Introduction to the US Census

1
Introduction to the US Census
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Historical Context

• Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution
  adopted in 1787 approved that Representatives and
  Taxes shall be apportioned among the states
  according to each states population.
• Enumeration (to ascertain the number of count)
  shall be made within every subsequent term of 10
  years

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• The first Census of Population was conducted in
  1790, it counted 3.9 million people and increased
  representation in the House to 105.
• As the Nations needs and interests became more
  complex statistics were added to help people
  understand what the raw numbers meant.

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What information is collected?

• In 1954 Title 13 of the United States Code
  brought together the laws under which the Census
  Bureau operates
• This included a law requiring the following
  Censuses to be conducted
• Population, housing, manufacturers, mineral
  industries, other businesses, construction,
  transportation, and governments at stated
  intervals

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Confidentiality

• The sole purpose of the censuses is to secure
  general statistical information. Replies are
  obtained from individuals and establishments only
  to enable the compilation of these general
  statistics
• By law, no one is permitted to reveal
  identifiable information
• Before any information is published it is checked
  to make certain that no individual, household or
  organization can be identified

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• The individual forms filled out are closed to
  public viewing for 72 years
• The Freedom of Information Act does not apply to
  identifiable census data

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Why is the census important?

• Population census statistics are the official
  figures used every 10 years to compute the number
  of congressional representatives allowed each
  state and also to align congressional district
  boundaries so that each member of congress
  represents the same number of people

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• Many federal, state, and local government plans,
  grants, and other programs by law are required to
  use census statistics for counts of population,
  per capita income, geographic distribution etc.
• This same information is crucial for market
  analysis, planning new services and facilities,
  for affirmative action programs, for studying
  environmental impact, and for academic research

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Dealing with Census Data

• The main way to tackle census data is by
• Geographic extent of the area you are interested
  in and
• Variables or subjects
• The key is to combine the two

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Census Geography

• It is confusing!
• Changes over time
• Some levels are based on population numbers
• Do not compare oranges to apples!!

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Content or variables

• Differ between which census product used
• Census of Population and Housing variables
  include
• Number of persons
• Households and families
• Age and gender
• Race, Hispanic origin and ancestry
• Language spoken at home
• Income and poverty

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• Education and school enrollment
• Employment
• Citizenship
• Vehicle availability and commuting to work
• Disability
• Homeownership status
• Vacancy
• Rent and value of housing
• Housing costs and mortgage status
• Age and type of structure

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• Plumbing and kitchen facilities
• House heating fuel

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Census 2000 geographic areas

• States, DC and Puerto Rico
• Counties
• Cities, towns, and townships
• Census tracts (roughly 4000 people, neighborhood
  sized areas)
• Block groups (groups of census blocks, generally
  containing 800 to 1,000 people)
• Blocks (9 million, covering entire US, not all
  data is summarized to this level)
• Congressional districts
• American Indian and Alaska Native Areas

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Census 2000 Forms

• 2 main types, a short form and a long form
• The short form asks 7 questions
• 83 of households received the short form
• The long form covers 34 subjects
• 1 in 6 households received the long form
• The long form took approximately 38(?!) minutes
  to complete

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Why two forms?

• The short form
• The long form
• The data from the long form is considered to be
  representative of all the people in the
  neighborhood and is extrapolated into sample
  data
• The data from the short form is considered to
  count 100 of the population

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The concept of Race

• Not based on any scientific definition
• Prior to Census 2000 only allowed 1 choice
• Census 2000 allowed the following choices for
  Race
• White
• Black, African American
• American Indian or Alaska Native (tribe was
  requested)
• Asian Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Filipino,
  Hawaiian, Korean, Vietnamese, Guamanian or
  Chamorro
• Samoan
• Or to be written in if none of these apply

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Ethnic Origin

• The Hispanic population is considered an ethnic
  group according the the Census Bureau
• In Census 2000 choices for Hispanic origin or
  descent were
• Mexican
• Mexican American
• Puerto Rican
• Cuban
• Or Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino

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• The concept of race separate from Hispanic origin
  has been confusing Census users for years
• The thing to remember is that while a person may
  be of Hispanic origin, they also are white,
  black, asian-pacific islander, or other
• Its the same concept of being white and of
  german ethnicity

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Census 2000 Controversy over multiracial
categories

• Until 1970 the Census Bureau enumerator decided
  peoples race for them, sometimes by inquiring,
  often by simply looking
• Since 1970 people could choose only 1 race to
  describe themselves
• Census 2000 allowed people to choose any number
  of races
• Over 7 million people marked more than one race
  to describe themselves
• This number is less than 3 percent of the total
  population but has huge impacts in a number of
  ways

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• How many Native Americans are there in the US
  today?
• If one counts only those who checked American
  Indian alone, 2.5 million
• If one counts those whites and blacks who think
  they have a little Indian blood, and checked it
  in addition to white or black categories, 4.1
  million
• That is an increase of nearly 65
• Should the Federal Government increase services
  for Native Americans by 65?

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Statistical problems

• The Census Bureaus racial percentages now add up
  to well over 100
• No one can reliably compare 1990 or earlier data
  to 2000 data

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What is TIGER?

• Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and
  Referencing (TIGER) System
• A computer readable data base created by the
  Bureau of Census with assistance from the USGS.

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• designed to support pre-census geographic and
  cartographic functions in preparation for a
  census (first for the 1990)
• to complete and evaluate the data collection of
  the census
• to assist in the analysis of the data as well as
  to produce new cartographic products.

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Information contained in TIGER files

• the coordinate information for features
• address ranges
• boundary names
• numerical codes

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Tiger coverage complete coverage of

• United States
• Puerto Rico
• Virgin Islands of the United States
• American Samoa
• Guam
• The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

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• Republic of Palau
• other Pacific entities that were part of the
  Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (the
  Republic of the Marshall Islands and the
  Federated States of Micronesia)
• Midway Islands

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it does not contain

• maps!!!
• or attribute data

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American FactFinder

• Http//www.census.gov