The U.S. Census Bureau officials stated that questions about sexual orientation, gender identity, and changes to queries about race and ethnicity are set to be included in the comprehensive American Community Survey by 2027.
The American Community Survey is a comprehensive survey covering various aspects of American life such as commuting times, internet access, family life, income levels, education, disabilities, and military service.
The big picture: The survey involves a sample size of more than 3.5 million households.
- Changes announced by the federal government earlier in the year regarding how people are categorized by race and ethnicity will lead to revised questions.
- Revised race and ethnicity questions will allow respondents to select multiple categories simultaneously, including options like “Black,” “American Indian,” and “Hispanic.”
- A category for Middle Eastern and North African heritage will also be added to the choices.
Driving the news: Questions about sexual orientation and gender identity have been tested in English and Spanish, with trial questionnaires sent to hundreds of thousands of households since August.
Go deeper: Testing for in-person interviews is scheduled to start in the upcoming spring to evaluate the impact of question wording and answer options.
- Respondents aged 15 or older will be asked about sexual orientation and gender identity.
- Respondents can provide write-in responses if they do not see themselves in the provided options for sexual orientation or gender identity.
- Questions on gender identity include steps to understand respondents’ gender at birth and their current gender, with responses like male, female, transgender, nonbinary, and a write-in option being available.
- Options for picking multiple responses will be tested in some questionnaires.
