About the Economic Profile System

Data shown in Quick Facts comes from two sources. Population, median household income, household income, and employment are from the most recent five-year rolling survey period of the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey. You can cite the data as follows, where YYYY is the year shown next to the Quick Fact:

U.S. Department of Commerce. YYYY. Census Bureau, American Community Survey Office, Washington, D.C., reported by Headwaters Economics’ Economic Profile System, hedevelopment2.wpengine.com/eps.

Top industries are from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and are only available by county. You can cite the data as follows, where YYYY is the year shown next to the Quick Fact:

U.S. Department of Commerce. YYYY. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Economic Accounts, Washington, D.C., reported by Headwaters Economics’ Economic Profile System, hedevelopment2.wpengine.com/eps.

Every page of an EPS report includes a full citation at the bottom. Headwaters Economics recommends that you cite data from EPS reports as follows:

<Citation from the bottom of the relevant EPS page(s)>, as reported in Headwaters Economics’ Economic Profile System (hedevelopment2.wpengine.com/eps).

For example:

U.S. Department of Labor. 2019. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, Washington, D.C., as reported in Headwaters Economics’ Economic Profile System (hedevelopment2.wpengine.com/eps).

Each data source has strengths and gaps. EPS uses the strengths of multiple data sources to build a more complete picture of the socioeconomics for the selected location.

Where possible, EPS displays data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ Regional Economic Accounts. These data are available for the longest time span (1969 to latest year), represent the widest segment of workers (part-time, self-employed, etc.), and report income and employment across all major industries, including government.

The most complete data source for average annual wages and employment by industry is the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. Most EPS reports display both average annual wages and employment figures from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. This source does not include data for the self-employed or the value of benefits. Headwaters Economics calculates estimates of employment when data are not disclosed by the BLS. See more about the estimation process in the technical specifications below.

All EPS data sources are available for the U.S., states, counties, combined statistical areas, and metro/non-metro portions of states. However, only one data source used in EPS provides detail on “sub-county” levels of geography: the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. American Community Survey data is used throughout the Demographics report, and is the only report that can be run for county subdivisions; cities, towns, and census designated places; American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian areas; and congressional districts.

Beyond the four data sources mentioned above, EPS relies on additional reliable, widely recognized sources for data on unemployment, land ownership, land use patterns, and payments from federal lands, to name a few. Every EPS page includes a full citation at the bottom.

Data displayed in EPS are based on surveys that differ in sampling and collection methods.  The surveys ask questions based on “place of work”, which refers to the geographic location of a job, or “place of residence”, which refers to the geographic location of a home.  Especially for communities and industries associated with commuting, it can be important to know whether data represents people currently residing versus working in a place.

A Coefficient of Variation (CV) is a relative measure of accuracy, and is calculated using the American Community Survey estimate and associated margin of error as follows:

[ACS] = ACS Estimate Value
[MOE] = ACS Estimate Margin of Error Value
CV = Coefficient of Variation

The value 1.645 is used to represent a 90% confidence interval. It is the z-score from a standard normal probability distribution that puts an area of 0.90 in the center of the distribution.

The majority of American Community Survey estimates displayed in EPS reports show margins of error (MOE) as reported by the Census Bureau. However, there are two cases when Headwaters Economics must use formulas to calculate MOEs.

(1) When a user runs an EPS report for multiple geographic areas (e.g., two or more counties), we calculate the MOE for reported data using the U.S. Census Bureau recommended methods.

(2) When EPS displays data as a proportion (e.g., the percentage of people over the age of 65), we use the following standard formula for the MOE of a ratio:

Where:

• is the proportion
• is the numerator
• is the denominator
• and are the margins of error for the numerator and denominator, respectively.

This formula yields a slightly more conservative MOE than the standard formula recommended by the Census Bureau, which subtracts (rather than adds) the two components under the square root. The advantage of the formula used in EPS is that the MOE can always be calculated, whereas the standard formula results in an error if the subtraction of components under the square root results in a negative number.

