1. Acquiring socio-economic and business data for neighborhood analysis Open a web browser and go to: http://tinyurl.com/tufts-census Barbara Parmenter Dept. of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning

3. US Census Bureau Collection Methods Three basic methods of collection Census (100%) Survey (sample) Administrative records

4. Two Types of Census by the US Decennial census: population and housing  On the 0’s (2000, 2010) Economic census: business and industry  On the 2’s and 7’s (2002, 2007, 2012) Census = the enumeration of entire population or universe of collection units such as housing units or businesses

5. Survey Types Data collected from sample of population, that represents the full population American Community Survey - monthly Current Population Survey - monthly Survey of Income and Program Participation - monthly American Housing Survey - every 2 years

6. Most important for Neighborhood scale analysis: Decennial Census Once every 10 years 100% count* Very small sampling error Basic information on population, race/Hispanic ethnicity, age, family structure, housing units, owner/renter housing tenure American Community Survey Released yearly with rolling multi-year averages Sample survey High sampling error for small areas (e.g., neighborhood level) Detailed information on income, education, commute, place of birth, etc.

7. Census Geography

8. Census Blocks

9. Census Block Groups

10. Census Tracts

11. We will focus on: The American Community Survey (ACS) How to map census / ACS data in Social Explorer Understanding sampling error for the ACS Using Reference USA to get business data for a neighborhood

12. Let’s take a look at the 2010 Census form…

13. Key insights from the CENSUS questionnaire?

14. American Community Survey Continuous monthly survey Began in 2005 It has replaced the decennial census long form

15. Look at the American Community Survey Questionnaire

16. Think about how people would respond to these questions Accuracy of answers? Would you know when your house was built? Do you know how much you spent for heating costs? Concerns about privacy?

17. Key insights from the ACS questionnaire?

18. Find Social Explorer

19. Open Social Explorer

21. Let’s look at this…

22. Let’s look at data variables…

26. What if you want the 100% decennial census data?

27. 2010 Decennial Census

28. It’s important to know the difference between the Census and the ACS!!! Census  From 2010  100% count, less sampling error  Fewer variables ACS  5-year average (we will talk about this more!)  Sample, with higher sampling error, especially at tract level  Lots of variables

29. Explore mapping population under 18

30. Explore mapping population less than 18…

33. What does quantiles mean?

34. Change to the TRACT level

35. Zoom in to a smaller area either using the zoom in tool (+) or typing in a place name

36. Boston Under 18 by census tract…

37. Now let’s look at ACS data…

38. ACS 20010-2014 (5 year estimates) Explore the different data you can find here

39. ACS 20010-2014 (5 year estimates) Understand what a 5 year estimate is…

40. IMPORTANT: ACS Release Schedule – data is released as averages: 1 Year – areas with a population 65,000+ 3 Years – areas with a population 20,000+ 5 Years - all other areas (including census tracts and blockgroups) E.g., average median household income for 2008-2012 (released December, 2013)

41. Huh????

42. Let’s explore an ACS 1-year estimate… Zoom out to the entire US again and make a map of some variable from the ACS 1-year estimates…

43. Lots of counties have less than 65,000 people!

44. IMPORTANT: ACS Release Schedule – data is released as averages: 1 Year – areas with a population 65,000+ 3 Years – areas with a population 20,000+ 5 Years - all other areas (including census tracts and blockgroups) E.g., average median household income for 2008-2012 (released December, 2013)

45. Try mapping the most recent ACS 3-year estimates

46. More counties are mapped…the ones with at least 20,000 people

47. IMPORTANT: ACS Release Schedule – data is released as averages: 1 Year – areas with a population 65,000+ 3 Years – areas with a population 20,000+ 5 Years - all other areas (including census tracts and blockgroups) E.g., average median household income for 2008-2012 (released December, 2013)

48. Now map by county using the ACS 5-year 2010-2014 estimates…

49. ACS 5-year estimates – median household income by county

50. ACS 5-year estimates – all counties have data

51. IMPORTANT: ACS Release Schedule – data is released as averages: 1 Year – areas with a population 65,000+ 3 Years – areas with a population 20,000+ 5 Years - all other areas (including census tracts and blockgroups) E.g., average median household income for 2008-2012 (released December, 2013)

52. To map by tract you HAVE to use the ACS 5-year estimates!!

53. So get to using the 5 year estimates

54. Some other important definitions to understand

55. Housing Unit A house, an apartment, a mobile home or trailer, a group of rooms, or a single room occupied as separate living quarters, or if vacant, intended for occupancy as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live separately from any other individuals in the building and which have direct access from outside the building or through a common hall. For vacant units, the criteria of separateness and direct access are applied to the intended occupants whenever possible.

56. Household Household: all persons who occupy a housing unit Important: housing unit and household are TWO different things! Don’t get them confused!

