One of the primary sources for local area data is the information gathered
in the Census of Population and Housing and the Economic Censuses conducted
by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The Census Bureau provides a robust
online tool for accessing the data from the most recent of these censuses
called American FactFinder.
Suggestions for Searching American FactFinder
To find Census 2000 data from the main page:
- Use Basic Facts to make selections and view a table or a map.
- In Items of Interest, click the hyperlink 'Census 2000 Release
Schedule'.
- Use Search in the upper left corner of the page. Click the keyword
or geography button or the street address hyperlink to obtain data
on a particular subject or geographic area.
- Select a data set from the Data Sets section of the main page.
To find the population of a town or city:
- Use Basic Facts on FactFinder's main page.
- Use Search in the upper left corner of the main page. Click geography
and enter the name of your city or town or click the street address
hyperlink.
- If you cannot locate your town on a list, it may not be recognized
as a 'place' or 'county subdivision' by the Census Bureau. To locate
your town within a statistical entity such as a census tract, block
group or block:
1. Click the Reference Map button on FactFinder's main page.
2. Below the Reference Map, enter your street address. FactFinder
will zoom in on your address.
To find all the census tracts in a town or city:
- Click the Census 2000 Summary File 1 hyperlink on the main page.
- On the Dataset Page, select the Detailed Tables hyperlink.
- Click on the "geo within geo" radio button.
- In the "Show me all" drop-down box, select "Census
tract"
- In the "Within" drop-down box, select "Place"
- In the prompts that follow, select your State and your city or town.
Note: if your city or town isn't listed as a "Place", try
selecting "Within County Subdivision" instead. Your city or
town may be listed as a county subdivision.
