Survey response statistics show both how many sampled units participated and why others did not. The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) recorded an 82.9% housing-unit response rate in 2024 and an 80.6% group-quarters person response rate in the same year. The figures below identify the measurement year and population so that the rates are not treated as interchangeable.
Contents
- Housing-unit response rates
- Housing-unit nonresponse reasons
- The 2020 disruption in context
- Group-quarters person response rates
- Group-quarters nonresponse reasons
- Comparing survey populations
Housing-unit response rates
The ACS housing-unit response rate measures participation among housing units, rather than individual people. After a sharp 2020 low, the rate returned above 80% in every year from 2021 through 2024.
| Measurement year | Housing-unit response rate |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 82.9% |
| 2023 | 84.7% |
| 2022 | 84.4% |
| 2021 | 85.3% |
| 2020 | 71.2% |
Source: ACS response rates.
The 2021 housing-unit response rate was 85.3%, the highest rate in this five-year series. It was 84.4% in 2022 and 84.7% in 2023. The rate then fell to 82.9% in 2024. These are annual U.S. rates, so they describe nationwide survey participation for each stated year, not a single continuing panel of respondents.
The 2020 rate was 71.2%. That makes 2020 the clear low point in the supplied series, while the 2021 rate was 14.1 percentage points higher. The 2024 rate remained 11.7 percentage points above 2020, although it was 2.4 percentage points below 2023. Those differences describe the reported rates; they do not establish why the overall rate changed.
For readers using survey data to understand collaboration and ideas, the population definition matters. A housing-unit rate reflects whether an eligible housing unit supplied a response. It should not be read as the percentage of every person in the United States who answered a questionnaire.
Housing-unit nonresponse reasons
The ACS response-rate breakdown also reports several categories of housing-unit nonresponse. In 2024, refusal was the largest listed category at 9.5%. Contact attempts halted accounted for 3.6%, other noninterviews for 1.1%, no one home for 1.7%, insufficient data for 0.8%, language problems for 0.3%, and both unable to locate and temporarily absent for 0.1% each.
| Housing-unit category | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Refusal | 8.0% | 8.6% | 9.0% | 8.9% | 9.5% |
| No one home | 1.7% | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 1.7% |
| Contact attempts halted | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.0% | 2.1% | 3.6% |
| Other noninterview | 16.9% | 1.7% | 2.7% | 1.2% | 1.1% |
Source: ACS response rates.
Refusal rates were 8.0% in 2020, 8.6% in 2021, 9.0% in 2022, 8.9% in 2023, and 9.5% in 2024. The 2024 refusal rate is the highest in this series. The no-one-home rate was 1.7% in 2020, 1.9% in 2021, 1.8% in 2022, 1.9% in 2023, and 1.7% in 2024, a comparatively narrow reported range.
The contact-attempts-halted rate was 1.3% in both 2020 and 2021, declined to 1.0% in 2022, rose to 2.1% in 2023, and reached 3.6% in 2024. The other-noninterview rate was 16.9% in 2020, then 1.7% in 2021, 2.7% in 2022, 1.2% in 2023, and 1.1% in 2024. Because the categories are reported by year, the unusually high 2020 other-noninterview figure should be kept visible rather than blended into later years.
The remaining housing-unit categories were smaller. Unable to locate was 0.2% in 2020 and 0.1% in each year from 2021 through 2024. Temporarily absent was 0.1% in every year from 2020 through 2024. Language problems were 0.2% in 2020 and 2021, 0.2% in 2022, 0.3% in 2023, and 0.3% in 2024. Insufficient data was 0.4% in 2020, 0.7% in 2021, 0.7% in 2022, 0.7% in 2023, and 0.8% in 2024.
The 2020 disruption in context
The five-year housing-unit series is defined by the contrast between 2020 and the following years. The reported rate was 71.2% in 2020, compared with 85.3% in 2021. At the same time, other noninterviews were 16.9% in 2020 but 1.7% in 2021. The supplied statistics show this shift in the reported categories; they do not provide a causal explanation.
