- Description
- Codes
- Comparability
- Universe
- Availability
- Questionnaire Text
- Flags
- Source Variables
- Editing Procedure
Description
AGEORIG reports the person's age in years as of the last birthday, as originally released in the ACS/PRCS PUMS by the Census Bureau. To reduce the risk that any individual in the PUMS will be identifiable, the Census Bureau randomly adjusts the ages of some individuals. In the 2000 census and in the 2003-2006 ACS/PRCS data, the implementation of this technique resulted in implausible sex ratios for persons aged 65 and up. These errors carried through to the 2005 and 2006 cases in the 2005-2007 3-year ACS/PRCS.
As a result, PUMS files for these years may not be representative of the 65+ population at individual ages, and analyses of variables that are expected to change by age stand to be particularly affected. For a full discussion of the problem and its implications for researchers, see NBER Working Paper No. 15703.
The Census Bureau re-released this variable for the affected samples. Only those needing to use the original, incorrectly edited version for a special purpose should use AGEORIG. All others should use AGE, which contains the revised and corrected variable.
Ages have changed only for the 10 percent of individuals who are at least 65 years old. AGE and AGEORIG do not differ for about 20 percent of these cases; differ by 1 to 3 years for about 70 percent of them; and differ by 4 to 9 years for about 10 percent of them. While the new values produce more accurate estimates than did the old values (contained in AGEORIG), the extraordinary number of changes suggests that the new version of the data was created via imputation or synthetic processes. IPUMS assigns a QAGE value of 4 to all age values for the 65+ population in the revised ACS. Users who study the older population or who need the most accurate AGE data should take note.
Please see the Comparability section regarding a known Universe issue with AGE and AGEORIG which effects EMPSTAT and LABFORCE for the 2004 ACS Sample.
Codes and Frequencies
Comparability
This variable is available only in the 2003-2006 ACS/PRCS and the 2005-7 ACS/PRCS multiyear samples.
For the 2004 ACS Sample, 13 observations have N/A values (0) for EMPSTAT and LABFORCE but have AGE values above 16 (in Universe).
This is due to a known programmatic issue between AGEORIG values of 16 which have been misallocated to AGE values 65 and over which only affects the 2004 ACS Sample.
Universe
- All persons.
Availability
- 2022: --
- 2021: --
- 2020: --
- 2019: --
- 2018: --
- 2017: --
- 2016: --
- 2015: --
- 2014: --
- 2013: --
- 2012: --
- 2011: --
- 2010: --
- 2009: --
- 2008: --
- 2007: ACS 3yr
- 2006: All samples
- 2005: All samples
- 2004: All samples
- 2003: All samples
- 2002: --
- 2001: --
- 2000: 5%; 1% unwt
- 1990: --
- 1980: --
- 1970: --
- 1960: --
- 1950: --
- 1940: --
- 1930: --
- 1920: --
- 1910: --
- 1900: --
- 1880: --
- 1870: --
- 1860: --
- 1850: --
Editing Procedure
There is no editing procedure available for this variable.