57. Two Types of Households Family Household: householder plus all persons in the household related by blood, marriage, or adoption Can also include:  Subfamily Example: householder’s son and daughter-in-law  Nonrelative Example: roomers, boarders Nonfamily Household: persons living alone or with nonrelatives only

58. Understanding income variable options Median household income Median family household income Median non-family household income Per capita income Etc… Which would be most important for your research?

59. The “universe” for each variable The total number of units, e.g., individuals, households, businesses, in the population of interest. This is important for understanding percentages Know your “universe”! Make sure you understand what is the universe.

60. School enrollment universe

61. Commute to work universes (vary)

62. Making reports in Social Explorer Go back to Social Explorer Zoom in to Boston or another area, or zoom into an address to find your census tract of interest

63. Let’s make a report about a neighborhood…

65. Use POINT to select specific census tracts…

66. When ready, click Create Report

67. Note the report has the details for every tract we selected…

68. Use the Excel tab to download a report

69. Our neighborhood report…

70. Our neighborhood report…tract of interest

71. Our neighborhood report…totals for all tracts in our selection

72. Warning: there is a BIG problem for neighborhood level analysis…

73. The decennial census data at the census block, block group and tract level is very reliable – why?

74. But the ACS is very problematic for those small areas. Why?

75. ACS and Margin of Error Means of transportation for commute – Tract Level - ACS 2005-2009 5 year estimates Universe is workers 16 and over Workers 16 and Over

76. So let’s understand the margin of error…

77. What is Sampling Error? Definition The uncertainty associated with an estimate that is based on data gathered from a sample of the population rather than the full population 77

78. Illustration of Sampling Error Estimate average number of children per household for a population with 3 households living in a block: Household A has1 child Household B has2 children Household C has3 children The block average based on the full population is two children per household: (1+2+3)/3 78

79. Conceptualizing Sampling Error Three different samples of 2 households: 1. Households A and B (1 child, 2 children) 2. Households B and C (2 children, 3 children) 3. Households A and C (1 child, 3 children) Three different averages based on which sample is used: 1. (1 + 2) / 2 = 1.5 children 2. (2 + 3) / 2 = 2.5 children 3. (1 + 3) / 2 = 2 children 79

80. Sampling Error Census 2010 is a 100% survey so has smaller error ACS data is based on samples – error is larger The smaller the geography, the larger the error (because the sample is smaller) Especially true for variables that sample a small number of people, e.g., bike commuters

81. ACS and Margin of Error Means of transportation for commute – Tract Level - ACS 2005-2009 5 year estimates Universe is workers 16 and over Workers 16 and Over

82. Bottom line for ACS More up to date information Continuous versus point in time measurement 5 year estimates are the most reliable because they have the largest samples But…  Poorer precision at finer scales (e.g., census tract) or areas of low population (rural areas)  Poorer precision for variables with low numbers (e.g., people who bike to work)

83. Take home points There are two major Census Bureau products used for neighborhood analysis:  The Decennial Census Basic data By block, block group, and tract Once a decade, one point in time  The American Community Survey Lots of interesting data By tract – but high sampling error! More up to date – 5-year rolling estimates

84. Policy Map is another mapping tool…

85. Policy Map does not have data export options…

86. Census AND lots of other data from various agencies and organizations…

88. Also accessed through Tisch Library’s databases…

89. Important extra: FIPS codes! Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Codes AreaName2000 FIPS StateMassachusetts 25 CountySuffolk25025 Tract611.0125025061101 Blockgroup02250250611012 Block01250250611012001

90. Tract 25025080100

91. Take home points Social Explorer  useful mapping, presentation, and reporting tool for current and historical census data  Excel and database export options for further data analysis Policy Map  Good mapping tool for current and recent census data, as well as other policy-related data  No data export

92. Acquiring business data for your neighborhood using Reference USA Also through Tisch Library - Databases

94. Scroll down the results list and you’ll find it…

97. We are going to acquire business data using: Geography - options include  Radius from an address  Zip code Type of business  Using industry groupings, e.g., retail – food – grocery stores

106. Download Excel file to desktop…

107. Open Excel file and look through it

108. Use SAVE AS to save to a name and place where you can find it again…

109. Note: there is a 50 record download limit for our license of Reference USA (per Excel file)

110. Mapping your business data in Google Maps Requires a google account If you don’t have one, sit with someone who does…

111. Open a web browser and go to maps.google.com, then click on settings tool

112. Click on Your Places and sign in with your google account

113. Go to MAPS…

114. Go to CREATE MAP

115. Choose IMPORT…

117. First choose the address information…

118. Next choose something for the map label…

119. My map…

120. My map…with store info

121. Give it a name and description and save it…

122. Whew!!! What you have learned… Social Explorer for Census and American Community Survey (ACS) data (historical and current, maps and tables) About sampling error in the ACS Policy Map for some other types of data Reference USA for business and services data Google Maps for mapping Reference USA data

123. Questions? Barbara.Parmenter@tufts.edu Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning