As of today, the Census Bureau has revised the American Factfinder Interface (at http://factfinder2.census.gov/) once again, and this time it’s a good improvement. Previously users had everything and the kitchen sink thrown at them – now there is a choice of paths to follow that range from novice to advanced:
The Community Facts lets you type in the name of a state, county, city, or ZIP Code to get basic profiles from several datasets
The Guided Search gives you a basic set of options and a simple path to follow for viewing and downloading comparison tables for the most common census geographies
The Advanced Search is essentially the previous Factfinder2, and gives you access to the entire range of census datasets and variables for all geographies
The FTP site provides power users with a way of downloading tons of data at once
I’ve updated the PDF tutorials / handouts that I mentioned in my post a few days ago to reflect these changes (they’re in the NYC Data and US Census Data LibGuides).
I’ve received a few requests to do census data intros for spring courses, so I thought it would be a good time to mention this: I’ve updated the handout I’ve created for Finding NYC Neighborhood Census Data. It provides an overview of what neighborhoods are, what the census datasets are, and summarizes the main sources for the data. The handout is a PDF file that is embedded throughout the NYC Data Guide at http://guides.newman.baruch.cuny.edu/nyc_data.
I’ve also made updates to another PDF handout, the American Factfinder Tutorial, that’s embedded throughout the NYC Data and US Census Guides. I expect that I’ll have to update it again within the next month or so, as the Census is going to alter the AFF interface again to make it easier to use (based on user feedback).
The most pertinent, recent change to the Census: they are now releasing ZIP Code / ZCTA data on an annual basis as part of the 5-year American Community Survey ACS (previously, ZCTA data was only available via the decennial census). I’ve updated the Google Maps on the Neighborhoods tab of the NYC Data Guide so, when you click on a ZCTA, you can choose to look at the 2010 Census profile or one of the 4 ACS profiles from 2007-2011. The PUMA map has been updated to point to the latest 3-year ACS data (2009-2011) and the borough links to the most recent 1-year ACS data (2011).
The Census Bureau’s American Factfinder (AFF) is the primary source for census datasets that include the 2010 and 2000 Census, the American Community Survey, and the Population Estimates Program. The new version of the AFF was launched at the beginning of this year; it gives users more options for searching for data but can be a bit bewildering.
I’ve created a how-to handout with screenshots that demonstrates one method for retrieving data. I provide two examples: one is downloading a profile for a census tract from the American Community Survey, and the other is downloading a comparison table for ZIP Codes from the 2010 Census. Links to the handout are available throughout the New York City Data LibGuide on several pages, and on the US Census Data LibGuide. It’s embedded in a box labeled American Factfinder.
While the AFF is the ultimate source for census data there are some easier sources you can refer users to depending on what they’re looking for; these include the Social Explorer database, the Infoshare database, the NYC Department of City Planning, and the PUMA and ZCTA Google Maps embedded in the Neighborhoods tab of the NYC Data Guide. Embedded in the Neighborhoods tab is a separate guide with recommendations for finding NYC neighborhood census data that highlights these options.
The Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of 50k US households. Each year they include special topics alongside the basic questions that they usually ask; in 2010 they included questions on computer and internet use at home. The tables include household and individual characteristics by school enrollment, age, race, sex and Hispanic origin at the national and state level. You can view the announcement and access the tables here in Excel and CSV format.
On January 20th (tomorrow) the original version of the Census Bureau’s American Factfinder will disappear, and the New American Factfinder will take it’s place. You’ll want to update any links you have in guides, web pages, and handouts to the new version at http://factfinder2.census.gov/.
The new version gives users a lot more options and paths for searching for census data. Unfortunately, this avalanche of options can make searching more daunting, as it’s tough to figure out where to start. You can look at the Quick Start guide for a brief intro or view a number of video tutorials and guides.
One approach is to use the old approach – choose the dataset first (Decennial Census, American Community Survey, Population Estimates, Economic Census, etc), choose your geography second, and then select the tables you want to view and download.
I’ve updated the census related libguides (US Census Data and New York City Data) and revised the Finding NYC Neighborhood Census Data Handout to reflect the changes. The Factfinder is one of several ways to access data (others being the Social Explorer for national or City data, and the City Department of Planning and Google Maps I’ve created for City data).
Last week the Census Bureau released the latest 3 year estimates (2008-2010) for the American Community Survey. I’ve updated the Google Map for accessing PUMA / neighborhood profiles to pull data from this latest survey. The interface is a little different since the new data was released via the new version of the American Factfinder. In the past you would click on one link to access the profile page at the Census Bureau’s website, and from their website you could select Social, Economic, Housing, or Demographic profiles. In the new Factfinder this landing page has been eliminated and there are separate links to each profile – I provide a link to each one in the map.
The NYC Department of City Planning has released new tables and maps based on the 2010 Census Redistricting data, which gives us basic counts of the population. The tables (in PDF and Excel format) are provided for the city, boroughs, individual census tracts, and new areas called Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTAs). Here’s their definition:
*Neighborhood Tabulation Areas (NTAs) are aggregations of census tracts that are subsets of New York City’s 55 Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs). Primarily due to these constraints, NTA boundaries and their associated names may not definitively represent neighborhoods.
There are 195 NTAs in the city – more manageable then the 2,168 census tracts (small areas with an ideal size of 4,000 people) and more precise than the 55 PUMAs (large areas with an ideal size of 100,000 people). It looks like the department may be trying to re-align and standardize how they’re going to report the new 2010 Census data with how they’ll be reporting the annually updated American Community Survey (the Census Bureau will probably report next year’s ACS using updated 2010 Census boundaries). The city provides cross-tabs that you can use if you wanted to aggregate tract-level data to NTAs on your own, and helpful maps that show you where the NTAs are.
All of these geographies nest within each other: census tracts -> NTAs -> PUMAs -> Boroughs -> City. The city hasn’t said whether or how they’ll report data for the Community Districts; it seems likely that they will, since the CDs were established by city law. The 59 CDs were also constructed by aggregating census tracts and they are similar in size to PUMAs, but they don’t align well with the PUMA boundaries.
It’s likely that the city will release more tables and maps once the complete 2010 census data for Summary File 1 is released this summer.
One of the librarians on the MAPS-L Listserv posted a response to a question he had sent to the US Census Bureau regarding the fate of the Statistical Abstract. It doesn’t look good, unless Congress acts to re-instate it. This is the response from the Branch Chief, Statistical Compendia Branch, ACSD US Census Bureau:
“The President’s FY 2012 Budget terminates the Statistical Abstract including all of its components. The statistical compendia branch program consists of the Statistical Abstract of the United States and its supplemental products: USA Counties, State and Metropolitan Area Data Book, County and City Data Book, State and County Quick Facts, and MapStats.
Given the current budget environment , the Census Bureau made difficult choices to terminate and reduce a number of existing programs in order to acquire funds for higher priority programs.
Final decisions about the FY 2012 budget are the responsibility of the Congress”
The NY Times just released a new set of nationwide census map depicting some of the recently released data from the 2010 Census. Mapping the 2010 U.S. Census compliments the mapping site that the Times previously posted, Mapping America: Every City, Every Block, which used data from the 2005-2009 American Community Survey.
With both datasets side by side we can see important differences between them. If we look at census tract 68 in New York County (the tract where Baruch College is located), according to the 2010 Census there are 7,614 residents and the two largest groups are white (71%) and Asian (14%). If we look at this same tract according to the 2005-2009 American Community Survey, the estimate is 5,501 residents of whom 80% are white and 8% are Asian. What’s going on here? How can they be so different?
The 2010 Census is a snapshot, a one time count of what the total population was on April 1, 2010. The ACS on the other hand is a moving image, a rolling average based on five years of sample data between 2005 and 2009. They’re not going to be the same as they cover different time periods and are calculated using different methods. Also, the NY Times and most other publications often fail to report the confidence interval and the margins of error for the ACS estimates – for the 2005-2009 ACS, the estimate for Tract 68 is 5,501 residents, plus or minus 459 residents at a 90% confidence level.
Estimates tend to be more reliable as the population being surveyed increases or the geographic area increases in size. So you’ll get better estimates for total number of people than you would for a particular group, and you’ll get better estimates for a county then you would a census tract.
Which dataset should you use? For most of our students, who are often more interested in socio-economic variables like income and education, you’ll have to stick with the ACS. If they’re looking for population data (age, race, gender) and those socio-economic variables as well, they should get all of them from the ACS and not mix the two datasets together. The 2010 Census is not going to include ANY of the socio-economic data; these questions were cut and the ACS is the only place for these variables. But, if you have patrons who are interested in population change from 2000 to 2010 or they’re only interested in demographic variables, then the 2010 Census is the place to go.
I’ve included some maps from both mapping sites below that show tract 68 – they display the same data (total population and race) in a different format (2005-2009 ACS is a dot density map that shows race, 2010 Census is a shaded area map that shows total population change).
NY Times ACS 2005-2009 Map for NY County Census Tract 68NY Times 2010 Census Map for NY County Census Tract 68
The 2010 Census Redistricting Data was rolled out on a state by state basis over the last month, and New York State was one of the last states to be released. A summary of NY State’s population change along with tables and maps to download is available in this press release.
New York State’s population grew from 18,976,457 in 2000 to 19,378,102 in 2010; a change of 401,645 or 2.1%. New York City’s population grew from 8,008,278 in 2000 to 8,175,133 in 2010; a change of 166,855 or 2.1%.
