| Introduction
- What kind of data is available, what's different in Census
2000 vs. 1990 Census |
Census Tools
- Descriptions of the major online tools/databases from the Census Bureau's website. |
Quick Census
2000 Data - Links to PDF files of Demographic Profile
data for U.S., Illinois, Sangamon Co. & Springfield. |
Other Census Web Resources - Corrected
Census Counts, American Community Survey, Current Illinois
Data, Historical Data & Index to Websites
|
What kind of data is available?
The Census 2000 data comes directly from the surveys sent out.
In the spring of 2000 the Census Bureau sent out questionnaires
to all households in the U.S. Everyone was asked these questions,
known as the short form or 100-percent characteristics.
Sex
Age and date of birth
Household relationship
Race
Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin
Tenure (whether the home is owned or rented)
The results are compiled in the SF1 data tables.
You can find data for all of these questions down to the block
level, which is the smallest unit of Census geography.
Approximately 1 out of 6 households received the sample survey,
or "long-form" data. Questions asked were the same
as the short-form ones, plus:
| Social Characteristics |
Economic Characteristics |
Housing Characteristics |
Ancestry
Citizenship status
Disability status
Education attainment
Grandparents as caregivers
Households and families
Language and ability to speak English
Marital status
Migration
Nativity and place of birth
Region of birth of foreign born
School enrollment
Urban and rural
Veteran status |
Class
of worker
Employment status
Commuting to work
Income
Industry
Occupation
Poverty status |
Heating
fuel
Household size
Occupants per room
Monthly rent
Number of bedrooms
Number of rooms
Plumbing and kitchen facilities
Telephone service
Units in structure
Value of home
Vehicles available
Year householder moved into unit
Year structure built |
The results are compiled in the SF3 data tables.
You can get SF3 data down to the Census Tract level, or roughly
a grouping of 1,500 to 8,000 persons.
What's different in Census 2000 versus the 1990 Census?
There are two major differences:
- One new question concerning grandparents as caregivers was
asked in the long-form.
- Respondents could choose more than one racial category,
out of 6 (White, Black or African-American, American Indian
or Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander,
or some other race). Therefore, one cannot make a direct comparison
of racial data between the 1990 and the 2000 Censuses. Racial
data is usually given as x only,
x alone or in combination, or two
or more races. But it is possible for some tables
to get all 63 of the racial combinations possible. (Note:
Hispanic or Latino origin is not considered a race. Respondents
were asked to choose one or more races, then yes/no to whether
they were of Hispanic or Latino origin.)
The Census Bureau's website
has a variety of tools for finding 2000 and 1990 census data.
What tool you want to use depends on what kind of data you
are looking for, and in what format.
I want current, basic demographic and economic data for a
state, county or city.
Try State &
County QuickFacts, which despite the name also contains data for cities with 25,000 or more people. This gives you a table of quick
facts, with links to more detailed tables. There are links at the bottom to download the data into a spreadsheet.
I want Census 2000 population, economic, social characteristics,
and housing data for a state, county, township, or city/town/village in a printable format.
Try Demographic
Profiles. This gives you a 4-page PDF document with numbers
and percentages for virtually all the Census 2000 questions.
(You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the files. You
may download
a free version of the reader if needed.)
I want more detailed 1990 or 2000 population, economic, social characteristics,
or housing data for a state, county, township, city/town/village,
or an address.
Try American FactFinder's
Fact Sheets. This offers the most popular tables for the
1990 and 2000 Censuses. Click on the Show More link to view the data in a table that allows for downloading into a spreadsheet.
I want the data by congressional districts, zip codes,
census tracts, block groups, blocks, etc. Or I want Census data
for a specific subgroup, such as income by age/sex/race.
Try American
FactFinder's Data Sets. From here you can do QuickTables
and Geographic Comparison Tables. To see all the different
tables that are available, including all the tables for data
for a specific subgroup, try Detailed Tables.
- QuickTables (QT) give you raw numbers and percentages for one geographic area.
- Geographic Comparison Tables (GCT) give you tables with all the states in the U.S., or all the counties in a state, or all the cities/towns/villages in a state.
I want to see 1990 or 2000 Census data visually.
Try Thematic Maps, within Maps and Geography in American FactFinder. Many of the popular tables can
be shown visually on a map, such as percentage of people 25
and older with a college degree by state/county/city.
Quick Census 2000 Data
Click on the link to view a PDF version of the Demographic
Profile for the geographic area. Each PDF is 4 pages, covering
demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics.
(You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the files. You may
download
a free version of the reader if needed.)
Corrected Census Counts via Count Question Resolution (CQR)
Program
Some governmental bodies challenged the official figures in
the 2000 Census, so the Census Bureau created the Count
Question Resolution program. Any corrected figures will
be collected and reported in a PDF document entitled Notes
& Errata: 2000 Census of Population & Housing. (To
view changes for a particular state, click on Corrected Counts
in the Bookmark section of Adobe Acrobat Reader, then click
on the name of the state you wish to view. In Illinois there
have been numerous updates, which, as of December 27, 2002,
has affected 79 places.)
However, these corrected figures will not
become part of the standard Census 2000 data tools (American
FactFinder databases, Demographic Profiles, or State & County
QuickFacts). The corrections will be incorporated into the population estimates the Census Bureau does between censuses. But the
only place to see these revised figures is in the Notes
& Errata.
Census Bureau
- American
Community Survey & Supplementary Surveys
-- Surveys of a sample population conducted by the Census
Bureau to compile the long-form data more frequently than
once every 10 years. The Census Bureau hopes to do surveys
of all counties in the future, but at present has not sampled
Sangamon County.
Current Illinois Data
Historical Data
Brookens Library has print sets of virtually all the decennial
censuses in the Government Publications collection on Level
2. But online there aren't that many sites with census data
prior to 1990.
Index to Websites
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