Digital Public Library of America [DPLA]

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Steve Batt

On Thursday, the Digital Public Library of America website was launched. The website brings together digitized cultural heritage from libraries, archives, and museums which it makes freely available to users. Currently the DPLA provides access to over 2 million items. The website also serves as a platform by providing its own API which developers can use to create apps. Users can search by keyword, but also use features such as Timeline, or Map to find digital objects.

The website is accessible at http://dp.la and their blog can be accessed here: http://dp.la/info/news/blog/

Census Population Clock

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Steve Batt

The Census Bureau’s Population clock can now be shared, downloaded and embedded into websites!

The clock, as well as regularly-updated population pyramids and other estimates that can also be embedded, can be accessed here: http://www.census.gov/popclock/

According to the Census Bureau,

“The population clock displays continuously updated projections of the total U.S. population, including the rate of births, deaths and net migration for the United States. For the first time, the clock also provides an age and sex population pyramid and a graph showing the population of U.S. regions. Both new features allow users to see how these measures have changed over time. Additionally, users can interact with tables displaying the most populous states, cities and counties in the United States. The clock provides not only a continuously updated world population total but also a list of the 10 most populous countries, with easy access to more world population statistics.

An important enhancement allows users to embed the population clock on their own website for quick reference. Using the “Download and Share” buttons, users can download the clock or copy code to embed the clock directly on their own website. Visitors can also share the clock via Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.

The clock is based on a series of short-term projections for the resident population of the United States. This includes people whose usual residence is in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. These projections do not include members of the armed forces stationed overseas, their dependents, or other U.S. citizens residing outside the United States.

The projections are based on a monthly time series of population estimates starting with the April 1, 2010, resident population count derived from the 2010 Census.

The “Country Ranking” tool provides a quick and easy method to view the most populous countries in the world for any given year. The data for this tool are drawn from the Census Bureau’s International Data Base, which offers a variety of demographic indicators for countries and areas of the world with a population of 5,000 or more.”

May 2013 is “Older Americans Month”

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Steve Batt

Older Americans Month: May 2013

A meeting with the National Council of Senior Citizens resulted in President John F. Kennedy designating May 1963 as Senior Citizens Month, encouraging the nation to pay tribute to older people across the country. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter’s proclamation changed the name to Older Americans Month, a time to celebrate those 65 and older through ceremonies, events and public recognition.

(Click on visualization to interact with data)

Connecticut has 499,474 individuals who are 65 and older, comprising 14% of the state’s total population.

41.4 million

The number of people who were 65 and older in the United States on July 1, 2011, up from 40.3 million on April 1, 2010 (Census Day). In 2011, this group accounted for 13.3 percent of the total population.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/popest/data/national/asrh/2011/index.html>

92.0 million

Projected population of people 65 and older in 2060. People in this age group would comprise just over one in five U.S. residents at that time. Of this number, 18.2 million would be 85 or older.
Source: Population projections <http://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012.html>

2.4 million

Projected number of baby boomers in 2060. At that time, the youngest baby boomers would be 96 years old.
Source: Population projections <http://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012.html>

2056

The year in which, for the first time, the population 65 and older would outnumber people younger than 18 in the U.S.
Source: Population projections <http://www.census.gov/population/projections/data/national/2012.html>

Nearly 17%

Projected percentage of the global population that would be 65 and older in 2050, up from 8 percent today. In 2005, Europe became the first major world region where the population 65 and older outnumbered those younger than 15. By 2050, it would be joined by Northern America (which includes Canada and the United States), Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean and Oceania (which includes Australia and New Zealand).
Source: International Data Base <http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/informationGateway.php>

Income and Wealth

$33,118

The 2011 median income of households with householders 65 and older, not significantly different from the previous year.
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011
<http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p60-243.pdf>

8.7%

The percent of people 65 and older who were in poverty in 2011, statistically unchanged from 2010. There were 3.6 million seniors in poverty in 2011.
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2011
<http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p60-243.pdf>

$170,128

Median net worth for householders 65 and older in 2010, down from $195,890 in 2005.
Source: Net Worth and Asset Ownership <http://www.census.gov/people/wealth/>

Serving Our Nation

9.2 million

Estimated number of people 65 and older who were veterans of the armed forces in 2011.
Source: 2011 American Community Survey <http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/11_1YR/B21001>

Jobs

16.1%

The percentage of people 65 and older who were in the labor force in 2010, up from 12.1 percent in 1990. These older workers numbered 6.5 million in 2010, up from 3.8 million in 1990. By 2011, this rate had increased to 16.2 percent.
Source: Labor Force Participation and Work Status of People 65 and Older <http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acsbr11-09.pdf>

