Table of Contents

Getting Started

What you can do with GeocodioSpreadsheet formattingAddress completionSpelling CorrectionFile formatsFile sizesIntersectionsPreviewing your spreadsheetReverse geocoding

Census Family/Household Data

With Geocodio, you can match addresses or coordinates to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey data on households and families. This data is available via API as well as spreadsheet upload. If you're uploading a spreadsheet, you can click the "Families" append in Step 3 of the upload process to append this data.

Geocodio's Census household and family data from the most recent five-year American Community Survey, which is currently the 2023 survey results published in 2024. (The 1-year American Community Surveys do not have granularity at this level.)

Selecting the geography level

With version 1.8 of the Geocodio API and the current version of the spreadsheet geocoding tool, Census household and family data is automatically returned at the most appropriate geographic-level based on the accuracy of the geocoded result.

For example:

Accuracy Type Census Geography
rooftop, range_interpolation, nearest_street, point, nearest_rooftop_match, street_center, intersection Census Block Group
nearest_place, place Census Place
county County
state State

With Geocodio, you can also explicitly request Census household and family data for a specific geographic level through our API or through the spreadsheet geocoding tool. Data is available at the following geographies:

  • Block Group
  • Tract
  • Place
  • County Subdivision
  • County
  • MSA
  • State

Via API, you should add the geography name to your ACS field request. For example:

  • acs-families-tract (for Census Tract level)
  • acs-families-county (for County level)
  • acs-families-place (for Census Place level)

When using Geocodio's spreadsheet geocoding tool, you can choose which geographic level you'd like to receive data for by using the dropdown menu that appears after selecting the ACS Family data append.

Economics geography select box

Please note: We do not provide data at the individual household level.

If you are using an API version prior to v1.8, all results return at the Census Block Group level.

Download an example

You can download an example of the results when you add Census family household information to a list of addresses here and to latitude/longitude coordinates here.

Census Families Data Returned

We provide the data exactly as it is packaged by the Census Bureau in the breakouts it gives. The only change we have made is to add a "percentage" calculation to aid ease of use.

The data returned includes the following data points. For each data point, the data returned includes the value, margin of error, and percentage.

  • Family households (Table #B11001)

    • total; married-couple family; other family; other family: male householder, no wife present; other family: female householder, no husband present; non-family households; non-family households -- householder living alone; non-family households -- householder not living alone
  • Household type by population (Table #B11002)

    • total; in family households; in married-couple family; in married-couple family: relatives; in married-couple family: non-relatives; in male householder, no wife present, family; in male householder, no wife present, family: relatives; in male householder, no wife present, family: nonrelatives; in female householder, no husband present, family; in female householder, no husband present, family: relatives; in female householder, no husband present, family: in nonfamily households
  • Marital status (Table #B12001)

    • never married; now married; now married: married, spouse present; married, spouse absent; married, spouse absent: separated; married, spouse absent: other; married, spouse absent, widowed; married, spouse absent, divorced; male never married; female never married
  • Family Type by Presence and Age of Own Children (Table #B11003)

    • total; married-couple family; with own children of the householder under 18 years: under 6 years only; with own children of the householder under 18 years: under 6 years and 6 to 17 years; with own children of the householder under 18 years: 6 to 17 years only; no own children of the householder under 18 years; other family; male householder, no spouse present; with own children of the householder under 18 years: under 6 years only; with own children of the householder under 18 years: under 6 years and 6 to 17 years; with own children of the householder under 18 years: 6 to 17 years only; no own children of the householder under 18 years; female householder, no spouse present; with own children of the householder under 18 years: under 6 years only; with own children of the householder under 18 years: under 6 years and 6 to 17 years; with own children of the householder under 18 years: 6 to 17 years only; no own children of the householder under 18 years
  • Average Household Size (Table #B25010)

    • total; owner occupied; renter occupied
  • Own Children Under 18 Years by Family Type and Age (Table #B09002)

    • total; in married-couple families: under 3 years; in married-couple families: 3 and 4 years; in married-couple families: 5 years; in married-couple families: 6 to 11 years; in married-couple families: 12 to 17 years; in other families; male householder, no spouse present: under 3 years; male householder, no spouse present: 3 and 4 years; male householder, no spouse present: 5 years; male householder, no spouse present: 6 to 11 years; male householder, no spouse present: 12 to 17 years; female householder, no spouse present: under 3 years; male householder, no spouse present: 3 and 4 years; male householder, no spouse present: 5 years; male householder, no spouse present: 6 to 11 years; male householder, no spouse present: 12 to 17 years

We recognize that household composition is a sensitive subject. Accordingly, we report the categories exactly as the Census Bureau provides. We recognize that the categories listed may not be all-inclusive or use preferred terminology.

Special ACS Values

There are a number of special values that may be returned when working with ACS data. Use the chart below to determine their meaning, which can assist with troubleshooting.

Value Definition
-888888888 Estimate not applicable or not available
-999999999 Insufficient sample cases in the geographic area
-222222222 Margin of error couldn't be computed due to insufficient sample
-555555555 Controlled estimate (no sampling error)

Pay-as-you-go Cost

Data appends, including Census family data, are available with all Geocodio plans.

Requests are billed as geocode + Census Families info (i.e., two lookups). For example, if you have 100 addresses that you want Census household and family data data for, that would count as 200 lookups.

You can calculate how much this will cost you and how long it will take here.

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