Current poverty data

The year in the sentence is only the start.

“Current” depends on the source and the state’s instructions. For an American Community Survey figure, check the release, estimate period, table, geography, population, margin of error and notes—not only the last year printed in the label.

Check these seven things

Release: Which ACS release or other dataset is being used?
Period: Is it a one-year or five-year estimate, and which years does it cover?
Geography: County, city, Census place, tract or the agency’s actual service area?
Population: All people, people for whom poverty is determined, children, older adults or another group?
Estimate: Count, percent, rate, median or ratio?
Uncertainty: Is the margin of error large enough to change the reading?
Notes: Are there annotations, suppressed values or comparability warnings?

Do not silently swap in a newer number

A newer release can describe a different population, table or boundary. Update the sentence, source note and interpretation together. If the report discusses change over time, use comparable releases and explain the comparison.

As of this guide’s August 27, 2026 source check: the Census Bureau’s 2024 ACS five-year API page is the published source used by CITYGRAPH’s current checklist. Recheck the Census release page and the state’s instructions before final submission.

Official sources

U.S. Census Bureau 2024 ACS five-year data — API variables, groups and geography access.
U.S. Census Bureau guidance on ACS estimates — choosing and interpreting one-year and five-year estimates.
U.S. Census Bureau margins of error guidance.

Check the years named in the draft.

The assessment check flags old or missing source years. Open the original table before changing the report.

Check your draft