i'm looking for help working with the US census factfinder2<http://factfinder2.census.gov/>system, to retrieve data by zipcode. seems like it should be easy! but i must be missing something really obvious. it's driving me nuts :).
my immediate goal is to get income levels (median, mean, per person or per household, whatever is available) by zipcode. but, in general i would like to make arbitrary " * by zipcode" queries. i realize that the census bureau has it's own mapping from whatever the zip code was at the time to some other internal code or codes. however, if i start with no filters and type "xip code" into the search box, i see there are a lot of data sets that seem to be available by zip code. so my questions are:
1. how does one even know what data is available at what granularity, and in what data set? ie, it seems like income level might not have been done at the per-household level in the 2010 census? but that perhaps it was done in one of the more recent community surveys? or is the most recent income data from 2000?
2. is there a geographic filter to get a breakdowns by zipcode? as i said above, i can search for "zip code" and see there are results, but cannot figure out how to use the geographic filters to achieve this.
there are so many zipcode sites out there (zipskinny, zipwho, etc.) that have this data by zipcode it seem there must be a way to do so... unfortunately, those sites all seem to have 2000 census data. city-data.comhas a lot of data, seeming including 2010 statistics, but no citations of their sources, so it's not very useful for research.
TIA for any help, and feel free to mail me off-list!
Unfortunately, I can't answer your question. In fact, I went looking for poverty-by-household in the 2010 ACS data recently and couldn't find it either, but I'm not confident yet that I've conclusively searched enough.
Factfinder is hairy, and I'm no expert at it. By inclination, I've been looking more at the raw data files. I might be able to share what I've learned about that stuff if you want to go down that path and have questions, or if I haven't learned it yet, maybe your questions will help me get smart faster!
My real point in writing here was to suggest you join the CENSUS-L email list sponsored by NICAR. There are a lot of smart folks there who may be able to advise if no one here knows... see http://legacy.ire.org/join/listserv.html
Best, Joe
On Mar 28, 2012, at 4:20 PM, Jessy Kate Schingler wrote:
> i'm looking for help working with the US census factfinder2 system, to retrieve data by zipcode. seems like it should be easy! but i must be missing something really obvious. it's driving me nuts :).
> my immediate goal is to get income levels (median, mean, per person or per household, whatever is available) by zipcode. but, in general i would like to make arbitrary " * by zipcode" queries. i realize that the census bureau has it's own mapping from whatever the zip code was at the time to some other internal code or codes. however, if i start with no filters and type "xip code" into the search box, i see there are a lot of data sets that seem to be available by zip code. so my questions are:
> 1. how does one even know what data is available at what granularity, and in what data set? ie, it seems like income level might not have been done at the per-household level in the 2010 census? but that perhaps it was done in one of the more recent community surveys? or is the most recent income data from 2000?
> 2. is there a geographic filter to get a breakdowns by zipcode? as i said above, i can search for "zip code" and see there are results, but cannot figure out how to use the geographic filters to achieve this.
> there are so many zipcode sites out there (zipskinny, zipwho, etc.) that have this data by zipcode it seem there must be a way to do so... unfortunately, those sites all seem to have 2000 census data. city-data.com has a lot of data, seeming including 2010 statistics, but no citations of their sources, so it's not very useful for research.
> TIA for any help, and feel free to mail me off-list!
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sunlightlabs" group. > To post to this group, send email to sunlightlabs@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to sunlightlabs+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sunlightlabs?hl=en.
I wouldn't want to claim to be a FactFinder expert, but unless I'm missing something I don't think 2010 household income figures are available yet by ZCTA. As you noted, this isn't really Census's preferred geographic system (for good reasons!), so I suppose this isn't a huge surprise. I was able to find 2010 income data by both tract and MSA, so I suspect you'll be able to answer whatever question you're considering if you're willing to use a less familiar geographic system.
On Wed, Mar 28, 2012 at 6:45 PM, Joe Germuska <j...@germuska.com> wrote: > Hey, Jessy:
> Unfortunately, I can't answer your question. In fact, I went looking for > poverty-by-household in the 2010 ACS data recently and couldn't find it > either, but I'm not confident yet that I've conclusively searched enough.
> Factfinder is hairy, and I'm no expert at it. By inclination, I've been > looking more at the raw data files. I might be able to share what I've > learned about that stuff if you want to go down that path and have > questions, or if I haven't learned it yet, maybe your questions will help > me get smart faster!
> My real point in writing here was to suggest you join the CENSUS-L email > list sponsored by NICAR. There are a lot of smart folks there who may be > able to advise if no one here knows... see > http://legacy.ire.org/join/listserv.html
> Best, > Joe
> On Mar 28, 2012, at 4:20 PM, Jessy Kate Schingler wrote:
> hey all,
> i'm looking for help working with the US census factfinder2<http://factfinder2.census.gov/>system, to retrieve data by zipcode. seems like it should be easy! but i > must be missing something really obvious. it's driving me nuts :).
> my immediate goal is to get income levels (median, mean, per person or per > household, whatever is available) by zipcode. but, in general i would like > to make arbitrary " * by zipcode" queries. i realize that the census bureau > has it's own mapping from whatever the zip code was at the time to some > other internal code or codes. however, if i start with no filters and type > "xip code" into the search box, i see there are a lot of data sets that > seem to be available by zip code. so my questions are:
> 1. how does one even know what data is available at what granularity, and > in what data set? ie, it seems like income level might not have been done > at the per-household level in the 2010 census? but that perhaps it was done > in one of the more recent community surveys? or is the most recent income > data from 2000?
> 2. is there a geographic filter to get a breakdowns by zipcode? as i said > above, i can search for "zip code" and see there are results, but cannot > figure out how to use the geographic filters to achieve this.
> there are so many zipcode sites out there (zipskinny, zipwho, etc.) that > have this data by zipcode it seem there must be a way to do so... > unfortunately, those sites all seem to have 2000 census data. > city-data.com has a lot of data, seeming including 2010 statistics, but > no citations of their sources, so it's not very useful for research.
> TIA for any help, and feel free to mail me off-list!
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "sunlightlabs" group. > To post to this group, send email to sunlightlabs@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > sunlightlabs+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/sunlightlabs?hl=en.
> "Science's job is to map our ignorance." --David Byrne
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "sunlightlabs" group. > To post to this group, send email to sunlightlabs@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > sunlightlabs+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/sunlightlabs?hl=en.
thanks tom. so, just to follow up on this and make sure i'm understanding it all, i'm going to outline my process below. i think this is sort of non-straightforward for a n00b so maybe it will help others as well.
i go to the factfinder2 site, and under topics i select people --> "income & earnings" and add one or both options (household and personal income) to my selections.
for now, i DON'T select a specific data set. then i can go to the "geographies" search tab, and select "geography filter options" --> "other" and then "summary level" --> "150 - block group within census tract". then if i wanted them all, i would "select all" (which would be a lot of data!), or, i could additionally filter by state, say DC, and then "all block groups within district of columbia." at the end of this i get one table, "Income in 1999 by Selected Household, Family, and Individual Characteristics: 2000" from the dataset "2000 SF3 Sample Data."
so, just to make sure i'm interpreting this right, the most recent block-level data for income is from the 2000 census? is that correct?
if i do select all the available 2010 data sets, then head over to the geography tab, the block level geographic filter is not present at this point. i can choose "geographic type" --> "census tract" and then select "all census tracts within district of columbia" (or wherever). the results of this filter are 5 data sets from the ACS 5-year estimates. cool.
- am i right in understanding that there is no general API for 2010 information? IIUC, the usa today census API<http://developer.usatoday.com/docs/read/Census>has limited, and high level aggregated, information.
any other tips or corrections welcome. the data is very cool once you get into it. thanks for your help! jessy
On Thu, Mar 29, 2012 at 7:47 AM, Tom Lee <t...@sunlightfoundation.com>wrote:
> I wouldn't want to claim to be a FactFinder expert, but unless I'm missing > something I don't think 2010 household income figures are available yet by > ZCTA. As you noted, this isn't really Census's preferred geographic system > (for good reasons!), so I suppose this isn't a huge surprise. I was able > to find 2010 income data by both tract and MSA, so I suspect you'll be able > to answer whatever question you're considering if you're willing to use a > less familiar geographic system.
> On Wed, Mar 28, 2012 at 6:45 PM, Joe Germuska <j...@germuska.com> wrote:
>> Hey, Jessy:
>> Unfortunately, I can't answer your question. In fact, I went looking for >> poverty-by-household in the 2010 ACS data recently and couldn't find it >> either, but I'm not confident yet that I've conclusively searched enough.
>> Factfinder is hairy, and I'm no expert at it. By inclination, I've been >> looking more at the raw data files. I might be able to share what I've >> learned about that stuff if you want to go down that path and have >> questions, or if I haven't learned it yet, maybe your questions will help >> me get smart faster!
>> My real point in writing here was to suggest you join the CENSUS-L email >> list sponsored by NICAR. There are a lot of smart folks there who may be >> able to advise if no one here knows... see >> http://legacy.ire.org/join/listserv.html
>> Best, >> Joe
>> On Mar 28, 2012, at 4:20 PM, Jessy Kate Schingler wrote:
>> hey all,
>> i'm looking for help working with the US census factfinder2<http://factfinder2.census.gov/>system, to retrieve data by zipcode. seems like it should be easy! but i >> must be missing something really obvious. it's driving me nuts :).
>> my immediate goal is to get income levels (median, mean, per person or >> per household, whatever is available) by zipcode. but, in general i would >> like to make arbitrary " * by zipcode" queries. i realize that the census >> bureau has it's own mapping from whatever the zip code was at the time to >> some other internal code or codes. however, if i start with no filters and >> type "xip code" into the search box, i see there are a lot of data sets >> that seem to be available by zip code. so my questions are:
>> 1. how does one even know what data is available at what granularity, and >> in what data set? ie, it seems like income level might not have been done >> at the per-household level in the 2010 census? but that perhaps it was done >> in one of the more recent community surveys? or is the most recent income >> data from 2000?
>> 2. is there a geographic filter to get a breakdowns by zipcode? as i said >> above, i can search for "zip code" and see there are results, but cannot >> figure out how to use the geographic filters to achieve this.
>> there are so many zipcode sites out there (zipskinny, zipwho, etc.) that >> have this data by zipcode it seem there must be a way to do so... >> unfortunately, those sites all seem to have 2000 census data. >> city-data.com has a lot of data, seeming including 2010 statistics, but >> no citations of their sources, so it's not very useful for research.
>> TIA for any help, and feel free to mail me off-list!
>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "sunlightlabs" group. >> To post to this group, send email to sunlightlabs@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> sunlightlabs+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/sunlightlabs?hl=en.
>> "Science's job is to map our ignorance." --David Byrne
>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "sunlightlabs" group. >> To post to this group, send email to sunlightlabs@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> sunlightlabs+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/sunlightlabs?hl=en.
The Census' official FAQ on ZCTAs, which are a rough equivalent to
zipcodes that represent geographic areas, is at http://www.census.gov/geo/ZCTA/zctafaq.html#Q7 . if that helps any. The maps for the 2010 ZCTAs have been released in
the TIGER series, but a lot of the data has not been calculated for
ZCTAs yet (and some will never be). I assume that if you wait, you'll
find more data by "zip code" or ZCTA in American FactFinder
On Mar 28, 5:20 pm, Jessy Kate Schingler <je...@jessykate.com> wrote:
> i'm looking for help working with the US census
> factfinder2<http://factfinder2.census.gov/>system, to retrieve data by
> zipcode. seems like it should be easy! but i
> must be missing something really obvious. it's driving me nuts :).
> Jessyhttp://jessykate.com
> so, just to make sure i'm interpreting this right, the most recent block-level data for income is from the 2000 census? is that correct?
I didn't even know that the 2000 census had block-level data for income. The SF3 data to which you refer was not collected or tabulated for the 2010 census—the American Community Survey (ACS) obsoleted the "long form" which was the source of SF3 data.
For the ACS, the smallest available geography ever covered is "block group", and block group-level data is only available in the 5-year tabulations. There have been two of these, 2005-09 and 2006-10. Note that you should use one or the other—multi-year ACS data should only be compared in adjacent datasets, not overlapping ones. Also, related to something Jim Giddings said, note that the census geographies change every decennial census, and the geographies used for 2005-2010 data are "2000 vintage", while 2006-10 are "2010 vintage". Census tracts aren't directly comparable between vintages. (It looks like there are about 10K more census tracts in 2010, not to mention boundary changes.)
So you can probably get 2005-09 data tabulated by ZCTA, but zip codes are always changing, so there may be other downfalls to that.
A current (somewhat slow-burn) research project for me is to understanding how to re-aggregate ACS data from block groups (or maybe census tracts) up to larger geographies (e.g. Chicago's semi-official community areas), so if you end up wanting to do something like that, I'm game to share what I've learned and pick up whatever you discover along the way. However, it's going to be challenging enough for just the city of Chicago. To do it for a state or the entire country might be more trouble than choosing a different geography...
> I didn't even know that the 2000 census had block-level data for income. > The SF3 data to which you refer was not collected or tabulated for the 2010 > census—the American Community Survey (ACS) obsoleted the "long form" which > was the source of SF3 data.
ahh, interesting. that clarifies a bit.
> For the ACS, the smallest available geography ever covered is "block > group", and block group-level data is only available in the 5-year > tabulations. There have been two of these, 2005-09 and 2006-10. Note that > you should use one or the other—multi-year ACS data should only be compared > in adjacent datasets, not overlapping ones. Also, related to something Jim > Giddings said, note that the census geographies change every decennial > census, and the geographies used for 2005-2010 data are "2000 vintage", > while 2006-10 are "2010 vintage". Census tracts aren't directly comparable > between vintages. (It looks like there are about 10K more census tracts in > 2010, not to mention boundary changes.)
that's really informative, thanks.
> So you can probably get 2005-09 data tabulated by ZCTA, but zip codes are > always changing, so there may be other downfalls to that.
i'm seeing that better now. i'm really going from lat/long at this point anyway, so i think that api i found for converting should help.
> A current (somewhat slow-burn) research project for me is to understanding > how to re-aggregate ACS data from block groups (or maybe census tracts) up > to larger geographies (e.g. Chicago's semi-official community areas), so if > you end up wanting to do something like that, I'm game to share what I've > learned and pick up whatever you discover along the way. However, it's > going to be challenging enough for just the city of Chicago. To do it for a > state or the entire country might be more trouble than choosing a different > geography...
interesting. it seems factfinder does have a lot of aggregated stats available too, once you learn how to work with the filters. for example, there are townships and congressional districts, school districts, etc. but it would be nice if people could draw a polygon on a map and then have the stats aggregated for that user-defined area without worrying about the weird filter interface. if this project takes us in a direction that would be of any help with aggregation, i'll definitely ping you.
> "Learn to fear any church that fears drums." --Regie Gibson
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "sunlightlabs" group. > To post to this group, send email to sunlightlabs@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > sunlightlabs+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/sunlightlabs?hl=en.
> On Mar 28, 2012, at 4:20 PM, Jessy Kate Schingler wrote:
>> hey all,
>> i'm looking for help working with the US census factfinder2 >> <http://factfinder2.census.gov/> system, to retrieve data by >> zipcode. seems like it should be easy! but i must be missing >> something really obvious. it's driving me nuts :).
>> my immediate goal is to get income levels (median, mean, per >> person or per household, whatever is available) by zipcode. but, >> in general i would like to make arbitrary " * by zipcode" >> queries. i realize that the census bureau has it's own mapping >> from whatever the zip code was at the time to some other internal >> code or codes. however, if i start with no filters and type "xip >> code" into the search box, i see there are a lot of data sets >> that seem to be available by zip code. so my questions are:
>> 1. how does one even know what data is available at what >> granularity, and in what data set? ie, it seems like income level >> might not have been done at the per-household level in the 2010 >> census? but that perhaps it was done in one of the more recent >> community surveys? or is the most recent income data from 2000?
>> 2. is there a geographic filter to get a breakdowns by zipcode? >> as i said above, i can search for "zip code" and see there are >> results, but cannot figure out how to use the geographic filters >> to achieve this.
>> there are so many zipcode sites out there (zipskinny, zipwho, >> etc.) that have this data by zipcode it seem there must be a way >> to do so... unfortunately, those sites all seem to have 2000 >> census data. city-data.com <http://city-data.com/> has a lot of >> data, seeming including 2010 statistics, but no citations of >> their sources, so it's not very useful for research.
>> TIA for any help, and feel free to mail me off-list!
>> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the >> Google Groups "sunlightlabs" group. >> To post to this group, send email to >> sunlightlabs@googlegroups.com <mailto:sunlightlabs@googlegroups.com>. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> sunlightlabs+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com >> <mailto:sunlightlabs+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com>. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/sunlightlabs?hl=en.
> "Science's job is to map our ignorance." --David Byrne
> -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "sunlightlabs" group. > To post to this group, send email to sunlightlabs@googlegroups.com > <mailto:sunlightlabs@googlegroups.com>. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > sunlightlabs+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com > <mailto:sunlightlabs%2Bunsubscribe@googlegroups.com>. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/sunlightlabs?hl=en.
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