Keys to Understanding the CensusOr just about any survey.

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Why Geography is Important

• Katy Rossiter, Geographer, US Census Bureau

• Geography is at the heart of taking a census. The U.S. Census Bureau is tasked with counting everyone in the United States once every ten years, but we do not just count people; we count people where they live.

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Metropolitan Areas, 1999

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Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas, 2003

Hierarchy of Census Geographic Entities

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Census Geographic Concepts

•Statistical Areas•Examples:•Census county divisions•Census designated places•Census tracts•Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas•Urban areas•Public Use Microdata Areas•Traffic Analysis Zones

Census Geography and AFF2

• Geography may be the most improved area of the new AFF.

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Census Geographic Concepts•Legal/Administrative Areas•Examples:•States•Counties•Minor civil divisions•Incorporated places•Congressional districts•Legislative areas•School districts

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County Subdivisions

• Census county divisions (CCDs) CCDs exist where:• There are no legally established MCDs.• The legally established MCDs do not have

governmental or administrative purposes.• The boundaries of the MCDs change

frequently.• The MCDs are not generally known to the

public.

Census county divisions (CCDs)

Alabama Hawaii OregonArizona Idaho South CarolinaCalifornia Kentucky TexasColorado Montana UtahDelaware Nevada Washington

Florida New Mexico Wyoming

Georgia Oklahoma

• Minor civil divisions (MCDs) are the primary governmental or administrative divisions of a county in many states (parishes in Louisiana) and the county equivalents in Puerto Rico and the Island Areas.

Minor civil divisions (MCDs)

Arkansas Michigan OhioConnecticut Minnesota PennsylvaniaIllinois Mississippi Rhode IslandIndiana Missouri South DakotaIowa Nebraska TennesseeKansas New Hampshire VermontLouisiana New Jersey VirginiaMaine New York West VirginiaMaryland North Carolina WisconsinMassachusetts North Dakota

* Tennessee, a CCD state in 2000, reverted to a MCD state in 2008

• In nine states—Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, and Wisconsin—all incorporated places are independent places

Minor civil divisions (MCDs)

• The MCDs in 12 states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin) also serve as general-purpose local governments that can perform the same governmental functions as incorporated places. The Census Bureau presents data for these MCDs in all data products for which place data are provided

Minor civil divisions (MCDs)

The Usual SuspectsWisconsin

Dane CountyMadison MSA

Madison, WI Urban Area

Place: Madison City

Blocks

Census Tracts

Block Groups

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Places• Incorporated Places• Legally bounded entity• Referred to as cities, boroughs, towns, or villages,

depending on the state

• Census Designated Places (CDPs)• Statistical entity• Created to present census data for an area with a

concentration of population, housing, and commercial structures that is identifiable by name, but not within an incorporated place

• Example: Columbia, MD; Paradise, NV

Using AFF2 to select Geographies

Mississippi House Districts partially in Lafayette County