AASHTO Census Transportation Solutions

AASHTO Census Transportation Solutions is the operating brand associated with the Census Transportation Planning Products Program (CTPP), a cooperative data-purchasing and technical-support initiative serving transportation planners in the United States. The program procures specially prepared tabulations from the U.S. Census Bureau, using data from the American Community Survey and earlier decennial-census sources, and makes those data available to state departments of transportation, metropolitan planning organizations, researchers, consultants, and other transportation professionals. The program is centered on journey-to-work and related transportation-planning information. Its tabulations describe people, households, workers, vehicles, places of residence, places of employment, and flows between home and work. Unlike ordinary census products, the CTPP is designed around the geographic and analytical requirements of transportation planning. Its principal geographic perspectives are residence-based data, workplace-based data, and worker-flow data linking origins and destinations. These products are particularly useful because detailed home-to-work flows are difficult to obtain from general-purpose public datasets without special tabulations or local surveys. CTPP data support a broad range of public-sector planning tasks. Agencies use them to develop population and employment forecasts, evaluate demographic and socioeconomic conditions, examine household life cycles and travel behavior, estimate vehicle ownership, validate transportation-demand models, and conduct environmental-justice and social-equity analyses. The data can also inform corridor studies, regional planning, transit analysis, traffic forecasting, and assessments of how commuting patterns vary across communities. The program evolved from the transportation community's long-running interest in journey-to-work tabulations. Standard journey-to-work tables were produced with the 1960 Census, while transportation planners subsequently funded specialized products at Traffic Analysis Zone and other planning-relevant geographic levels. Participation expanded from more than one hundred buyers in 1970 to more than 150 in 1980, with metropolitan planning organizations representing a large share of the user community. A pooled-fund approach developed for the 1990 census made it possible for states and metropolitan planning organizations to share the cost and obtain a common national product. AASHTO became an important coordinating and technical-support partner as the program matured. For the 2000 tabulations, a CTPP Working Group coordinated specifications and procurement with AASHTO and the Census Bureau. Participating states contributed according to population, while transportation agencies and federal partners supported technical assistance, coordination, software, and dissemination. The program's governance is provided by an oversight board containing state and metropolitan-planning-organization representatives, with additional nonvoting participation from federal agencies, the Census Bureau, academia, and private consultants. Historically, CTPP products relied on the decennial census long form. After the long form was discontinued following the 2000 Census, the program shifted to the American Community Survey. This change preserved access to transportation-oriented tabulations while aligning the program with the Census Bureau's newer annual survey system. CTPP products have included files derived from the 1990 and 2000 censuses and several five-year ACS periods, including 2006–2010 and 2012–2016. The program has distributed data through an online database, downloadable files, and an FTP service. In addition to data procurement, CTPP provides user education and technical outreach. Its support materials include online learning modules, instructional videos for web-based software and Census data, technical FAQs, and in-person or virtual training. During the COVID…

The roots of the Census Transportation Planning Products Program lie in the transportation community's use of journey-to-work statistics. The 1960 Census produced journey-to-work tabulations at standard Census Bureau geographies under sponsorship associated with the Office of Management and Budget. Transportation planners later sought data organized around the geographic units used for regional forecasting and analysis, including Traffic Analysis Zones. For the 1970 Census, 112 organizations purchased specialized journey-to-work tabulations. Many were metropolitan planning organizations, which needed consistent information for regional transportation studies. By 1980, the number of buyers had grown to 152. The transportation planning community created an ad hoc committee through the Transportation Research Board to develop common specifications. Participating users shared procurement costs, with a special U.S. Department of Transportation grant helping finance the effort. A pooled-fund model was developed for the 1990 products. This approach enabled states and metropolitan planning organizations to participate collectively and helped create a nationally coordinated package. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics provided grant support for procurement and distribution. The resulting arrangement established the cooperative structure that later became associated with CTPP. For the 2000 tabulations, a CTPP Working Group coordinated with AASHTO and contracted with the Census Bureau for the required tables. States participating in development contributed according to total population. Department of Transportation agencies also supported technical assistance, program coordination, software, and related user services. From 1970 through 2000, the program's primary source was the decennial census long form. The Census Bureau discontinued the long form after the 2000 Census. In 2006, much of its content was replaced by the American Community Survey. CTPP consequently transitioned to ACS-based tabulations, adapting its products to the survey's five-year releases and associated geographic structure. The program continued to focus on transportation-specific presentation and analysis rather than simply reproducing general Census tables. CTPP products have included tabulations based on the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses, the 2006–2010 five-year ACS, and the 2012–2016 five-year ACS. The program has made data available through an online database, downloadable files, and an FTP site. Planned subsequent products have been based on later ACS five-year files. Governance is provided by an oversight board with 17 voting members: eight state representatives, eight metropolitan planning organization representatives, and a chair. Ex-officio participants have included representatives of federal transportation agencies, the Census Bureau, academia, private consulting firms, and other data users. The board oversees the budget and operations of the program's five-year cycle and meets quarterly. Education has remained a central part of the program. CTPP has supported interactive online learning, instructional videos for its web tools and Census data, on-site training, and practical sessions for agency staff. During the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person instruction moved online. Through these procurement, dissemination, training, and interpretation functions, CTPP has served as a shared national resource for transportation planning agencies.

