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The American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an on-going annual survey designed to provide current detailed socioeconomic, housing, and demographic data to improve the overall quality of life. is designed to replace the Census long form, which historically has been administered every ten years. The ACS will be conducted annually, which allows for a more frequent assessment of demographic trends. 2005 was the first time that enough surveys were collected to be statistically meaningful at a muncipal level for cities with 65,000 people.
The ACS asks questions on a variety of subject matters including:- Social
- Economic
- Housing
- Demographic
Economic Variables
2008 |
Median Household Income |
Percent of Residents in Poverty |
Percent of Children in Poverty |
| City of Camden | $24,283 (+/- $2,464) |
41.7% (+/- 6.1%) |
52.2%(+/- 9.2%) |
| Camden County | $61,066 (+/- $1,733) |
11.5% (+/- 1.2%) |
16.6% (+/- 2.6%) |
| New Jersey | $70,378 (+/- $516) |
8.7% (+/- 0.3) |
12.5% (+/- 0.6%) |
Housing Variables
2008 Monthly Home Ownership Costs as % of Household Income |
City of Camden |
Camden County |
New Jersey |
| Less than 20% | 27.3% (+/-11.1%) |
29.7% (+/-2.0%) |
25.1% (+/-0.5%) |
| 20.0 to 24.9% | 11.9% (+/-6.5%) | 17.1% (+/-1.8%) |
25.0% (+/-0.4%) |
| 25.0 to 29.9% | 7.7% (+/-4.3%) | 13.4% (+/-1.5%) |
13.5% (+/-0.4%) |
| 30.0 to 34.9% | 8.8% (+/-5.4%) | 9.4% (+/-1.3%) |
10.2% (+/-0.4%) |
| greater than 35.0% | 44.3% (+/-12.0%) | 30.3% (+/-1.8%) |
36.3% (+/-0.6%) |
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Previous CamConnect ACS Work
CamConnect prepared a summary handout explaining long-term poverty trends. The 2005 ACS data, which showed Camden as the poorest city in the country, appears to be an outlier. The 2006 data are more in line with findings from the 2000 Census and previous data collection. The 2005 data should not be compared with the 2006 data.
Other Information
Report by Legal Services of New Jersey Poverty Research Institute
The Poverty Research Institute of Legal Services of New Jersey released a report on Poverty in Camden in April 2007 that utilized data from the American Community Survey and other data sources to describe conditions of poverty in Camden. Information from this report was presented at CAMConnect's December 2007 Data Open House.
Notes on the ACS:
The ACS only samples a small percentage of households (3 million total) throughout the country. In Camden, this means that only about 3% of households are surveyed, or approximately 600 households. The Census Bureau weights the data based on information collected when a more complete sample was collected. This sample size results in a margin of error for each Census estimate. For information on data quality from the Census, refer to the handout "Accuracy of the Data (2005)"
Data from the ACS is not yet available on the Census tract level.