Press Release (July 22, 2021): In response to stakeholder input about the value of earlier access to demonstration data that feature the 2020 Census Disclosure Avoidance System’s chosen production settings, the Census Bureau is moving up the release date for the demonstration data to coincide with the release (by August 16) of the legacy-formatted redistricting data. We’ll announce the specific release date in the coming weeks.
The Census Bureau released metrics for the chosen production settings July 1 (see newsletter). We understand, based on your feedback, that access to the demonstration data coincident to the initial redistricting data release will help you better understand how we applied the disclosure avoidance system.
This will be the sixth and final set of Privacy-Protected Microdata Files (PPMFs), as the demonstration data are called, in preparation for the 2020 Census (P.L. 94-171) redistricting data release. It was originally scheduled for release prior to the publication of the redistricting data in user-friendly formats by the end of September. Note that as with our other recent PPMF releases, this file is limited to redistricting data only; it does not include data associated with the Demographic and Housing Characteristics File (DHC) or other data products.
We will release the production code base for P.L. 94-171 redistricting summary data file and related technical papers in September as planned.
