Analyzing the Survey of Consumer Finances with `scf`: Methodology, User Guide, and Package Validation

Authors

Joseph N. Cohen, CUNY Queens CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 2026

Abstract

The R package `scf` streamlines analysis of the Survey of Consumer Finances' (SCF) public-use microdata. The package encodes best practices for handling the Survey's complex sampling scheme and imputed missing data, such that analysts can produce valid population estimates with simple function calls. This article reviews the SCF structure, details the design and logic of the `scf` package, and demonstrates these functions' ability to replicate official statistics.