The map is an example of data available through the American
Community Survey. It shows median household income from 2000 to
2006-2010. Maps courtesy Social Explorer. Starting in 2005, the
U.S. Census Bureau replaced the long form that the agency had
relied on every 10 years to measure change in the nation's
demographics with an annual survey that would deliver a much
more immediate snapshot of the population. Now we have data that
were available only once a decade, every year. Today, the
American Community Survey is used across the country by
researchers, businesses and policymakers. Almost anything that a
person would want to know about the population of the U.S. â€“
from income to disability â€“ can be found from a review of the
data. For New York City or, for that matter, any community
across the country, the ACS is a critical tool for understanding
demographic change down to the neighborhood level. Given its
importance, then, it might come as a bit of a surprise that the
Republican majority in Congress w