The U.S. Census and Housing Unit Estimates

Not long ago I posted a blog about the merits of having U.S. Census Bureau data available in GeoCommons. Part of my discussion was about accuracy and reliable sources of data. My claim was that I thought it was a safe assumption to make about government sourced data being pretty accurate—at least I hope so. To rightly define accuracy in terms of data is tough to do—however for the sake of taxpayers dollars, I think government agencies are a pretty reliable source. Agencies dedicate themselves to creating and culling data like the Environmental Protection Agency for the environment, and in this case, demographics from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Census data can be prettying interesting. For instance, when looking at demographic statistics you get an idea of what age groups live in a certain area. In addition to age, you can also find out the different genders, and races that might make up an area. Looking at these numbers as they are posted in spreadsheet format is helpful, but I think displaying this information is far more aesthetically appealing and easier for the end user to understand when viewed on a map.

I recently uploaded the latest Census Housing Unit Estimates data by county to GeoCommons. Below is a Maker! map of 2008 housing unit estimates.

Click here to view this map in Maker! Click here to view data set in Finder!

As you can see Maker provides the end user with the capability of showing Census data in a creative fashion, while also maintaining one of the most important aspects the Census; that is gives context to an area.

I’ll continue to upload Census data to Finder so everyone dabbling in GeoCommons can have a chance to check out the data and make maps. I’ve uploaded data by county on the full US level, and county data by individual state-county as well.

Click here to view other Census data sets in Finder!