AmeriCorps Participant Demographics Dashboard

Resources to Understand the Dashboard & Methodology

This dashboard provides visual representation for comparisons of demographic group prevalence in AmeriCorps Member/Volunteers populations to that of the greater U.S. population. The odds ratio analysis was completed by the Office of the Chief Data Officer.
Note: Toggle between dashboard pages with the arrows at the bottom of the dashboard. Pages: 1) State Results, 2) National Results, 3) Key Terms and Conditions
  • FAQ Document for the Participant Demographics Dashboard can be found here.
  • Full Technical documentation can be found here.
  • For further inquiries please email: CDO@AmeriCorps.gov

Data Sources

The underlying dataset for this dashboard is available for download here. 
AmeriCorps member race and ethnicity data is collected via the My AmeriCorps Portal, an online system used by AmeriCorps applicants, members, and alumni to apply to serve and manage their service term and education award. AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer demographic data is collected via the annual Progress Report Supplement submitted by grantees via the eGrants grant management system. A sample of this report is available here. Race and ethnicity data for the U.S. population is from the 2021 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year dataset. Socioeconomic status (maternal education) data is from the ACS 5-year 2020 Public Use Microdata Sample data set available through the IPUMS USA data portal.

Key Terms

Census Population: Population size estimates generated from U.S. Census Bureau data reported in American Community Survey 5-Year tables DP05 (total U.S. populations) and S1701(U.S. populations below poverty line), and socioeconomic status-related microdata maintained by IPUMS USA. Selecting "General Population" in the Census Population filter allows for a comparison of AmeriCorps participants to the total U.S. population. Selecting "Population in Poverty" allows for a comparison of AmeriCorps participants to the U.S. population in poverty.
Demographic Group: Allows users to select between the following options:
  • Race/Ethnicity: In the list of races and ethnicities in the dashboard, "Hispanic/Latino(a)" is an ethnicity group, and therefore is not included in the race group measures “Racially Diverse (Non-White)” or “Two or More Races.”  The "Racially Diverse (Non-White)" option assesses whether non-white members and volunteers (regardless of ethnicity) are collectively over or under-represented.
  • Socioeconomic Status: AmeriCorps began collecting member socioeconomic status data in 2022. An informal literature review and a preliminary statistical analysis determined that mother’s highest level of education is an acceptable proxy for members’ relative socioeconomic statuses. The greater a member’s mother’s level of education, the more likely that person is to have a relatively high socioeconomic status. Data collection is pending for AmeriCorps Seniors volunteer socioeconomic status.
  • Sex: In 2021, AmeriCorps added a “non-binary” option to the sex selections for AmeriCorps members and a “Gender Fluid/Does Not Identify as Male or Female” option to the sex selections for AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers.  In the first full year for which we have results, approximately 1.6% of members and 0.6% of volunteers fell into these groups. These new groups are not included in the statistical analysis because the American Community Survey does not collect equivalent data at this time, so we have nothing to compare them against.
Lower 95% CI Limit: The lower bound of the 95% confidence interval (i.e., the range within which there is a 95% probability that the true odds ratio exists). If this lower limit is greater than 1, there is enough evidence to show that the demographic group is over-represented at Americorps compared to the U.S. distribution. In this case, its representation will display as "Likely over-represented."
Magnitude Range Size: Difference between relative magnitude of effect values calculated from 95% confidence interval upper and lower limits for estimated odds ratios. Relative magnitude of effect indicates how many times greater or lesser than AmeriCorps populations of interest were, relative to analogous Census estimates.
Odds Ratio Estimate: Estimate of the true odds ratio calculated for populations of interest, derived from statistical analysis.
Program: The AmeriCorps program for which demographics are assessed. The Program filter in the dashboard allows users to view results for the combined AmeriCorps member programs (“AmeriCorps Members (All)”), the combined AmeriCorps Seniors programs (“AmeriCorps Seniors (All)”) or for the following individual programs: AmeriCorps NCCC; AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program (FGP); AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP; AmeriCorps Seniors Senior Companion Program (SCP); AmeriCorps Seniors Senior Demonstration Program (SDP); AmeriCorps State and National; AmeriCorps VISTA; Public Health AmeriCorps. The availability of demographic analysis results varies by program and geography.
Representation: Options are:
  • Insufficient data: Demographic group counts observed in AmeriCorps programs are too low to draw statistical conclusions about representation. “Insufficient data” determinations were made when test results were not statistically significant and the observed magnitude range size was >20.
  • Likely over-represented: Sufficient evidence exists to conclude that the selected demographic group is over-represented in the AmeriCorps population.
  • Likely under-represented: Sufficient evidence exists to conclude that the selected demographic group is under-represented in the AmeriCorps population.
  • No observable difference: We can't reject the null hypothesis. In other words, we can't conclusively say that the odds for the selected demographic group in the AmeriCorps population differ from expected odds in the US population.
  • All observed counts belong to this demographic group, resulting in an infinite odds: Summed counts of Member Service Years (MSYs) or volunteers in other groups round to 0, so a discrete odds ratio value cannot be calculated. For example, if all MSYs or volunteers in a given county belong to the “White” racial demographic group, we cannot compare the proportion of this group to other groups because others do not exist. In these cases statistical test results are not informative, and we cannot comment on AmeriCorps group representation relative to U.S. estimates.
Service Region: The AmeriCorps region where the member or volunteer completed their service. For AmeriCorps members, this is based on the member's service location rather. For AmeriCorps Seniors, this is based on the program state since we cannot connect individual volunteers to specific service locations. A list of AmeriCorps regions and their associated states is available here.
Service State: The state where the member or volunteer completed their service. For AmeriCorps members, this is based on the service location rather than the organization or program state. For AmeriCorps Seniors, this is the program state.
Time Period: Allows users to view results for the most recent complete fiscal year and most recent three complete fiscal years for which we have data. The "last three fiscal years" window was included because it increases the sample size for the AmeriCorps population.
Upper 95% CI Limit: The upper bound of the 95% confidence interval (i.e., the range within which there is a 95% probability that the true odds ratio exists). If this upper limit is less than 1, there is enough evidence to show that the demographic group is under-represented at AmeriCorps compared to the U.S. distribution. In this case, its representation will display as "Likely under-represented."