Lecture 1: An Overview of Census Data

Sumeeta Srinivasan
ssrinivasan@cga.harvard.edu

Reference: Unlocking the Census, Ch 1; www.census.gov


Course Objectives

Census

Overview of data sources
▪ Census
▪ ACS
▪ PUMS

Geographical units

GIS Intro

Error

To use mapping as an analytical technique to
study Census data

To investigate the use of geographic, economic
and socio-demographic data from the US Census

To enhance the research process through the use
of maps and spatial queries

To introduce basic Geographical Information
Systems software

To introduce cartographic techniques

U.S. Constitution mandates the Census of
Population and Housing to apportion seats
in the House of Representatives

Adding questions to census involves the
Census Bureau, the Office of Management
and Budget (OMB), the U.S. Congress, and
census users around the country

Produces annual and multi-year estimates
of characteristics of the population and housing

Produces information for small areas including
tracts and population subgroups - updated
every year

Uses a “current” residence rule

Henceforth will be used to get long form data

ACS full implementation began January 2005
 Population Population Population
65,000 or 20,000 or Below
Year greater greater 20,000
(3-year average) (5-year average)

2004 X

2005 X

2006 X X
(2003-2005)

2007 X X
(2004-2006)

2008 X X X
(2005-2007) (2003-2007)

www.census.gov/acs/www/AdvMeth/Papers/Papers1.htm

Base Tables
Geographic
(previously called Comparison Tables
Detailed Tables)

Subject Tables

Tabular Profiles

Selected Population

Narrative Profiles Profiles

Geographic Ranking
Analytic Reports
Tables

Thematic Maps
www.census.gov/acs/www/UseData/compACS.htm

PUMS (Public Use Microdata Samples) are
person-level files (geographic level – the
PUMA level and super PUMA added in 2000)

There are two PUMS samples – 1% and 5%.
The 1% file has detailed characteristics; the
5% offers geographic detail

1960-70 Census - 1% sample and since1980
Census – 1% and 5% samples

Name of head of family

Number of persons in household

Number of persons in each household of the
following descriptions:

free white males 16 years and upward

free white males under 16 years,

free white females,

all other free persons (by sex and color)

slaves
http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2007/03/historic_us_census_d.html
100-percent characteristics (short form – SF1): Questions
were asked of every person and housing unit in the United
States

Name, Age, Race, Sex, Household relationship

Hispanic or Latino origin

Tenure (whether the home is owned or rented)
Sample characteristics (long form – SF3): Additional
questions were asked of a sample of persons and housing
units

Population, social characteristics, Marital status

Place of birth, citizenship, year of entry, residence 5 years ago
(migration)

School enrollment, educational attainment

Ancestry, language spoken at home and ability to speak English

Veteran status, Disability, Grandparents as caregivers

Economic Characteristics, Labor force status, Place of
work and journey to work

Occupation, industry and class of worker, ·Work status in
1999

Income in 1999

Housing, Physical Characteristics, Units in structure, Year
structure built, Number of rooms and number of
bedrooms, Year moved into residence, Plumbing and
kitchen facilities

Telephone service, Vehicles available, Heating fuel, Farm
residence, Financial Characteristics

Value of home or monthly rent paid

Utilities, mortgage, taxes, insurance, and fuel costs
 MSA/ Census Population
CMSA
Code Rank Area ame April 1, 2000 April 1, 1990
5602 1 ew York--orthern ew Jersey--Long Island, Y--J--CT--PA CMSA 21,199,865 19,549,649
4472 2 Los Angeles--Riverside--Orange County, CA CMSA 16,373,645 14,531,529
1602 3 Chicago--Gary--Kenosha, IL--I--WI CMSA 9,157,540 8,239,820
8872 4 Washington--Baltimore, DC--MD--VA--WV CMSA 7,608,070 6,727,050
7362 5 San Francisco--Oakland--San Jose, CA CMSA 7,039,362 6,253,311
6162 6 Philadelphia--Wilmington--Atlantic City, PA--J--DE--MD CMSA 6,188,463 5,892,937
1122 7 Boston--Worcester--Lawrence, MA--H--ME--CT CMSA 5,819,100 5,455,403
2162 8 Detroit--Ann Arbor--Flint, MI CMSA 5,456,428 5,187,171
1922 9 Dallas--Fort Worth, TX CMSA 5,221,801 4,037,282
3362 10 Houston--Galveston--Brazoria, TX CMSA 4,669,571 3,731,131
0520 11 Atlanta, GA MSA 4,112,198 2,959,950
4992 12 Miami--Fort Lauderdale, FL CMSA 3,876,380 3,192,582
7602 13 Seattle--Tacoma--Bremerton, WA CMSA 3,554,760 2,970,328
6200 14 Phoenix--Mesa, AZ MSA 3,251,876 2,238,480
5120 15 Minneapolis--St. Paul, M--WI MSA 2,968,806 2,538,834
Charleston is ranked 144 in 2000
“The short form Summary File (SF1) data is
available in STF1 (Summary Tape File)
format”

