C E N S U S A P I
The Census Bureau is releasing its first ever API. This online service provides the building blocks for developers to design online and mobile apps, such as interactive maps, charts and databases, using a variety of Census Bureau statistics. The API provides statistics down to the neighborhood level (tracts and block groups) from the 2010 Census Summary File 1 and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey. With these two datasets available in the form of an API, database editors and other developers have easier access to a wide variety of timely, localized information, including population totals, age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, home ownership, education, income, employment, commuting and occupation. The API is currently undergoing beta testing and is scheduled for public release in late June/early July. More information about the API can be found at <http://www.census.gov/developers/>.
N E W V E R S I O N O F T I G E R W E B
On 12-June-2012 a new version of TIGERweb was released. The web-based map viewer from the agency’s Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing System (TIGER) database allows users to view and query census geographic areas and features such as roads, railroads, rivers, lakes and other larger bodies of water. It currently displays boundaries, names and codes for 2010 Census legal and statistical geographic areas, such as counties, cities, towns and townships, census tracts and urban areas. In addition, TIGERweb contains population and housing unit counts from the 2010 Census for each of the geographic areas.
To access TIGERweb, go to: <http://tigerweb.geo.census.gov>.
In addition to the TIGERweb viewer, the TIGER data also is available as a Web service via the Open Geospatial Consortium Web Map Service standard. Users who have a client that supports the Web Map Service standard may access the TIGERweb service at <http://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/ArcGIS/services/tigerWMS/MapServer/WMSServer>.
Direct any comments and questions to <geo.tigerweb@census.gov>.
N E W A C S S U R V E Y D A T A S E T S
New American Community Survey Data Sets Provide Detailed Look at Race, Tribal, Hispanic and Ancestry Groups
The Census Bureau recently released new detailed estimates about the social, economic and housing characteristics of hundreds of race, tribal, Hispanic and ancestry groups at numerous geographic levels. This is the first time this level of statistical detail has been available for groups since the 2000 Census. The new products, based on the 2006-2010 American Community Survey (ACS), are generally comparable to estimates generated from the 2000 Census “long form.”
Estimates are available for groups that meet a size threshold and for geographic areas that meet a completed survey response threshold. Up to 300 tables are included on topics such as educational attainment, fertility, nativity, citizenship, income, poverty and homeownership
They are contained in two data products:The 2006-2010 American Community Survey Selected Population Tables. Characteristics estimates are available for the 392 race, Hispanic origin, ancestry and tribal groups that had a national population of at least 7,000. Estimates are published for an individual group in a particular geographic area if it had at least 50 group members during the five-year survey period. Census tracts are the lowest geographic level available to groups meeting the two thresholds.The 2006-2010 American Community Survey American Indian and Alaska Native Tables. Characteristics estimates are available for 950 American Indian and Alaska Native groups that had a national population of at least 100. Estimates are published for an individual tribe in a particular geographic area if that group had at least 50 group members during the five-year survey period. Fewer geographic types are available, but the release includes Alaska Native Regional Corporations and American Indian and Alaska Native Areas and Hawaiian Home Lands.The new estimates are available on American FactFinder, the Census Bureau’s online data search engine. Summary files can also be downloaded via the Census Bureau’s FTP site. <http://www2.census.gov/acs2010_SPT_AIAN/>.
2 0 1 1 P O P U L A T I O N E S T I M A T E R E L E A S E
On 28-June-2012, the Census Bureau released a new set of Place/Minor Civil Divisions population estimates. The estimates may be accessed at:
http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2011/index.html
The Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Program (PEP) produces estimates of the population for the United States, its states, counties, cities, and towns, as well as for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and its municipios. Demographic components of population change (births, deaths, and migration) are produced at the national, state, and county levels of geography. Additionally, housing unit estimates are produced for the nation, states, and counties.
These estimates are used in federal funding allocations, as survey controls, as denominators for vital rates and per capita time series, and as indicators of recent demographic changes. With each new release of annual estimates, the entire time series of estimates is revised for all years back to the last census. All previously published estimates are superseded and archived.
Some geographic notes you should keep in mind when looking at the data:
Incorporated Places are defined by the Census Bureau as City or Village in New York State;Borough, City, Town or Village in New Jersey; City in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island; City and Borough in Connecticut; City and Village in Vermont.
Minor Civil Divisions are defined by the Census Bureau as Towns in New York State; Township in New Jersey; and New England Town in New England states.
However, for the Minor Civil Divisions table in this case ALL geographies (MCDs and Inc. Places) have been comingled, in alphabetical order by county. For the Incorporated Places tables, no Minor Civil Divisions are included.
C P H – 2 C O U N T S
Census of Population and Housing (CPH-2) Counts are available at the following link for Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island: http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/index.html. Counts for other states are forthcoming. The CPH-2 report series provides 2010 Census and historical comparisons of the population and housing unit counts in PDF format. It also provides area measurements and density. The data in these tabulations is derived from Decennial Censuses. The user notes section documents geographic changes over the past decade.