So far, I have discussed the process of assembling data from multiple Census Bureau tables into cohesive datasets and building a base file that reflects a clean dataset that offers our patrons a choice between data coverage or data quality. Regardless of the choice patrons make, our reputation is invested in maximizing the value of our curated datasets by constantly pursuing ways to provide data that are as current as possible, as consistent as possible, and most importantly, as usable as possible. This means supplementing American Community Survey (ACS) data in the most sensible way, given the fact that this data reflects, at its best, the year before our current year.
Without giving away the secret sauce that required much thought and time, our datasets are the product of responding to nuanced questions such as what is the proper cut-off time for the inclusion of supplemental data, how we should address discrepancies in data availability that exist between large cities and mid-sized cities, and what is the most effective and available datapoint to supplement the ACS data. Our commitment is answering these questions on a yearly basis—curiously, forthrightly, and with the utmost integrity. Each new year we will embrace the opportunity to change the recipe, but within the particular year, we will stick with the best recipe we must could muster for the time and update the data on a quarterly basis.
In the here and now, we are applying operations that can feel like overdoing it given the relative freshness of the ACS data. The adjustments that we are making to anchor variables such as median household income, median gross rent, and median home values are pretty minor at this point. One of the main reasons is due to being hamstrung to the spring of 2025. In the same way that these variables anchor our datasets, the time period that simultaneously represents the latest data available for a variable and the most aged period across the ‘latest data availables’—ties the datasets down to a specific point in time. With this in mind, we update our formulas on a quarterly basis, based on updated data from our supplemental sources.
Again, we make these efforts to ensure that our clients have the most reliable and most current datapoints available to them. This is how we contribute to the forward movement that is so necessary for realizing greater equity in housing. This is how we take something off of the plate for organizations that are too often caught within the bind of increased demands and decreased funding.