Other categories changed less dramatically. Refusal moved from 8.0% in 2020 to 8.6% in 2021, while no one home moved from 1.7% to 1.9%. Unable to locate moved from 0.2% to 0.1%, language problems stayed at 0.2%, insufficient data rose from 0.4% to 0.7%, contact attempts halted stayed at 1.3%, and temporarily absent stayed at 0.1%.
This distinction is useful when interpreting survey response statistics. An overall response rate gives the broad participation level, while the nonresponse categories show how the remaining cases were classified. A change in one category does not, by itself, explain every change in the total response rate.
Group-quarters person response rates
Group quarters are a separate ACS population, and the supplied figures describe people rather than housing units. The U.S. group-quarters person response rate was 80.6% in 2024, 84.3% in 2023, 81.2% in 2022, and 74.8% in 2021.
The 2021 rate was the lowest of the four reported years. It rose 6.4 percentage points to 81.2% in 2022, then increased another 3.1 points to 84.3% in 2023. In 2024, it was 3.7 points lower at 80.6%. These are group-quarters person rates and should not be combined with the housing-unit rates above.
The group-quarters figures also include whole-group-quarters categories. The whole-group-quarters refusal rate was 4.5% in 2021, 5.0% in 2022, 5.0% in 2023, and 6.6% in 2024. The whole-group-quarters other rate was 13.7% in 2021, 4.5% in 2022, 2.2% in 2023, and 1.8% in 2024.
Group-quarters nonresponse reasons
For individual people in group quarters, the 2024 refusal rate was 5.7%, unable to locate was 0.5%, resident temporarily absent was 0.3%, language problems were 0.0%, insufficient data was 0.7%, and other-person nonresponse was 3.9%.
In 2023, the corresponding rates were 4.2% refusal, 0.6% unable to locate, 0.3% resident temporarily absent, 0.0% language problems, 0.6% insufficient data, and 2.8% other-person nonresponse. In 2022, they were 3.8%, 0.9%, 0.2%, 0.0%, 0.5%, and 3.8%, respectively. In 2021, they were 2.8%, 0.5%, 0.2%, 0.0%, 0.4%, and 3.2%.
The group-quarters person refusal rate therefore increased in each year shown: 2.8% in 2021, 3.8% in 2022, 4.2% in 2023, and 5.7% in 2024. Unable to locate moved from 0.5% to 0.9%, then 0.6% and 0.5%. Resident temporarily absent was 0.2% in 2021 and 2022 and 0.3% in 2023 and 2024. Language problems were 0.0% in all four years.
The other-person nonresponse rate was 3.2% in 2021, 3.8% in 2022, 2.8% in 2023, and 3.9% in 2024. Whole-group-quarters results provide another layer: refusal was 4.5% in 2021, 5.0% in 2022 and 2023, and 6.6% in 2024; other was 13.7%, 4.5%, 2.2%, and 1.8% across those same years.
Comparing survey populations
The most important comparison is the unit being measured. Housing-unit response rates were 85.3% in 2021, 84.4% in 2022, 84.7% in 2023, and 82.9% in 2024. Group-quarters person response rates were 74.8%, 81.2%, 84.3%, and 80.6% in those years. The first series concerns housing units; the second concerns people in group quarters.
The nonresponse profiles also differ. Housing-unit refusal was 9.5% in 2024, compared with 5.7% for group-quarters persons. Housing-unit contact attempts halted was 3.6% in 2024, while the listed group-quarters person categories instead include 3.9% other-person nonresponse and 0.5% unable to locate. Whole-group-quarters refusal was 6.6% in 2024, a distinct measure from both of those person-level and housing-unit figures.
For collaboration and ideas research, these distinctions help frame what a response statistic can support. The ACS figures provide U.S. annual participation rates and classified nonresponse rates for defined populations. They do not, on their own, identify the response rate for a particular workplace, community project, online poll, or idea-sharing session. Any such application would require its own survey population, measurement period, and response definition.