1. 2020Training moves online during the COVID-19 pandemic

   Hands-on CTPP training and outreach shifted from in-person delivery to online formats during the pandemic.

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2. 2006Transition from the decennial long form to the ACS

   Following the discontinuation of the decennial census long form, the program began using American Community Survey data for later transportation tabulations.

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3. 2000AASHTO and the CTPP Working Group coordinate new tabulations

   The CTPP Working Group coordinated procurement with AASHTO and the Census Bureau for products based on the 2000 Census.

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4. 1990Pooled-fund procurement model developed

   A pooled-fund process enabled states and metropolitan planning organizations to jointly obtain transportation-planning data from the 1990 decennial census.

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5. 1980Buyer network reaches 152 organizations

   Participation in the cooperative journey-to-work tabulation effort increased to 152 buyers.

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6. 1970Specialized transportation tabulation participation expands

   A total of 112 organizations purchased specialized journey-to-work tabulations, including many metropolitan planning organizations.

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7. 1960Journey-to-work tabulations established as a Census planning resource

   Standard journey-to-work tabulations were produced with the 1960 Census, providing an early foundation for later transportation-oriented data procurement.

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A cooperative, transportation-specialized source of Census-based commuting, demographic, and worker-flow data for state transportation agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, and related analysts.

• CTPP Census and ACS TabulationsTransportation planning data

  Specialized tabulations purchased from the U.S. Census Bureau for transportation analysis. The datasets cover residence-based characteristics, workplace-based characteristics, and flows between workers' homes and workplaces. They support demographic analysis, forecasting, vehicle-ownership modeling, equity studies, and validation of transportation-demand forecasts. Earlier releases used decennial census long-form data, while later releases use five-year American Community Survey files.

• CTPP Online DatabaseData access platform

  A web-based interface through which users can query CTPP tabulations and obtain transportation-oriented Census information. The platform is intended for planners and analysts who need to select geographies, variables, and commuting measures without independently assembling the underlying Census datasets.

• CTPP Downloadable and FTP Data FilesData distribution

  Downloadable releases and FTP-accessible files provide a machine-readable way to work with CTPP products. The catalog has included tabulations from the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses and multiple five-year ACS periods, allowing agencies to incorporate the data into geographic information systems, forecasting workflows, and statistical analysis.

• Commuting in AmericaResearch publication

  A series of reports supported by CTPP and AASHTO that describes commuters, travel-to-work patterns, and broader characteristics of commuting in the United States. The series translates Census-based transportation information into interpretive material for planners, policymakers, and other users of national travel data.

• CTPP Training and Technical SupportProfessional education

  User-support services include interactive learning modules, software tutorials, Census-data videos, technical FAQs, on-site instruction, and virtual training. Sessions emphasize practical use of CTPP data by state agencies and metropolitan planning organizations, including hands-on work with queries, files, and transportation-planning applications.

1. Census Transportation Planning Products Program
2. AASHTO Census Transportation Solutions official website