> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://support.pears.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://support.pears.io/engage/program-activities/auto-calculate-demographics.md).

# Auto Calculate Program Activity Demographics

Automatically calculate program activity demographics using survey responses, site data, or youth programming data.

The Auto Calculate feature populates demographic data for a program activity by pulling from available data sources such as site demographics, survey responses, or youth programming data.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Navigate to Program Activities

From the PEARS homepage, hover over the **Engage** menu and click **Program Activities**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Open the Program Activity

Click the program activity that needs demographic information.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Go to Demographics

Click **Demographics** in the progress panel.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Click Auto Calculate

Click the **Auto Calculate** button. If multiple data sources are available, select the one you want to use.

<figure><img src="https://2560412328-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Ff0820LrBGQ9ZA8SC4BR1%2Fuploads%2FoKZmrFvuU2E4eyE9liZo%2FProgram%20Demographics%20Autocalculate.png?alt=media&amp;token=768af1b5-114c-4f4d-a684-9218bef8d332" alt="Add Demographics From Multiple Surveys"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Confirm the calculation

Review the data source and click to confirm. PEARS populates the demographic fields based on the selected source.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Save

Click **Save and Continue** or **Save** to preserve the calculated demographics.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Data Sources

### Survey Responses

The system totals responses from demographic questions within attached surveys. Unanswered questions are counted as "Unknown."

{% hint style="warning" %}
**NOTE:** Survey questions must use the demographic question types to enable auto-calculation: Age and Gender, plus **Race and Ethnicity** for a program activity in a 2027 or later reporting period, or the separate Ethnicity and Race types for a program activity in an earlier reporting period. A survey whose demographic questions belong to the other reporting era is not offered.
{% endhint %}

For a program activity in a 2027 or later reporting period, each survey response is counted once. A response that selects one category is counted in that category's **One Race/Ethnicity Only** column. A response that selects two or more categories is counted in each of those categories' **2 or More** column and once toward **# Unique Participants with Two or More Races/Ethnicities**. Selecting **Prefer not to respond** alongside a category does not make the response count as two or more, and a response that includes an option PEARS cannot match to a category, such as **Other**, is counted as Unknown.

{% hint style="info" %}
**TIP:** A survey that collects aggregate responses cannot tell how many categories each person selected, so a program activity in a 2027 or later reporting period can auto-calculate from it only when the survey also includes an Age or Gender question, and the race and ethnicity total is recorded as Unknown.
{% endhint %}

### Site-Wide Demographics

The system multiplies total participants by the demographic percentages assigned to the site. For example, if a site has 200 total participants and 40% are Hispanic/Latino, the calculation yields 80.

For a program activity in a 2027 or later reporting period, the site's percentages fill the **One Race/Ethnicity Only** column and the two-or-more total; the site's demographics must have been entered with the combined **Race and Ethnicity** percentages, and PEARS asks you to update the site's demographics first if they were recorded with the separate race and ethnicity questions. See [Add a Site](/administration/administration/manage-sites/add-a-site.md).

{% hint style="info" %}
**TIP:** Site demographics auto-calculate is SNAP-Ed specific and is not available for Extension organizations.
{% endhint %}

### Youth Programming Data

Data from the Gender and Race & Ethnicity tables within the Youth Programming section are aggregated automatically.

{% hint style="warning" %}
**NOTE:** Age classifications are adjusted during calculation — for example, Pre-K becomes "Less than 5 years" and grades 1-12 become "5-17 years." For a program activity in a 2027 or later reporting period, the counts from the Youth Programming **Race and Ethnicity** table carry over to the same categories. A Youth Programming record that still holds only separate ethnicity and race counts, because it was saved before Youth Programming switched to the combined question, has its whole race and ethnicity total recorded as Unknown.
{% endhint %}

### Event Registrations

When an event is linked to the program activity, responses to its registration form's demographic questions are totaled the same way as survey responses. For a program activity in a 2027 or later reporting period, only the **Race and Ethnicity** registration question is used and a separate Ethnicity question on the same form is ignored; for a program activity in an earlier reporting period, a registration that selects a category the separate Race question cannot represent, such as Hispanic or Latino, is counted once as Unknown.

## Using Multiple Data Sources

To combine data from multiple surveys:

1. Auto calculate using the first survey.
2. Click **Auto Calculate** again.
3. Select the second survey.
4. Check the box: **I would like to add new demographic data to existing demographic values instead of replacing them.**
5. Confirm to combine data from both surveys.<br>

   <figure><img src="https://2560412328-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Ff0820LrBGQ9ZA8SC4BR1%2Fuploads%2Ft7kYfoqaNiDwN2I36koI%2FAdd%20Demographics%20From%20Multiple%20Surveys.png?alt=media&amp;token=d9d17fa0-aee3-497d-9379-ab7c54e2afe0" alt="Add Demographics From Multiple Surveys" width="375"><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="warning" %}
**NOTE:** Report only unique individuals — count each person once regardless of how many times they attended.
{% endhint %}