STF 1 and 2 provide 100-percent data and
are answered for all persons and housing
units

STF 3, 4, and 5 are based on sample data
derived from the responses of a sample

Master Area Reference Files (MARFs) 1, 2,
3, and 5 link geographic areas with
numeric codes and indicate the
relationships among the various areas
recognized

Summary File 1 (SF 1) and Summary File 2 (SF 2) focus on the
information collected on the census short form – namely on
age, sex, race, Hispanic/Latino origin, households, families,
housing units, and owner/renter status

Summary File 3 (SF 3) and Summary File 4 (SF 4) focus on
social, economic and housing characteristics compiled from a
sample of approximately 19 million housing units (about 1 in
6 households) that received the Census 2000 long-form
questionnaire. Topics include income, education, occupation,
ancestry, disability, foreign birth, commuting, household
financial arrangements, year housing structure built and
many other population and housing subjects.

FIPS codes) are a standardized set of numeric
or alphabetic codes issued by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
to ensure uniform identification of
geographic entities through all federal
government agencies
United States
Region - Northeast (NE), Midwest (MW), South (S) and West (W) Regions
Division - NE, Mid Atlantic; W - Mountain, Pacific
State - includes Washington D.C.
County
County Subdivision
Place
Census Tract / Block Numbering Area - average 4,000 persons
Block Group - average 1,000 persons
Block - average 85 persons
 Digits 1-2 = State code
Digits 3-5 = County code
Digits 6-11 = Census Tract
code
(often used with a decimal
point:xxxx.xx)
Digit 12 = Blockgroup code

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/thegeocodingproject/webpage/monograph/geocoding.htm#figure1
Computer information system that can input,
store, manipulate, analyze, and display
geographically referenced (spatial) data to
support decision making processes

Not easy to interpret
A picture is worth a thousand words
Municipalities
Census Tracts
Lakes and Rivers
Polluting Companies
Schools
GIS Connects Graphics to Data
 Green
Spaces

Buildings

Census
Blocks

Sampling Error

Truly random?

Non Sampling Error

Random or non random?

Confidence Intervals around the mean

What is the sample error?

About 80% receive Census by mail – what
does this imply?

67% response rate on the short form –
what does this imply?

54% response rate on the long form – what
does this imply?

Who is likely to be counted (or not)? Why?

Conduct a large sample survey in conjunction with the
decennial census (called the Post-Enumeration Survey,
PES, in 1990), match all individuals in the survey to those
reported in the census, and then estimate the number of
unenumerated people in the census by age, sex, and race

Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation (A.C.E.) used in 2000
is the same method with a different name

Suggested readings:
History, Myth Making, and Statistics: A Short Story about the Reapportionment of Congress and.
Why Is There Still a Controversy about Adjusting the Census for Undercount? Margo Anderson,
Stephen E. Fienberg PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 35, No. 1 (Mar., 2002), pp. 83-85
Also read the rejoinder by Brunell that follows this article
www.uoregon.edu/~schlossb/articles/schlossberg_census_ppr.pdf
www.uoregon.edu/~schlossb/articles
/schlossberg_census_ppr.pdf

Lab accounts in HMDC

Discussion in the coming weeks

What Census and Mapping related topics do
you want to discuss?

How do you want to bring in your (research)
questions?

Assignment for next week:
▪ read NYT article (as either parent or administrator)
and discuss how to bring in Census data
▪ In particular discuss geographic scale, maps you want
to create, what variables you might use