# Using American Community Survey (ACS) data

## This is an introduction to using ACS data <a href="#toc109821778" id="toc109821778"></a>

This document is a brief primer and explainer to help San Francisco City and County analysts feel confident using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) data. There are already a lot of excellent learning materials produced by the Census Bureau and several academic institutions online. This guide aims to simply introduce analysts to key concepts and link out to those materials when applicable.

## This guide is for data analysts <a href="#toc109821779" id="toc109821779"></a>

This document was written with City and County of San Francisco government analysts in mind. While this guide contains some introductory concepts and step-by-step instructions, it assumes prior experience with data analysis, data cleaning, and an understanding of the type of data you are looking for. For broader, introductory guides on data analysis, check out:

* [DataSF resources](https://datasf.org/resources/)
* [Online book on Quality assurance of code for analysis and research](https://best-practice-and-impact.github.io/qa-of-code-guidance/intro.html) from the UK Government Analytical Community

If you’re not sure whether to use ACS or another data source for an analysis, [first learn about all the Census population datasets](https://github.com/DataSF/gitbook/blob/main/broken-reference/README.md).

## Feedback or questions on this guidance <a href="#toc114483748" id="toc114483748"></a>

After your project involving census or ACS data, you may have some important findings about the process, or a new software or R package that streamlined a part of the process. Please let us know – we’d love to hear your feedback!

Email us at <support@datasf.org>.