Planning and Environmental Services
"Building a Brighter Tomorrow"

DEMOGRAPHICS
U.S. CENSUS INFORMATION

Census Overview

The U.S. Census is the most comprehensive source for current and past population, housing, economic, and geographic data. The website www.census.gov contains a tremendous amount of data that can be accessed through many different search options to make it easier for people to find what they are looking for. The website can be confusing to beginners who are not familiar with the content but the information below should help you understand where to find the information you are interested in and may identify data that you were not aware existed. It is often necessary to spend time clicking your way through links to discover all the different data that exists on the census website.

Three factors usually affect the search for data from the Census Bureau: topic (e.g., population), geography (e.g., my state), and time period (e.g., most recent year). People usually want data on a topic for a place in a given year. Generally the larger the geographic area, the more topics and time periods you can find. The Census Bureau has extensive data at the U.S. level and substantial data for states and counties, somewhat less for cities (i.e., incorporated places). Present data for the very smallest areas (census tracts, block groups, and blocks) is released only once a decade after we tabulate the results of the Population and Housing Census. Eventually the American Community Survey will allow the Census Bureau to release data more frequently for areas as small as census tracts.

Census Data Search

American Fact Finder is one of the search features that provide easy acces to data in the form of maps, tables, and reports from a variety of Census Bureau sources. Below is a list of the type of dempographic data available through American Fact Finder, the geographic areas in which data exists for each of the categories, and the topics that exist under each category.

Decennial Census of Housing and Population - 1990 and 2000
Coverage: Most geographic areas, e.g., metropolitan area, state, county, city/town, place, ZIP Code, down to census tract for most data, and down to block or block group for some data.
Topics: Population, race, ancestry, income, disability, education, employment, language, marital status, occupation, poverty status, housing characteristics and more.

Economic Census 1997 and 2002
Coverage: U.S., metropolitan area, state, county, place, ZIP Code
Topics: Industry, establishments, sales, receipts, revenues, shipments, expenses, products, payroll, employees and more

American Community Survey - 1996-2003
Coverage: States, and 800 local areas, including 239 counties, 205 congressional districts, and most metropolitan areas of 250,000 population and over.
Topics: Population, race, ancestry, income, disability, education, employment, language, marital status, occupation, poverty, housing characteristics and more.

Population Estimates Program - July 1, 2003 to July 1, 2004
Coverage: State, metropolitan area, county , city and town
Topics: Estimated total population for the previous year for geographic areas above; estimates by age, sex, and race/ethnicity are available for selected geographic areas.

Quick Facts tables are summary profiles showing frequently requested data items for the nation, states, counties, and large cities. The link above gives quick facts on Michigan, from this page you can also get quick facts for Michigan counties and large cities. Click here to learn more about using Quick Facts. Another site that gives a more comprehensive profile of the area counties and communities is SEMCOG's community profiles page (example data). The Department of Planning and Economic Development has also put together "Community Profiles" for each of our communities and the County. These profiles contain valuable data for protential and current residents, and contain information such as schools districts, demographics, contact numbers, maps of community amenities, and other pertinent information.

Census Briefs are short documents providing findings from Census 2000, current demographic surveys, and the 1997 Economic Census. They contain colorful charts to illustrate major points. These documents are often very useful in finding information about specific topics.

Other Search Methods - The home page (www.census.gov) has key links (People, Business, Geography) to help you in your search. Each of the categories has links to a tremendous amount of useful information. If you take the time to browse through the links you will find a wealth of knowledge. Subjects A to Z gives you a large list of topics through which to search. You can find the population of a state, county, or city in State & County QuickFacts. Searching the Frequently Asked Question section can also be very helpful. The Search option on the homepage is also useful if your not familiar with the website. Viewing the site map is a good way to get an overview of the way the census website is constructed and where data is located.

Census 2000 - There are several resources available on our Census 2000 Gateway to help you narrow your search for Census 2000 data including the release schedules by date, geography, and subject. Click here to learn more about Census 2000 data projects.

Census 1990 - Your source for all 1990 Census data. American Fact Finder is also a good option for searching for 1990 Census data, as discussed above.

Detailed Searches - Users who are familiar with the census material or know what data they are specifically searching for often use the Summary Files. There are four Summary Files based on Census 2000 (SF-1, SF-2, SF-3, SF-4). These are the among most detailed data products available from the population and housing census.

Summary File 1 (SF 1) and Summary File 2 (SF 2) focus on the information collected on the census short form – namely on age, sex, race, Hispanic/Latino origin, households, families, housing units, and owner/renter status. Summary File 3 (SF 3) and Summary File 4 (SF 4) focus on social, economic and housing characteristics compiled from a sample of approximately 19 million housing units (about 1 in 6 households) that received the Census 2000 long-form questionnaire.Topics include income, education, occupation, ancestry, disability, foreign birth, commuting, household financial arrangements, year housing structure built and many other population and housing subjects. The data in all four files are readily accessible in American FactFinder.

All four files show data for states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, counties, county subdivisions, cities, American Indian and Alaska Native areas, Hawaiian Home Lands, and census tracts. SF 1 has the most geographic detail, with data for census block groups and blocks; SF 3 has data for block groups. Both SF 1 and SF 3 have data for ZIP Code Tabulation Areas®, Congressional districts, and metropolitan areas.

SF 1 and SF 3 have data on a larger set of topics than do SF 2 and SF 4. What makes SF 2 and SF 4 special is the vast data on population subgroups found on these files.

SF 2 repeats tables for up to 249 race (e.g., Black, Chinese, Asian Indian, etc.) and Hispanic/Latino groups (e.g., Mexican, Cuban, Salvadoran, etc.), as well as American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. SF 4 repeats tables for these groups and also for up to 86 ancestry groups.

Be sure to consult the technical documentation with each file for more infomation about their special features.

• View a list of available SF-1 data tables and the coinciding codes. Search the SF-1 data set by location and data table.
• View a list of available SF-2 data tables and the coinciding codes. Search the SF-2 data set by location and data table.
• View a list of available SF-3 data tables and the coinciding codes. Search the SF-3 data set by location and data table.
• View a list of available SF-4 data tables and the coinciding codes. Search the SF-4 data set by location and data table.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I find Census 2000 data in American FactFinder for my neighborhood/community?