22.3%

The percentage of people 65 and older in Alaska in the labor force in 2011. Labor force participation rates for people 65 years and over ranged from 22.3 percent in Alaska to 12.5 percent in West Virginia.
Source: Labor Force Participation and Work Status of People 65 and Older <http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acsbr11-09.pdf>

44.3%

Among those 65 and older who worked in 2011, the percentage who worked full-time, year-round. Among states and equivalents, the District of Columbia had the highest rate, at 62.2 percent.
Source: Labor Force Participation and Work Status of People 65 and Older <http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acsbr11-09.pdf>

Education

81.1%

Proportion of people 65 and older in 2012 who had completed high school or higher education.
Source: Educational Attainment in the United States: 2012
<http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/2012/tables.html>

24.3%

Percentage of the population 65 and older in 2012 who had earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Source: Educational Attainment in the United States: 2012
<http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/2012/tables.html>

Marital Status and Living Arrangements

58%

Percentage of people 65 and older who were married in 2012.
Source: Families and Living Arrangements <http://www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2012.html>

26%

Percentage of people 65 and older in 2012 who were widowed.
Source: Families and Living Arrangements <http://www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/cps2012.html>

Voting

70.3%

Percentage of citizens 65 and older reporting casting a ballot in the 2008 presidential election. Not statistically different from those 45 to 64 (69.2 percent), people 65 and older had the highest turnout rate of any age group.
Source: Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2008 (Table 2) <http://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p20-562.pdf>

Homeownership

80.7%

Percentage of householders 65 and older who owned their homes as of fourth quarter 2012.
Source: Current Population Survey/Housing Vacancy Survey <http://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/>

Centenarians

53,364

The number of people 100 years old and older counted by the 2010 Census.
Source: Centenarians: 2010 <http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/reports/c2010sr-03.pdf>

20.7

For every 100 centenarian women, the number of centenarian men in 2010.
Source: Centenarians: 2010 <http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/reports/c2010sr-03.pdf>

43.5%

In 2010, percentage of centenarian men who lived with others in a household, the most common living arrangement for this group. For their female counterparts, the most common living arrangement was residing in a nursing home (35.2 percent).
Source: Centenarians: 2010 <http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/reports/c2010sr-03.pdf>

3.29

Number of centenarians per 10,000 people in North Dakota in 2010. North Dakota was the only state with more than three centenarians per 10,000 people.
Source: Centenarians: 2010 <http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/reports/c2010sr-03.pdf>

States and Counties

17.6%

Percentage of Florida’s population 65 and older in 2011 — which led all states.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/popest/data/national/asrh/2011/index.html>

45.5%

Percentage of the population of Sumter County, Fla., that was 65 or older in 2011, which led all of the nation’s counties.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/popest/data/national/asrh/2011/index.html>

CT Geofocus Newsletter

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Steve Batt

The newest issue of the CT Geofocus newsletter is available now!

Brought to you by the CT GIS User to User Network and the CT GIS Council’s Education and Outreach Working group.

See past newsletters and how to submit your work here: http://ctgis.uconn.edu/resources/newsletter.htm.

Also check out the new and improved CT GIS User to User Network website at: http://ctgis.uconn.edu

If you’d like to submit something for the next issue, the deadline is Friday May 31st.

Web and mobile application development at the Census Bureau

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Steve Batt

The Census Bureau is keeping up to speed with not only different types of statistics and data, but how users and developers can access and visualize that data in more meaningful and streamlined ways.

The Census Bureau was recently named a 2013 Honors Laureate by Computerworld for development of its open data API, an application programming interface implemented in July 2012 that allows developers to take data sets and reuse them to create online and mobile apps – for more information see: http://www.census.gov/developers/

The Bureau was recognized by the magazine “for its visionary applications of information technology promoting positive social, economic and educational change.” The story will be featured in the June 3 edition of Computerworld.

Recently, the Bureau developed a new mobile app that allows users to “take the pulse of the U.S. Economy” straight from their phone! According to the Bureau:

The America’s Economy app provides real-time updates for 16 key economic indicators released from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Bureau of Economic Analysis. Key economic measures on employment, manufacturing, international trade, retail sales, and residential construction and sales allow those who follow the U.S. economy to be the first to see whether the indicator has gone up or down since the previous report, and trends over time.

