American Community Survey The New American Community Survey Ranked Missouri 37th in Median Household Income for 2006. The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS)* reported on August 28, 2007. Median Household Income for Missouri in 2006 was $42,841. U.S. Median Household Income was $48,451. State rankings are available in Table 1. ACS data are available this year for areas with populations of at least 65,000 persons. In subsequent years data will be reported for smaller areas. In Missouri data were released for fifteen counties plus the Independent City of St. Louis (See Table 2). Among these sixteen areas, Median Household Income ranged from a high of $64,567 in St. Charles County to a low of $30,936 in St. Louis City. According to the Census Bureau, “this year’s data release marks the first time that ACS data products cover the total U.S. population, including populations residing in group quarters such as prisons, college dormitories, military barracks, and nursing homes.” Because the ACS is a new data source, comparisons with prior Census estimates can be difficult. For more information regarding income and poverty rankings see: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/. OSEDA and the Missouri Census Data Center will release additional interpretations of the new data in coming weeks. Map 1 click map for larger version Map 2 click map for larger version *The ACS is a new method of providing social and economic information on an annual basis instead of only once every ten years. Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. The degree of uncertainty for an estimate arising from sampling variability is represented through the use of a margin of error. The value shown here is the 90 percent margin of error. The margin of error can be interpreted roughly as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error (the lower and upper confidence bounds) contains the true value. In addition to sampling variability, the ACS estimates are subject to nonsampling error (for a discussion of nonsampling variability, see Accuracy of the Data). The effect of nonsampling error is not represented in these tables. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, see Methodology. Table 1 Table 2