How Do the ACS Five-Year Migration Data Compare to the 2000 Census Migration Data?

William K. Koerber, U.S. Census Bureau
Megan J. Benetsky, University of Maryland

After Census 2000, the long form data was replaced by the American Community Survey (ACS). The 2010 Census and future decennial censuses have no migration data, making the ACS a primary source of migration data. Census 2000 asked where the person lived 5 years ago (as of April 1, 1995) while the ACS asks where the person lived 1 year ago. However, because the migration question in the 2000 Census spans 5 years, it includes movers who moved between 1 and 5 years ago, while the 2005-2009 ACS question picks up people who only moved in the last year. This analysis presents eight tables, two for origin and destination flows and two tables for the origins and destinations of movers from the 2000 Census and the 2005-2009 ACS, along with four correlation matrices of flows and movers from origins to destinations.