Learn more about this app by using the link above, or click one of the following to download:

Apple
Download iPhone Ver sion
Download iPad Vers ion

Android
Download Phone Version
Download Tablet Version

Key Features

Quick overview of indicators measuring the U.S. economy
Detailed page for each indicator with trend data
Share indicators on Facebook, Twitter and via email
View release schedules for indicators
Set up notifications and custom views

Indicators

Advance Monthly Retail Sales
Advance Report Durable Goods
Business Inventories
Construction Spending
Homeownership Rate
International Trade
Manufacturers’ Goods
Monthly Wholesale
New Residential Construction
New Residential Sales
Personal Income
QFR–Manufacturing
QFR–Retail Trade
Quarterly Services Survey
Real Gross Domestic Product
Unemployment Rate

Additionally, the Census Bureau’s website is home to many different web-based mapping applications that provide excellent visualizations of data. One example is the US County Migration Patterns map, available here: http://flowsmapper.geo.census.gov/flowsmapper/map.html

or the 2010 Census Interactive Population map, available here: http://www.census.gov/2010census/popmap/

The foreign born population in the US and Connecticut

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Steve Batt

According to the Census Bureau, America’s foreign born population has undergone dramatic changes in size, origins and geographic distribution within the past 50 years. This infographic created by the Census Bureau depicts some of the major trends and statistics. As just one example: in 1960, 75% of foreign born individuals in the US were from Europe; but in 2010 only 12% were from Europe, while 53% were from Latin America and 28% were from Asia.

Here’s a snippet:

So, who is emigrating from Asia to the United States? In 1960 only 0.5 million people immigrated to the US from Asia, but by 2000 it had risen to 8.2 million, and in 2011 that number had reached 11.6 million, according to the ACS report linked to above.

Here in Connecticut, the 2007-2011 ACS data from American FactFinder shows that the total population was 3,558,172 with foreign-born individuals (both citizens and non-citizens) numbering 474,139 (+/- 5,979); thus comprising between 13.2% and 13.5% of the total population. By comparison, in 1960 the US Census reported that the total population of Connecticut was 2,535,234 and that 38.7% of that total (982,143) was foreign born with a majority (237,146) of individuals from Italy. The following visualization shows countries where foreign-born individuals emigrated from in 1960 that had numbers of emigrants higher than 20,000 individuals. Click the visualization to interact more with the data.

The other countries or areas that the Census recorded individuals emigrating from include: Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Finland, Yugoslavia, Romania, Greece, Portugal, Asia and Mexico. There were also categories for Other and Unknown. Both Asia and Mexico now comprise higher emigration rates; but in 1960, only 645 people from Mexico came to Connecticut, and 11,786 came from Asia. The ACS 2007-2011 estimates for foreign born place of birth show that by 2011 there were 105,365 emigrants from Asia and 25,743 from Mexico. The emigration pattern has certainly changed in Connecticut since the 1960s, see below visualization for the countries in 2011 from which more than 20,000 people emigrated (including those with a MOE that causes the estimate to exceed 20,000); and unlike the 1960s, there are very few countries from which 20,000 or more people emigrated.The one country with the single highest number of foreign-born individuals in CT was Jamaica, with 34,742 individuals. In terms of regions broken down by continent, the highest number of individuals collectively came from Latin America which includes the Caribbean, Central and South America (197,224).

Upcoming Webinars

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Steve Batt

The Census Bureau’s Education, Training & Dissemination Branch has scheduled several webinars over the next three months. These webinars do have a finite number of slots available, so you may want to register early to make sure you are able to participate!

Registration information and webinar descriptions are available in the upper left corner of the Training Events page http://www.census.gov/mso/www/training/training_events.html

• The Economic Census and Other Economic Programs (April 17, 1:00 – 3:30 EDT)

• Understanding Census Geography (April 18, 1:00 – 3:00 EDT)

• Introduction to the American Community Survey (April 24, 1:00 – 2:30 EDT)

• The Current Population Survey & Survey of Income and Program Participation (May 8, 1:00 – 3:00 EDT)

• Population Estimates and Projections (May 22, 1:00 – 2:30 EDT)

• Customized Searching Through DataFerrett (May 29, 1:00 – 3:30 EDT)

• How to Navigate American FactFinder (June 19, 1:00 – 3:00 EDT)

• Government Statistics (June 26, 1:00 – 2:30 EDT)

If you are unable to attend these webinars, you might also find these tutorials from the Census Bureau’s Training Resources Library useful or informative:

Demographic bits and bytes

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Steve Batt

The Census Bureau records quite numerous useful data beyond demographics here in the US. Included below are some examples, provided by the US Census Bureau, that exemplify just how informative some of this data can actually be!

