GGeettttiinngg SSttaarrtteedd…… Finding County Level Data Using the NEW American FactFinder Website Julie N. Zimmerman, May 2011

In 2011, the Census Bureau began migrating their data from the original American FactFinder website to a New American FactFinder website that has been redesigned.

This publication provides graphical instructions to help you get started in using the NEW American FactFinder website.

“Getting Started…” is a series of graphical website instructions designed to help in finding and using data from the internet.

Copies of this publication and others are available online at: http://www.ca.uky.edu/snarl. Just click on “Kentucky: By the Numbers.”

If you have used the American FactFinder website to access data from the Census Bureau you will

soon be using the

NEW American FactFinder

http://factfinder2.census.gov

The new design changes how we access data produced by the Census Bureau.

As with any change, the new design has its strengths, but it is also very different from how we have been

navigating the old FactFinder website.

For now, you can still use the Legacy FactFinder website (http://www.factfinder.census.gov)

to access data.

By the Fall of 2011, all data from the Census Bureau will be on

the new website.

Kentucky:

By The Numbers

UK Department of Community and Leadership Development

www.ca.uky.edu/SNARL

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The design of the NNEEWW AAmmeerriiccaann FFaaccttFFiinnddeerr wweebbssiittee can be thought of as having made 2 main changes:

The new design changes how we find our data, and

It changes what we can do with our data online once we find it.

On the old website, we started by first selecting our database (ie. 2000 Census).

The NEW American FactFinder accesses everything at once (every table in every survey for every year).

To find your data, you have to use a series of “filters” to narrow your search results.

These filters can be used in any order and in any combination.

This publication will walk through how to find

the number of people in Mercer county in 2010.

(These same principles apply for finding other county level data using the NEW American FactFinder website.)

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As you type, a list will appear with all of the geographies possible that

contain the word “Kentucky.”

You can pick any of these, but to shorten the list…

2. Under geography,”

Type “Kentucky”

1. The most direct way to locate data for your county is to begin with the “QUICK START” box.

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1. Type in your county name. (I’ll use Mercer County)

Now the list that appears shows every place that has

BOTH Kentucky AND Mercer

in its name.

The list shows the county, places, and CCD’s.

CCD’s (Census County Division) are “A subdivision of a county that is a relatively permanent statistical area established cooperatively by the Census Bureau and state and local government authorities. Used for presenting decennial census statistics in those states that do not have well-defined and stable minor civil divisions that serve as local governments.”

(Source: FactFinder Glossary)

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You can pick any of these.

Since I want county level data,

I picked

“Mercer County, Kentucky”

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Click

“GO”

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Here are your search results so far.

Using just your state and county name, the list includes EVERY table, for EVERY year, from EVERY database that has “Mercer County, Kentucky” in it.

It can be a VERY long list.

The results are always organized to show you:

the Table ID,

the Table Title,

and

the Dataset the table came from.

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IMPORTANT!

This box always shows you what filters you picked.

 

These are the filters you can pick from.

(The “Topics Filter” opens up automatically.)

You can pick from this list,

OR

you can narrow the list by picking more filters.

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Each filter has sub-topics and each of those have even more sub-topics. (The same goes for “Geography,” “Population Groups,” and “Industry Codes.” As more data are added to the website, these lists will likely grow longer.)

You can pick from any of these in any order.

I’ll show you one combination that will get you to county level data for the population in 2010 (keep going)…

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 Since I am looking for the total population counts, under “Topics,” I selected

“People.”

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  Under “People,” there are many options.

Since I am looking for the total population, I picked

“Basic Count/Estimate.”

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  Under “Basic Count/Estimate,” there are even more options.

Since I am looking for the total population, I picked

“Population Total.”

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Your selections always appear in this box.

So far, I chose:

“Mercer County, Kentucky,”

and

“Population Total.”

1. Here are your search results so far.

This time, the list includes

EVERY table, for EVERY year, from EVERY database

that have both “Mercer County, Kentucky” and “Population Total.”

It can still be a long list.

3. You can narrow the list by picking

more filters.

2. You can pick from this list,

OR …

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 Since I want data for 2010,

I’ll go back to the list of

“Topics”

and this time I’ll click on

“Year.”

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  For now, we have 3 years to choose from.

(This list will grow as more data are added to the website.)

I picked

“2010.”

 

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Remember, your selections appear in this box.

So far, I chose:

“Mercer County, Kentucky,”

“Population Total”

and

“2010”

Here are your search results using these filters.

This time, the list includes EVERY table from EVERY database

that have “Mercer County, Kentucky,” “Population Total” and have only data for 2010.

Picked something by mistake?

Just click on the Orange “X”

to remove your selection

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“ID” gives you the beginning of the table number.

P = Population

QT = Quick Table

GCT = Geographic Comparison Table (includes multiple geographies)

DP = Data Profile

ST = Subject Table

H = Housing

“Title” is the full title

for each table.

“Dataset” is the

source of the data.

Want to know more?

Click the “i” next to the

table.

The results always show you the Table ID, the Table Title, and the Dataset the table came from.

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Since the total population is included in most tables, any of these will work.

The dataset called “2010 Redistricting Data SF (PL 94-171)” are the first data released from the 2010 Decennial Census.

(As more data are added to the website, this list will grow)

I will pick “P1” “RACE.”

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You can also select the box next to the table (or tables if you want more than one) and then pick if you want to “View,” “Download,” etc.

There are 2 ways to get to the table with the data…

The most direct route is to click on the

Table Title.

(I clicked on the table title)

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Here are the data!

According to the 2010 Decennial Census Redistricting Data, the total population in Mercer County in 2010 is

21,331 people

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There are 2 ways to get to the table with the data…

Want to see data for a different year? Want to see data for a different county? Want to see data on a different topic?

Click here

to go back to the search page

Want to see only parts of the table?

Click here to see lots of options

Want to download the table?

Click here.

(If you modify the table to only show parts of it, you can now download your shortened table.)

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Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin. UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY, KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, AND KENTUCKY COUNTIES, COOPERATING

An Equal Opportunity University

Kentucky: By the Numbers is a program of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service in the Department of Community and Leadership Development at the University of Kentucky. Primarily known for the data series by the same name, the program also provides publications and other resources for those interested in finding data on their county. Data and resources are available on the Kentucky: By the Numbers section of the SNARL (http://www.ca.uky.edu/snarl) website. For more information contact your local Cooperative Extension office or Julie N. Zimmerman, Department of Community and Leadership Development, 500Garrigus Building, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546-0215. Email: jzimm@email.uky.edu.

For other graphical website instructions, see:

Getting Started… Finding Economic Data Online at the Bureau of Economic Analysis

Getting Started… Finding Unemployment Data Online at the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Getting Started… Finding Agriculture Data Online in the Census of Agriculture

These are all available under “Publications” on the

Kentucky: By the Numbers website at:

http://www.ca.uky.edu/snarl