The U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday released estimates from the American Community Survey for the combined years from 2007 to 2011, providing the data down to the neighborhood level on school enrollment, jobs, housing and other measures.

The American Community Survey provides statistics about people and housing for every community across the nation. The results are used by everyone from town and city planners to retailers and homebuilders. The survey is the only source of local estimates for most of the 40 topics it covers, such as education, occupation, language, ancestry and housing costs for even the smallest communities.

"By telling the story of our towns and neighborhoods, the American Community Survey helps planners locate schools and firehouses," said Thomas Mesenbourg, the bureau's acting director.

The bureau updated its QuickFacts site (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html) 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.

The five-year estimates are available for all states, counties, places, congressional districts, census tracts and block groups.

Visitors to the U.S. Census Bureau website can find their community estimates at American FactFinder.