“Using Census Data in Your Stories” presentation from Reynolds Week 2016 by Brandon Quester and Evan Wyloge

1. Using Census data in your
reporting
Brandon Quester (@bquester)
and
Evan Wyloge (@EvanWyloge)
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting (@ArizCIR)

2. What is the Census?

3. What is the Census, really?
• A count of the population
• Done every 10 years
• Written into the U.S. Constitution
• First intended to facilitate proportional representation
in the U.S. House of Representatives.

4. More Census details
• First done in 1790
(counted 3.9 million people)
• 22 times since
• More detailed and
nuanced each time
• Used for one-person-one-
vote conformity since 1965
Census taker and farmer, 1940
Courtesy United States Census Bureau

5. What does it look like?
Examples:
● 2000 “long form”
questionnaire
● 2000 “short form”
questionnaire
● 2010 questionnaire
1910 Census
Courtesy United States Census Bureau

6. American Community Survey
Example:
2016 American Community Survey questionnaire

7. What’s in there now?
Check it out
Data on…
population (count, race/ethnicity,
veteran/military...), business, the
economy, education, employment,
families, housing, income, health,
wealth, trades

8. Census geography
Numerous layers of
geographic areas that fit
together to form larger
geographic areas.

9. Geography example
Example: blocks combine
into a block group. block
groups into a tract.

10. USA Trade Online
On Oct. 15, 2015,
access to USA Trade
Online was made free
to all customers.
https://usatrade.censu
s.gov/
Sign up

11. Uses
Accurate trade data for commercial, economic and
political purposes. And, of course, reporting.
Focus is on the physical movement of goods
Trade data DOES NOT include trade between the
U.S. and U.S. possessions or in-transit shipments.
Published monthly
Includes: Quantity, value, commodity, trading
partner country, district/port, state, method of
transportation, special trade programs, dutiable
value and calculated duties

12. State Trade Data
State trade by commodity and country
Imports and exports
Top 25 commodities for each state, classified by Schedule B code
Top 25 trading partner countries for each state
Annual data: 2010-2014
US trade in goods by state, by NAICS-based product
Origin of movement exports, zip code-based
Origin of movement exports, origin state-based

13. The interface
Sort by:
Ascending
Descending
Rank by:
Ascending
Descending

14. Chart
Chart the findings

15. Download
Download as:
XML spreadsheet for Excel
(.XML)
Comma delimited ASCII
(.CSV)
Semi-colon delimited AZCII
(.CSV)

16. Ways we’ve used it
Plotting the
“people”
impact of
hazardous
materials
storage
facilities

17. Risk Management Plans: How we did the series
More than 2.8 million Arizona residents - or 44 percent of the state's population -
live within areas that are most vulnerable to a catastrophic accidental release of
gaseous, and sometimes explosive hazardous chemicals.
The facilities:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1n9Ox6OhX4j31EypHyQSItcm405SjNEBF1xQ
JoT07aXU/edit#gid=3
The RMP sections:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JqMqNHG87f5lF7spKd2Om6ZFkWGu6F29J
EEkYkj4TlY/edit#gid=0

18. The analysis
From the census bureau, 2010 census, population data.
- pushed into arcmap
- used statistics operation of SUM population (6,392,017) for total pop in 2010
- SECTION 2:
o In arcmap, buffer zone total blast radii of section 2(CURRENT ONLY)
▪ TOTAL POP w/in: 2,833,168
▪ TOTAL STATE POP: 6,392,017
▪ That’s ~44 percent
- SECTION 4:
o In arcmap, buffer zone total blast radii of section 4(CURRENT ONLY)
▪ TOTAL POP w/in: 4,918
▪ TOTAL STATE POP: 6,392,017
- This analysis was done using track-level 2010 census data

19. Ways we’ve used it
Election result
analysis

20. Ways we’ve used it
School demographic
analysis

21. Sign up for media releases
Find out what’s new and/or coming up with the online calendar
Search by topic
Get the census bureau’s updates emailed to you!
Get embargoed census releases

22. Navigating data at census.gov
Data & Tools from Census Bureau:
● American FactFinder
● QuickFacts
● Census Explorer
● Easy Stats

23. CensusReporter.org
Quick place profiles
Easy to find and versatile download options
Easy embeds

24. Advanced Tricks
Geospatial joins to find correlation and run linear regression
against any census metric

25. Advanced Tricks
Combine datasets to find change over time

26. Take-home projects
• Change in Poverty, 2009 - 2013, city by city
• Change in income inequality, 2010 - 2013, tract-level analysis
• Gentrification, racial and home value changes, tract-level
analysis