Data Dictionary: ACS 2006 (1-Year Estimates)
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Data Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Table: C04007. Ancestry [5]
Universe: Universe: Total population
Table Details
C04007. Ancestry
Universe: Universe: Total population
Variable Label
Relevant Documentation:
The data on ancestry were derived from answers to Question 12. The question was based on self-identification; the data on ancestry represent self-classification by people according to the ancestry group(s) with which they most closely identify. Ancestry refers to a person's ethnic origin or descent, "roots," or heritage; or the place of birth of the person, the person's parents, or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. Some ethnic identities, such as "Egyptian" or "Polish" can be traced to geographic areas outside the United States, while other ethnicities such as "Pennsylvania German" or "Cajun" evolved in the United States.
The Census Bureau accepted "American" as a unique ethnicity if it was given alone, with an ambiguous response, or with state names. If the respondent listed any other ethnic identity such as "Italian American," generally the "American" portion of the response was not coded. However, distinct groups such as "American Indian," "Mexican American," and "African American" were coded and identified separately because they represented groups who may consider themselves different from those who reported as "Indian," "Mexican," or "African," respectively.
The tabulations on ancestry use two types of data presentations - one used total people as the base, and the other used total responses as the base. The following are categories shown in the two data presentations.
Presentations Based on People
People Reporting Single Ancestry
Includes all people who reported only one ethnic group such as "German." Also included in this category are people with multiple-term responses such as "Scotch-Irish" who are assigned a single code because they represent one distinct group.
People Reporting Multiple Ancestries
People Reporting Ancestry
Presentations Based on Responses
First Ancestry Reported
Second Ancestry Reported
Total Ancestries Reported
Limitation of the Data
Question/Concept History
The 1996-1999 American Community Survey system for coding required consistency checks with answers to other questions when the write-in response to ancestry was "Indian." The coding in 2000 and subsequent years involved consistency checks for those respondents writing "Indian" and for two-word ancestries containing the word "Black," such as "Black Irish." Since 1999, the list of examples differed from those used for the 1996-1998 ACS.