Assessing the Consistency of Age and Sex Distributions in the Census, the Population Estimates Program, and the American Community Survey

Gregory Robinson, U.S. Census Bureau
Julie Meyer, U.S. Census Bureau

Current estimates of the single-year-of-age and sex distribution of the population are provided by the Census Bureau’s population estimates program. A summary measure of age-sex distribution is the sex ratio. Sex ratios are used here to examine the consistency of the age and sex distribution of the population estimates in 2005 with those of the 1990 and 2000 censuses. In addition, the age profile of sex ratios from the 2005 American Community Survey is compared to the 2005 estimates. The sex ratios of the current population estimates and the census are very consistent with one conspicuous exception—the population in the age range from about 18 to 28. Reasons for this inconsistency are explored graphically, including the effect of differential undercounts by sex in the census and possible mis-estimation of the age distribution of international migrants.