And the Census holiday gifts just keep on coming. . .the Census Bureau releases five-year American Community Survey data and new data tools.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently released estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS) for the combined years from 2007 to 2011. These figures provide the only statistics down to the neighborhood level on school enrollment, jobs, housing and many other measures. You don’t need to wait every ten years for the decennial census for local-level demographics. The American Community Survey produces this information every year.

Along with the estimates, the Census Bureau is rolling out a series of new tools to make it easier to The U.S. Census Bureau today released estimates from the American Community Survey (ACS) for the combined years from 2007 to 2011, providing the only statistics down to the neighborhood level on school enrollment, jobs, housing and many other measures. These estimates are ideal for measuring trends for areas with populations of less than 20,000.

Along with the estimates, the Census Bureau is rolling out a series of new tools to make it easier to search, embed on other websites, download and share the survey estimates. The Census Bureau has updated its popular QuickFacts site with the new American Community Survey statistics, making it even easier for people to find information about a town, county or state. The Census Bureau has also launched "Easy Stats," a tool that allows users to build their own tables by selecting a desired topic and geography.

Early next year, the Census Bureau will release "Dwellr," a mobile app designed to put Census Bureau statistics directly in the hands of new users in an engaging way. Woo hoo! Data lovers rejoice.

Digging through all the data in American FactFinder can seem like a major chore if you are just looking for a few figures. Both QuickFacts and Easy Stats provide faster, easier alternatives. The charts below display data I downloaded from East Stats for my own (quite small) town of Toquerville, Utah. And, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ll reveal that my household is included in the survey data!