Headwaters Economics processes newly released datasets continuously.  The latest available numbers are reflected in EPS reports within 90 days of publication by each data source.  There are multiple data sources in EPS, each with a different update schedule.  

Some employment and income data tables from the Bureau of Economics Analysis’ Regional Economic Accounts (REA) were discontinued as of November 14, 2024. This change affects employment by industry, farm income and expenses, and personal current transfer receipts information. The Economic Profile System currently shows all REA data through 2022, and will be updated to include later years if it becomes available.

In November of 2024, the Bureau of Economic Analysis discontinued several tables that are part of the Local Area Personal Income account. Portions of the following discontinued tables are used in the Economic Profile System (EPS):

• CAEMP25 – Total full-time and part-time employment by industry
• CAINC45 – Farm income and expenses

Some tables were affected but not discontinued, such as:

• CAINC30 – Economic profile

Pages in EPS reports that rely on discontinued data continue to use data from those tables, but, the data is “frozen” in time at 2022. For the calculation of Average Earnings per Job, earnings are taken from income tables that continue to be updated while employment is taken from tables that have been “frozen”, in this case though, the same data year is used.

Virginia combination areas consist of one or two independent cities with 1980 populations of less than 100,000 combined with an adjacent county. The county name appears first, followed by the city name(s). Separate estimates for the jurisdictions making up the combination area are not available. Bedford County, VA includes the independent city of Bedford for all years.

Kalawao County, Hawaii is combined with Maui County. Separate estimates for the jurisdictions making up the combination areas are not available

You may notice slightly different population numbers in various reports and the Quick Facts. The Economic Profile System uses three different sources for population data depending on the purpose. To show population at the sub-county level (census tracts, cities, and towns) we report 5-year estimates from U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. To show population change over time we report population data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. To show the components of population change, including migration, we report the U.S. Census Bureau’s population estimates. Every page of an EPS report includes the data source and full citation at the bottom.

There are eight metropolitan areas that do not meet the Census criteria for a “Census Designated Place” because they have unique jurisdictional issues. Data may be incomplete for these locations and we recommend running county-level reports in the Economic Profile System.

These metropolitan areas include: Athens-Clark County, GA; Augusta-Richmond County, GA; Butte-Silver Bow County, MT; Indianapolis-Marion County, IN; Jacksonville-Duval County, FL; Kansas City, KS-Wyandotte County, KS; Louisville-Jefferson County, KY; and Nashville-Davidson County, TN.

The Economic Profile System uses the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Areas (AIANNHA). It includes the following: Alaska Native Regional Corporations (ANRC), Tribal Subdivisions, American Indian Reservations (AIR), Hawaiian Home Lands (HHL), Alaska Native Village Statistical Areas (ANVSA), Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Areas (OTSA), State Designated Tribal Statistical Areas (SDTSA), Tribal Designated Statistical Areas (TDSA), American Indian Joint-Use Areas (AIJUA). For the Economic Profile System, the boundaries of AIANNHA are intersected with state boundaries.

To delineate Metro and Rural (i.e., Non-Metro) counties, EPS uses the 2013 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) metropolitan statistical area county classification. In EPS, counties labeled as “Metro” are defined by the OMB as Metropolitan Statistical Area Central or Outlying counties. All other counties are labeled as “Non-Metro.”

The OMB defines Metropolitan Statistical Areas as counties (or equivalent entities) that are associated with at least one urbanized area of at least 50,000 population, plus adjacent counties having a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured through commuting ties. A county qualifies as Metropolitan Statistical Areas Outlying under the following circumstances: (1) one-quarter or more of the employed residents work in the central counties of the metropolitan statistical area, or (2) one-quarter or more of the employment is composed of workers who live in the central counties.

Read complete definitions from the Census Bureau. Downloadable tabular data (“Delineation Files“) are also available.

Maps are available by state at this Census webpage.

Yes. Click on the “add more places” button on the map at the top of the browser to add additional locations into your report and Quick Facts.