Reference period for employment and income in single-year ACS

Yes, that figure is a little confusing. To clarify, everyone in the 2013 ACS is surveyed between January 2013 and February 2014. The important detail is when people are selected into the sample. If they are selected into the ACS sample in 2013, for example, they will be in the 2013 ACS. It can take some people up to three months to actually respond to the survey, so that is why some people who respond in January or February of the following year (2014, for example) may still be in the previous year’s sample (2013, for example). These details should clarify how to interpret Figure 7-1 in the document linked above.

1 Like