencies to meet rapid-response data needs as they arise

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DHFS Program: Purpose

The Demographic High-Frequency Surveys Program (DHFS Program) is established to produce and 

disseminate data in near real-time to support rapidly emerging or changing program or policy 

needs

• Provides a platform to produce estimates that support data-driven decisions in a rapid, 

efficient, and independent manner

• Supplements traditional Federal surveys, which establish “gold standard” measurements but 

require a level of development and testing that can take years to implement

• High-frequency surveys are intended to be deployed quickly and for data to be released in near 

real-time

• The DHFS Program supports Census-appropriated surveys (e.g., the Household Pulse Survey) as 

well as other high-frequency surveys conducted for other Federal agencies on a costreimbursable basis (e.g., the School Pulse Panel)

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DHFS Program: Scope 

• Distinguished from other survey operations by a streamlined survey lifecycle facilitated by a 

lighter infrastructure (e.g., minimal processing, data product limitations) for instrument 

development, data processing, and dissemination

• Results in surveys having at least one of these characteristics:

 Rapid Response: rapidly developed, deployed, and produces data close to real-time in 

response to emergent events that impact the social and/or economic well-being of the U.S. 

public (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2008 housing market collapse) 

 High Frequency: produces data released on a high-frequency, cyclical basis when there is a 

need to measure rapidly changing circumstances

• Produces data on a time-limited basis; once the events prompting the needs have passed, the 

content is moved off the survey; not intended as a permanent data collection vehicle

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• Only asks questions that meet specific criteria for urgency, compelling need, and are not

collected elsewhere for the needs and uses of the Census Bureau

• Incorporates a core set of questions (e.g., basic demographics), along with additional content that 

meets the criteria set forth in the guidelines

 Questions will be removed once the need is reduced, funding is insufficient, or a longer-term operation 

is identified for data collection

 Not intended to serve as a vehicle for content over the long term

• May not meet all the Census Bureau’s statistical quality standards, such as having lower response 

rates or imprecise coverage

• Limitations will be clearly documented and made publicly available

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DHFS Program: Key Features
Moving the DHFS Program Forward

To strengthen the high-frequency data program, the Census Bureau must continue to:

• Mature the Census Bureau’s Contact Frame (household phone numbers and email addresses) to 

improve quality of respondent contact, and aid in adaptive respondent contact strategies

• Establish a management team to sustainably negotiate, plan and execute the high-frequency 

program, and as needed, rapid-response data production

• Explore and expand the use of third-party data sources to supplement or replace direct collection 

and facilitate high-frequency surveys

• Establish a mechanism that enables the Census Bureau to support the rapid response data needs of 

other agencies with a minimum of bureaucracy, akin to the School Pulse Panel

• Evaluate and develop methods to adjust for response and selection biases including the 

development and integration of auxiliary data and data from multiple collection sources

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DHFS: Census Household Panel

• Pool of nationally represented households recruited to be panelists to respond to different survey 

requests or to participate in the same survey over time for longitudinal measurement

• Initial goal is to have 15,000 panelists selected from the Census Bureau’s Master Address File

• Incentives used at the recruitment phase and then throughout their participation for completing a 

questionnaire

• Questionnaires will be internet self-response (ISR) and in-bound telephone calls to a call center

• Periodic replenishment of the sample will be evaluated and completed to maintain 

representativeness and all panelists will be replaced after 3 years

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DHFS: Census Military Panel • Census Military Panel (CMP) is a reimbursable 

survey with the 

Department of Defense 

(DOD)

• Collect information on a variety of topics to active

-

duty service members and 

their spouses

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DHFS: School Pulse Panel • School Pulse Panel (SPP) is a reimbursable survey with 

the National Center for 

Education Statistics (NCES)

• Asks U.S. public primary, middle, high, and 

combined-grade schools

• Variety of topics identified as time sensitive by NCES

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Household Pulse Resources

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Household Pulse Survey: 

https://www.census.gov/householdpulsedata

Census Household Panel:

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/census-household-panel.html

Census Military Panel:

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/military-panel.html

School Pulse Panel: 

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/school-pulse-panel.html
Questions?

hyon.b.shin@census.gov

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