Hi, my name is Maria Valdisera, and I work for the communications team at the Census
Bureau.
Today I will be highlighting some of the newer features available on our data dissemination
tool, data.census.gov.
With so much data available on the site, many users may not know where to begin.
Today, I'm going to show you two entry points for the site, as well as some helpful features
that will help you visualize the data you’re looking for.
From the landing page of data.census.gov, the most obvious way to start a search in
through the single search bar.
This is where you’ll type in a word or phrase to get data.
In general, simpler is better, so if I’m looking for data on internet access in Orange
County, California for example, I’ll type in ‘internet access Orange County, California’
into the search bar and click on the magnifying glass icon.
Let’s quickly take a look at the newer layout upon completing a search.
These filters ‘Telephone, Computer, and Internet Access’ and ‘Orange County, California’
are both present, since they were both included in our initial search.
They have a lock icon next to them, meaning that you will need to start a new search to
remove these filters.
If you click on the question mark icon here, you can see that the different filters are
color coded, as well as the filter labels with both a lock icon, which are present in
our search, and a ‘x’ in the top right corner, which can be added using the filter
panel on the left side of the screen.
These filters can be removed from the search at any time.
Next, you can see at the top of the screen that there is a featured statistic showing
the percent of households without an internet subscription in Orange County.
You can also see that it comes from the 2020 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates,
and by clicking on the ‘View Estimates’ link, it’ll take you to the table that the
statistic is taken from, which is table S2801.
You can click on the arrows on the top right corners of the Filter and Results panels to
get a better look at the full table.
From there you can scroll down to the ‘Type of Internet Subscriptions’ section and see
that 92.2% of households in Orange County, California have some kind of internet access.
Taking a look at the option available in the table ribbon, there is a button that shows
the Table Notes, as well as another way to choose filters to add to the table.
You can also choose to hide certain geographies if multiple ones are present in the table,
or transpose the table to show the geographies in the rows of the table rather than the columns.
To change the table back to its original layout, click on the ‘Transpose’ button again
or click on the ‘Restore’ button.
You can also click on the ‘Margin of Error’ button to remove the margins of error from
the table.
To export the table to Excel, click on the ‘Excel’ button and the table will automatically
export.
You can also export the table as a CSV by using the CSV button or download the table
as a CSV by using the ZIP button.
Remember that the exported version is presentation friendly, while the download is intended for
machine reading.
The ‘Print’ button will allow you to print the table, but keep in mind that it will only
print the first page of the table as well as the associated table notes.
The ‘Map’ button will allow you to map the data table you’re viewing.
If we move back to the ‘All’ tab, we can also see that there is a geographic profile
associated with Orange County, California on the right side of the page.
The geographic profile provides a lot of higher-level data points for a geography in one convenient
webpage.
To jump to a specific topic, click on the labels on the left side of the screen.
For example, if you’re looking for Education data, click on the ‘Education’ link and
the page will jump to the corresponding section.
Here you’ll see the percentage of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher in Orange
County, and how that compares to the rest of the state.
There’s also a visual breakdown of more education data on the right side of the page.
You can also see that this data comes from the 2020 ACS 5-Year Estimates, and that the
specific table that these statistics are derived from is S1501.
If you click on the link, it will take you directly to the table using the specified
geography in the profile.
An alternative way to search is using the Advanced Search button.
Start by clearing your search by clicking the logo on the top left of your screen taking
you back to the landing page.
Then select the Advanced Search button under the single search bar to take you to the filter
panel.
This is a step by step, approach where you go through a series of filters and make selections
based on the data you’re looking for.
Let’s find commuting data for all Census Tracts in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.
We’re going to first select our geography, so after clicking on the ‘Geography’ filter,
select ‘Tract’ from the Most Commonly Used Geographies section, and then select
the state of Alabama.
After selecting Alabama, you'll get a list of all the counties within the state.
Scroll down the list until you reach Tuscaloosa County, and then select ‘All Census Tracts
within Tuscaloosa County, Alabama’.
The next thing is selecting the topic on the left-hand side.
Again, click on the ‘Topics’ filter, then Employment, and then we see the check box
here for Commuting.
With both of those items selected, click on the ‘Search’ button in the bottom right
side of the screen.
I’ll select table S0801, ‘Commuting Characteristics’ from this list, and then go to the Maps tab.
This is the same page that you’ll find when clicking on the ‘Map’ button that I mentioned
in the last example.
The site will take me to a thematic map that shows just the total population of workers
16 and over, but if I click on the ‘Variables’ button here, I can choose which variable from
the table that I want the map to display.
So, for example, if I’m looking for workers who primarily use public transportation, I
would scroll down and click on the ‘Total – Workers 16 years and over – Means of
Transportation to Work – Public transportation (excluding taxicab) – Estimate’.
Then the map will automatically update to display this variable.
You can also select other geographies outside on the map by clicking the ‘Select’ tool
and dragging it across the geographies you want to see data for.
To deselect, exit the select tool and left click on the area to deselect it.
You can also clear the geographies from your map and look at the geographic layers that
are available for this map.
You can also select the year that this table is derived from.
Stylistically, you can also choose the basemap you wish to view, whether you want the map
to display a basic, detailed, or bare map.
You can also customize the boundary line and labels to show any other geographic boundaries
that are not displayed based on your geographic choices.
Additionally, you can change the color scheme as well as the amount of data classes that
you wish to portray on the map.
You can also use the identify tool to quickly obtain basic info on a geographic point, open
table data by using the table button, or click on the ‘Notes’ button to obtain more information
on the table that the map is derived from.
I hope you enjoyed this overview of some of the newer functionality and features when
navigating data.census.gov.
For more videos like this, please visit our Resources page at the link provided below.
Thank you!