Census

Recent posts

WaPo Census Map

The Washington Post has an excellent county-by-county interactive map that visualizes three decades of U.S. Census Bureau data. The page opens with a national view of the population in 2010 by race/ethnicity, but also allows several other views by decade.

Here’s the national view, with colors representing which group has a plurality in each county, and shades indicating the concentration: 

More recent data shows other information collected last year by the bureau. This view, for example, is a national look at the percentage of residents who are married with kids in the home (notice Utah and South Texas — counties with the nation’s highest birth rates — have a greater proportion of these residents):

And, finally, if you zoom in, the map displays data at the block group level. Here’s D.C., which as I’ve noted is quite segregated:

Filed under: Census, Google Maps, Washington DC

America’s ‘Youngest’ Counties

In recent weeks the U.S. Census Bureau released more detailed demographic profiles obtained during the 2010 count. Unlike redistricting data, which was released earlier this spring, the demographic profiles break out the population by specific age categories.

This map shows more than 3,100 U.S. counties (or county equivalents, like parishes) with the percentage of population that is younger than age five. As you can see, there’s wide divergence across the country, but some western states — Utah, Arizona, Texas, the Dakotas and Alaska — have several counties with a large percentage of young residents: 

I suspect it’s because these states, for a variety of factors, including religion, just have higher birth rates. Here’s the view by state: 

Download data

Filed under: Census, Mapping

Migration to Texas 2009-10

On my work blog this morning I posted three maps visualizing new U.S. Census data on how many people moved into and out of Texas at some point between 2009. 

This map shows net migration to and from Texas by state, with darker shades of green representing higher numbers of residents who left their respective states for Texas. Darker reds represent states that received more Texans than they exported:

Filed under: Census, Mapping

Mapping Texas’ Diversity

A cross post from my work blog:

The Bronx. Queens. Fort Bend? Texas now has some of the nation’s most diverse counties, according to an index created by USA Today to analyze U.S. Census data. 

Nine Texas counties make the list of the 40 most diverse counties in the country, according to the analysis. Fort Bend County, outside of Houston, comes in fourth, trailing Bronx County and Queens County in New York, and Hudson County, New Jersey.  

The index calculates the probability that two people chosen at random from a county would have different races or ethnic orgins, setting a 0 to 100 score. Texas’ overall score in 2010 was 46, according to the index, below the national score, which was 55. Both increased from 2000, with Texas’ up from 42, and the nation as a whole up from 49. 

In layman’s terms, Texas’ score means there’s a 46 percent chance that two randomly chosen people would have different races or ethnicities. Keep in mind that the index measures overal diversity, so counties that are heavily white or Hispanic rank lower in their scores. (State indexes ranged from 81 in Hawaii to 11 in Vermont, according to USA TODAY.)

Even though Texas’ score is below the national figure, nine of its counties are in the top 40 out of 3,141 across the country. Leading the way is Fort Bend County, which has a large Asian population, and a score of 75.2. (Whites represent about 50 percent of the population there.) Other Texas counties high on the list were, in order, Waller, Jefferson, Bell, Potter, Travis and Matagorda.

These maps visualize the scores in all of Texas’ 254 counties, with lighter shades representing less diversity. First, 2010:

Diversity in 2000:

Let us know if you have feedback or ideas for other data-related content, and be sure to follow @TribData on Twitter for updates.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau/USA TODAY | Data

Filed under: Census, Maps

U.S. Population Growth

A cross post from work:

The U.S. Census Bureau released its final batch of state-by-state redistricting data this week, making it possible to visualize population growth by race and Hispanic origin across the country.

Texas received its data several weeks ago, and we displayed these trends by counties and legislative districts in two interactive maps.

Like Texas, the nation saw divergent growth patterns, with some counties booming and others losing population. The state also kept pace nationally in the rate of Hispanic population growth. The Texas Hispanic population increased 42 percent in the last decade. The country saw a 43 percent increase.

This map shows population growth among all races in each of the more than 3,141 counties (and county equivalents). Red shades represent counties that lost population, and darker green shades represent those with higher rates of growth. 

This map has a similar view, but shows the rate of Hispanic growth:

I’ve also uploaded high-res PDF files (all population, Hispanic) and the raw data behind the maps. 

Let us know if you have feedback or ideas for other data-related content, and be sure to follow @TribData on Twitter for updates.

Filed under: Census, ESRI, Mapping

D.C. Census Drops (Finally)

The U.S. Census Bureau today released redistricting data for the District of Columbia, a city that at first glance remains quite segregated — at least in terms of where people live. These quick maps visualize the percentage of black residents by census tract in 2000 and in 2010. 

First, 2000:

Now for 2010. Notice that some neighborhoods are becoming more diverse, but not that many. Fewer than I expected, actually, given all I’ve heard about gentrification in D.C., where I moved last week. 

(More to come).

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, IRE | Data: csv, ESRI shp

Filed under: Census, DC, ESRI, Maps

Hispanic Growth in Texas House Districts

I built a bunch of static maps today to visualize the Hispanic population change in Texas House districts. We’ve decided instead to create an interactive version, and I didn’t want that work to go to waste. (Click images to see larger versions).

Statewide percentage change by district: 

Statewide raw population change by district: 

Bexar County percentage change: 

Bexar County raw population change: 

D/FW percentage change: 

D/FW percentage change: 

Harris County percentage change: 

Harris County raw population change: 

Travis County percentage change: 

Travis County raw population change: 

Sources: Shapefiles | Data

Filed under: Census, Maps