My training on the basics of using Census data. Enjoy!

2.  Introductions
 Goals of the training
 Warm-up exercise
 The census universe
 What to know before you start
 Introduction to the American Fact Finder
 Hands-on Exercises
 Wrap up
Using Census Data

3.  The name of your organization
 Past experience with Census data
 What do you want to use Census data
for?
Using Census Data

4.  At the end of the training you should be
able to:
› Understand what ‘Census’ data includes
› What you can do (what you can’t) with
Census data
› Understand where to find the data you need
› Do some quick and easy analyses using
Census data
Using Census Data

5.  Questions to answer:
› Has Brooklyn seen an influx or outflow of
residents as compared to NYS?
› Is NYS more or less likely than Brooklyn to
need ESL services? Based on what data?
› What is the poverty level of Brooklyn? Is it
higher or lower than of NYS?
› What other interesting patterns do you see?
Using Census Data

6.  The Census: Not just the Census
 Includes many surveys and datasets
 Each survey covers different topics
 The dataset you use is dependent on the
topic you want to study
Using Census Data

7.  The Decennial Census
› The ‘Original’ census
› Administered once every ten years
› Surveys mailed Plus household visits from
Census staff
› 2010 census only included the short form
› The data is used for:
 Apportionment and Redistricting
 Distribution of Federal funds
 Emergency management
Using Census Data

8.  The American Community Survey (ACS)
› Large continuous survey
› Samples 3.54 million residents per year
› Covers social and economic characteristics
› Provides estimates based on statistically
significant samples
› Estimates done for very small geographic
areas
Using Census Data

9.  The Current Population Survey (CPS)
› Monthly survey of 50,000 households
› Done through interviews and supplemental
surveys
› Focus on economic and employment-
related information
› Provides the official statistics on
unemployment
Using Census Data

10.  Survey of Income and Program
Participation
› Longitudinal survey of households lasting 2.5
to 4 years, 3 interviews a year
› Sample of 37,000 households
› Covers work, income, assets, programs and
health insurance
Using Census Data

11.  Statistics about governments
› Provides information about state and local
governments
› Covers finance, employment, retirement
and organization data
› Statistics on federal spending
Using Census Data

12.  Economic Census and surveys
› Economic Census every 5 years
› Supplemented by annual, quarterly and
monthly surveys
› Covers the private sector
› Data available for each localities and
industry codes (NAICS)
Using Census Data

13.  Legal/Administrative
› States
› Counties
› Minor civil divisions
› Congressional districts
› School districts
› Incorporated places
 Statistical
› Census Tracts
› Metropolitan/Micropolitan statistical areas
› Census county subdivisions
› Urban areas
› Census designated places
Using Census Data

14. Using Census Data

15.  Not ‘who’ but ‘how many’
 Not all data is available for every locality
 The smaller your locality the more likely
data will be blank (surpressed)
 The newer your data the more likely
data will be blank (not available yet)
 Try to work across larger data sets (across
more years) as much as you can
Using Census Data

16.  Quick Status (www.census.gov)
 American Fact Finder
(http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav
/jsf/pages/index.xhtml
 Data Reports
 Interactive data tools
 Data downloads through PUMS
Using Census Data

17.  Do a fact sheet for the five NYC counties
Using Census Data

18.  One Stop shopping for all census data
(with few exceptions)
 Interactive tool for generating reports
and downloading data
 Unless you are doing extensive
research, all you will need is here
Using Census Data

19.  Using the American Fact finder to do a
comparative analysis of the foreign born
population in the five NYC counties
Using Census Data

20.  Using the American Fact finder to determine
where in Brooklyn would an ESL program make
the most sense?
› Note: use the Name tab, select Zip and then
search for Kings county, NY
Using Census Data