FFIEC Releases Timeline for 2022 Census and Demographic Data

On March 18th, the FFIEC published an alert regarding the 2022 Census and Demographic Data availability. The alert states that due to various delays, including those related to the ongoing pandemic, the release of the data for CRA and HMDA purposes was not available as planned. It further specifies a rough timeline as to when to expect each piece of the full dataset. The text from the FFIEC alert follows:

Due to delays with multiple products from the U.S. Census Bureau, the FFIEC has faced challenges in releasing the 2022 FFIEC Census products. In order to respond to user needs, the FFIEC will release the various FFIEC Census products in a sequential manner as the data become available.

1. Using the Census Redistricting Data released on August 12, 2021, the FFIEC will release a limited flat file as the first part of the FFIEC 2022 Census products release. These will cover only demographic information, not tract income categories used in CRA or other fields that are derived from the ACS 5-Year Survey (2016-2020). When a field is normally included in the FFIEC flat file but is not available in the Redistricting Data, the field will be left blank. This release will include each census tract's minority and ethnic population and will be available for download on March 30, 2022.
2. Due to pandemic delays, the 2016-2020 ACS 5-year data release came out March 17, 2022, rather than last December. The FFIEC Census team will process this data and shortly thereafter provide an ad hoc release of census tracts and the corresponding income tract categories. The list will utilize information provided in the 2016-2 020 ACS 5-year data release and will be separate from the flat file releases. A previous description (see the February 1, 2017 item) and example of an ad hoc census tract income category release is available here.
3. In the summer of 2022, the FFIEC expects to release a second version of the 2022 FFIEC Census products flat file that includes all census fields that were provided in the 2016-2020 ACS 5-year data release.
4. In calendar year 2023, the 2022 FFIEC Census products flat file will be updated for a third time. The missing demographic fields from the previous releases will be backfilled with the Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC, formerly known as SF-1) files. The timing of this release is contingent on the release of the DHC file, which is tentatively scheduled for 2022.

RATA will retrieve and process each piece as it becomes available, so you can expect to see a minimum of 3 releases of the 2022 Demographic Data for Comply coming out over the course of the next year or so.

https://www.ffiec.gov/cra/pdf/Census_Timeline_Announcements.pdf

Also see: 
2020 Census Tracts and Demographics