Schools

This working paper discusses the decline in attendance at private schools over the past decade. According to the census bureau:

Data from several surveys, including the Current Population Survey and American Community Survey, show a decline in private school enrollment over the last decade. The working paper compares trends across datasets and subgroups and explores possible underlying causes of the decline in enrollment, which occurred particularly at larger, religiously affiliated schools in cities and suburbs. Possible causes explored by the paper include the growth in charter schools, home schooling and the recession.

Disability, Employment, and Government Assistance

The Census Bureau also reports that workers with a disability are less likely to be employed and for those who are employed, are more likely to hold jobs with lower earnings. The three most common occupations for men with disabilities were drivers/sales workers and truck drivers (246,000); janitors and building cleaners (217,000); and laborers and freight, stock, and material movers (171,000). For women, as cashiers (195,000); secretaries or administrative assistants (189,000); and nursing, psychiatric or home health aides (172,000). These data can be found on the Census website under the Disability Employment Tabulation available through American Factfinder.

The report, which uses data from 2011, indicates that 30% of of the 46 million adults that receive government assistance have a disability of some kind. There is a relationship to these statistics and those regarding employment as well; Bernice Boursiquot, co-author of the report and Census Bureau statistician noted that “On average, people with disabilities have lower employment and earnings; therefore, understanding what assistance people with disabilities receive may help governments better coordinate and administer their programs.”

Demographics & Income

And if you were wondering about demographics and income, the Bureau has also released income/earnings estimates for the third quarter (July-September) of 2011 by selected demographic characteristics such as gender, age, race/ethnicity, martial status, and educational attainment. Tables are available here:

Income: http://www.census.gov/sipp/tables/quarterly-est/income/income-11.html
Earnings: http://www.census.gov/sipp/tables/quarterly-est/earnings/earnings-11.html

A different report, released Feb 11 shows that the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT metropolitan area near NYC has the highest percentage of households with high income in the nation at 17.9 percent. High income is defined as being in the top 5 percent of national income distribution, which is an annual household income of at least $191,469.

Megacommuters

How long is your commute to work? How many miles do you usually drive? The ACS (American Community Survey) collects and provides this information. See ACS report here by Brian McKenzie, a Census Bureau statistician, to see how you compare to the rest of the US workforce. As an example, about 342,000 workers commute into Suffolk County, Massachusetts (Boston area) every day from outside of that county; if you’ve ever driven on I-93 or I-95 at rush hour, it certainly seems like it makes sense!

Did you know that:

600,000 people in the US travel 90 minutes and 50 miles to work; 10.8 million travel an hour each way.
8.1 percent of US workers have commutes of 60 minutes or longer
4.3 percent walk from home
The average one-way daily commute for workers across the country is 25.5 minutes.
Of those who were classified as “megacommuters”, 75.4 percent were male and 24.6 percent were female.

For more information about Megacommuting in the US, see the below links:

Poster
Paper

Home-based workers

Working at home is on the rise! In contrast to megacommuting, it is now apparent that more and more individuals are choosing to work from home. The Census Bureau has also compiled an infographic to dissect some of the statistics involved with this phenomenon.

Snippet from infographic

Call for presentations, Spring 2013 NEARC conference

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Steve Batt

Spring NEARC Conference – Call for Presentations (DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MONDAY APRIL 1, 2013)

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Spring NEARC is an annual, one-day conference held near the center of the NEARC region. The day is packed with professional development and networking opportunities for all levels of GIS users.

NEARC is now accepting presentation submissions for the spring conference. Click here to learn about format options and to submit your workshop, lightning talk, presentation, panel, or poster. Presentations will only be accepted until Friday, March 22.

Conference highlights include:

• Workshops

• Lightning Talks

• GIS Karaoke

• ArcGIS 10.1 Update

• Pub Social

A schedule of the day will be available soon. Please visit the NEARC website for updates.

For information about last year’s conference please see:

http://www3.amherst.edu/~aanderson/nearc/schedule2012.html

2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Michael Howser

Results from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, Live on the “America by the Numbers” Segment of C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal”

Date:Friday March 15, 2013
Time: 8:15am EDT

America’s youth, ages 12 to 17, continue to report substantial rates of major depressive episodes. Among those who suffer from mental illness, co-occuring substance use and dependence are common. Find out more on Friday, March 15, 2013, at 8:15 a.m. EDT as Peter Delany, director of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, discusses the trends by age and gender, how the data are collected, and what mental health services are being used.

Most Fridays, C-SPAN’s “America by the Numbers” segment on its “Washington Journal” show features information from the federal statistical system. The program highlights trends and allows the public to call in or email their views. More information on previous C-SPAN programs is available at http://www.census.gov/newsroom/cspan/.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau