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ProximityOne Glossary
Items included in this glossary are focused on geographic, demographic and economic data access and use.
The glossary is updated on an irregular basis.
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Ability to speak English
For a respondent who speaks a language other than English at home, refers to his/her assessment of his ability to speak English, from "very well" to "not at all."
Related term: Language spoken at home
Acute Care Hospital A hospital that provides inpatient medical care and other related services for surgery,
acute medical conditions or injuries (usually short term).
Related term: Critical Access Hospital, Hospital
Adopted child
A child legally taken into a family to be raised by that family.
Related terms: Foster children, Own children, Related children
Age
Age is generally derived from date of birth information, and is based on the age of the person in complete years.
Alaska Native Regional Corporation (ANRC)
A corporate entity organized to conduct both business and nonprofit affairs of Alaska Natives pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
Alaska Native village statistical area (ANVSA)
A statistical entity that represents the densely settled extent of an Alaska Native village, which is a local governmental unit in Alaska. An ANVSA is delineated for the Census Bureau by officials of the Alaska Native village or Alaska Native Regional Corporation in which the ANVSA is located for the purpose of presenting decennial census data.
American Community Survey (ACS)
The American Community Survey is a large, continuous demographic survey conducted by the Census Bureau that will eventually provide accurate and up-to-date profiles of America's communities every year. Questionnaires are mailed to a sample of addresses to obtain information about households -- that is, about each person and the housing unit itself. The survey produces annual and multi-year estimates of population and housing characteristics and produces data for small areas, including tracts and population subgroups.
Questions asked are similar to those on the decennial census long form.
Related term: Continuous Measurement System
American Indian Area, Alaska Native Area, Hawaiian Home Land (AIANAHH)
A Census Bureau term referring to these types of geographic areas: federal and state American Indian reservations, American Indian off-reservation trust land (individual or tribal), Oklahoma tribal statistical area (in 1990 tribal jurisdictional statistical area), tribal designated statistical area, state designated American Indian statistical area, Alaska Native Regional Corporation, Alaska Native village statistical area, and Hawaiian home lands.
American Indian off-reservation trust land
Lands held in trust by the federal government for either a tribe or an individual member of that tribe. They may be located on or outside of the reservation; the Census Bureau recognizes and tabulates data only for the off-reservation trust lands because the tribe has primary governmental authority over these lands.
American Indian reservation
Land that has been set aside for the use of the tribe. There are two types of American Indian reservations, federal and state. These entities are designated as colonies, communities, pueblos, ranches, rancherias, reservations, reserves, tribal towns, and villages.
American Indian Reservation – federal
Areas with boundaries established by treaty, statute, and/or executive or court order recognized by the federal government as territory in which American Indian tribes have primary governmental authority. The U.S. Census Bureau contacts representatives of American Indian tribal governments to identify the boundaries. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) maintains a list of federally recognized tribal governments.
American Indian Reservation - state
Lands held in trust by state governments for the use and benefit of a given tribe. A governor-appointed state liaison provides the names and boundaries for state reservations. The names of the American Indian reservations recognized by state governments, but not by the federal government, are followed by "(state)" in the data presentations.
American Indian Tribal Subdivision
Administrative subdivisions of federally recognized American Indian reservations, off-reservations trust lands, and Okalahoma tribal statistical areas (OTSAs), known as an area, chapter, community, or district. Internal units of self-government or administration that serve social, cultural, and/or economic purposes for American Indians. Provided in 1980 as "American Indian subreservation areas." These areas were not available in 1990.
American Indian tribe
Self-identification among people of American Indian descent. Many American Indians are members of a principal tribe or group empowered to negotiate and make decisions on behalf of the individual members.
Ancestry
Refers to a person’s self-identification of heritage, ethnic origin, descent, or close identification to an ethnic group.
Related terms: Nationality, Place of birth
Annual payroll (in thousands of dollars)
Payroll includes all forms of compensation, such as salaries, wages, commissions, dismissal pay, bonuses, vacation allowances, sick-leave pay, and employee contributions, to qualified pension plans paid during the year to all employees. For corporations, payroll includes amounts paid to officers and executives; for unincorporated businesses, it does not include profit or other compensation of proprietors or partners. Payroll is reported before deductions for social security, income tax, insurance, union dues, etc. This definition of payroll is the same as that used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Form 941.
Apportionment
The process of dividing up the 435 memberships, or seats, in the U. S. House of Representatives among the 50 states. The Census Bureau's role in apportionment is to conduct the census every 10 years as mandated by the Constitution. Apportionment does not affect Puerto Rico.
Related terms: Decennial census, Reapportionment,
Redistricting
Apportionment population
A state's apportionment population is the sum of its resident population and a count of overseas U.S. military and federal civilian employees (and their dependents living with them) allocated to the state, as reported by the employing federal agencies.
Related term: Resident population
Area
The size, in square miles or square meters, recorded for each geographic entity.
Average
The number found by dividing the sum of all quantities by the total number of quantities.
Related terms: Mean, Median
Average earnings per job (dollars)
Average earnings per job is total earnings divided by total full-time and part-time employment.
Earnings is the sum of three components of personal income--wage and salary disbursements, other labor income, and proprietors' income.
The [personal income] employment series for states and local areas comprises estimates of the number of jobs, full-time plus part-time, by place of work. Full-time and part-time jobs are counted at equal weight. Both employment for wages and salaries and proprietors' employment are included, but the employement of unpaid family workers and volunteers is not included.
Average family size
A measure obtained by dividing the number of members of families by the total number of families.
Related term: Family
Average household size
A measure obtained by dividing the number of people in households by the total number of households.
Related term: Household
Average household size of owner-occupied units
A measure obtained by dividing the number of people living in owner-occupied housing units by the number of owner-occupied housing units.
Related term: Owner-occupied housing unit
Average household size of renter-occupied units
A measure obtained by dividing the number of people living in renter-occupied housing units by the number of renter-occupied housing units.
Related term: Renter-occupied housing unit
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Barrio
Along with Barrio-Pueblo, the primary legal subdivision of municipios in Puerto Rico. Similar to the minor civil divisions (MCDs) used for reporting census data in 28 states of the United States.
Related term: Municipio, Subbarrio
Barrio-Pueblo
Along with Barrio, the primary legal subdivision of municipios in Puerto Rico. Similar to the minor civil divisions (MCDs) used for reporting census data in 28 states of the United States.
Related term: Municipio, Subbarrio
Base map
Map content including geographic, physical, cultural, political, and statistical features for locational reference.
Block
A subdivision of a census tract (or, prior to 2000, a block numbering area),
a block is the smallest geographic unit for which the Census Bureau tabulates 100-percent (short form questionnaire) data.
Many blocks correspond to individual city blocks bounded by streets, but blocks – especially in rural areas
– may include many square miles and may have some boundaries that are not streets.
The Census Bureau established blocks covering the entire nation for the first time in 1990.
Previous censuses back to 1940 had blocks established only for part of the nation.
Over 8 million blocks are identified for Census 2000. Approximately one-third of all census blocks have zero population.
Most census blocks are designed to have an average population of 100.
Many factors can result in the actual population ranging from zero to several times this number.
Related terms: 100-percent data, Census block, Census geography, Census tract,
Block group (BG)
A subdivision of a census tract (or, prior to 2000, a block numbering area).
A block group is the smallest geographic unit for which the Census Bureau tabulates sample data.
Sample data ... for Census 2000 and earlier decennial censuses, sample data/estimates
are based on the "long form" questionnaire; the "richer socieconomic subject matter" such as income, poverty, and employment.
For Census 2010, there are no sample data, but the block group is used as an intermediate geographic tabulation level between census block
and census tract.
For the American Community Survey, starting with the ACS 2009 2005-09 "5-year" estimates, estimates are developed at the block group level.
A block group consists of all the blocks within a census tract with the same beginning number.
Example: block group 3 consists of all blocks within a 2000 census tract numbering from 3000 to 3999.
In 1990, block group 3 consisted of all blocks numbered from 301 to 399Z.
A block group is designed to have an average population of 1,000.
For Census 2000, there were 208,790 block groups covering the U.S. wall-to-wall.
Related terms: Census block, Census geography, Census tract, Sample data
Block numbering area (BNA)
Prior to Census 2000, a statistical subdivision created for grouping and numbering blocks within a county for which census tracts had not been established. Beginning with Census 2000, all counties have census tracts, making block numbering areas unnecessary.
Related term: Census tract
Borough
A county equivalent in Alaska, a minor civil division in New York, and an incorporated place in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Related term: County and equivalent entity
Boundary
The extent or limit of a geographic area such as a block, census tract, county, or place. A boundary may or may not follow a visible geographic physical feature.
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The federal government agency, located in the Department of the Interior, responsible for the historic and legal relationships between the federal government and American Indian communities.
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Census
A complete enumeration, usually of a population, but also of businesses and commercial establishments, farms, governments, and so forth.
Census (decennial)
The census of population and housing, taken by the Census Bureau in years ending in 0 (zero). Article I of the Constitution requires that a census be taken every ten years for the purpose of reapportioning the U.S. House of Representatives.
Related terms: Apportionment, Reapportionment,
Redistricting
Census (economic)
Collective name for the censuses of construction, manufactures, minerals, minority- and women-owned businesses, retail trade, service industries, transportation, and wholesale trade, conducted by the Census Bureau every five years, in years ending in 2 and 7.
Census 2000 Dress Rehearsal
The Census Bureau used a dress rehearsal to provide for operational testing of procedures and systems in regional census centers, local census offices, and data capture centers planned for use in Census 2000, including the production of prototype data products that comply with the requirements of Public Law 94-171. The exercise was an opportunity for others to comment on the range of standard products and their formats. The dress rehearsal also included some procedures and systems that had not been tested operationally in any prior field or processing activity. It was conducted in three sites: Sacramento, California; 11 counties in South Carolina and the city of Columbia; and Menominee County, Wisconsin, including the Menominee American Indian Reservation.
Census 2000 Supplementary Survey (C2SS)
The Census 2000 Supplementary Survey was an operational test conducted as part of the Census 2000, and used the American Community Survey questionnaire to collect demographic, social, economic, and housing data from a national sample. This evaluation study gives the Census Bureau essential information about the operational feasibility of converting from the long form to the American Community Survey. The data are for the nation, states, and most cities and counties above 250,000 population. Researchers will be able to use the Census 2000 Supplementary Survey data as they develop the policy-specific models they will use once the American Community Survey is fully operational later in the decade.
The data will be made available in three releases: 1) core tables for 50 states, the District of Columbia and the nation (Summer 2001); 2) core tables for most counties and cities with populations of 250,000 or more (Fall 2001); 3) the remaining 700 non-core tables, including race iterations for 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the nation (Winter 2001-2002).
Census 2000 Supplementary Survey detailed tables are identified and labeled using established guidelines. Table identification begins with a letter that refers to the type of data in the table, and then a number is assigned sequentially as the tables are produced.
Tables labeled: ‘P’ are population tables;
‘H’ are housing tables;
‘PCT’ are population tables that cover geographies to the census tract level.
For example, ‘Table P4. Sex by Age‘ is a population table with the sequential number, ‘4’.
Related term: American Community Survey (ACS)
Census area
The statistical equivalent of a county in Alaska. Census areas are delineated cooperatively by the state of Alaska and the Census Bureau for statistical purposes in the portion of Alaska not within an organized borough.
Census block
A subdivision of a census tract (or, prior to 2000, a block numbering area), a block is the smallest geographic unit for which the Census Bureau tabulates 100-percent data. Many blocks correspond to individual city blocks bounded by streets, but blocks -- especially in rural areas – may include many square miles and may have some boundaries that are not streets. The Census Bureau established blocks covering the entire nation for the first time in 1990. Previous censuses back to 1940 had blocks established only for part of the nation. Over 8 million blocks are identified for Census 2000.
Related term: Block
Census county division (CCD)
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 and other statistics
in those states that do not have well-defined and stable minor civil divisions that serve as
local governments.
A Census County Division (CCD) is a subdivision of a county that the Census Bureau uses to present statistical data.
CCDs are statistical geographic areas that are created in collaboration with state, tribal, and local officials.
They are used to establish and maintain subcounty units with stable boundaries, recognizable names,
and connections to census tract boundaries.
CCDs are a subset of county subdivisions for states that don't have sub-county governmental units.
The state of Washington was the first to implement CCDs in time for the 1950 census publications.
In the 1950s and 1960s, state officials and the Census Bureau replaced MCDs with CCDs in 19 more states.
North Dakota adopted CCDs for the 1970 census, but later decided to return to MCDs.
Census designated place (CDP)
A statistical entity, defined for each decennial census according to Census Bureau guidelines,
comprising a densely settled concentration of population that is not within an incorporated place,
but is locally identified by a name.
CDPs are delineated cooperatively by state and local officials and the Census Bureau,
following Census Bureau guidelines. Beginning with Census 2000 there are no size limits.
CDPs have no governmental authority.
Census 2010 forward.
Census Designated Places (CDPs) are the statistical counterparts of incorporated places, and are delineated to provide data for settled concentrations of population that are identifiable by name but are not legally incorporated under the laws of the state in which they are located. The boundaries usually are defined in cooperation with local or tribal officials and generally updated prior to each decennial census. These boundaries, which usually coincide with visible features or the boundary of an adjacent incorporated place or another legal entity boundary, have no legal status, nor do these places have officials elected to serve traditional municipal functions. CDP boundaries may change from one decennial census to the next with changes in the settlement pattern; a CDP with the same name as in an earlier census does not necessarily have the same boundary. CDPs must be contained within a single state and may not extend into an incorporated place. There are no population size requirements for CDPs.
Hawaii is the only state that has no incorporated places recognized by the Census Bureau. All places shown in decennial census data products for Hawaii are CDPs. By agreement with the state of Hawaii, the Census Bureau does not show data separately for the city of Honolulu, which is coextensive with Honolulu County. In Puerto Rico, which also does not have incorporated places, the Census Bureau recognizes only CDPs and refers to them as comunidades or zonas urbanas. Guam also has only CDPs.
Related term: Incorporated place
Census geography
A collective term referring to the types of geographic areas used by the Census Bureau in its data collection and tabulation operations, including their structure, designations, and relationships to one another.
Census tract
A small, relatively permanent statistical subdivision of a county delineated by a local committee of census data users for the purpose of presenting data. Census tract boundaries normally follow visible features, but may follow governmental unit boundaries and other non-visible features in some instances; they always nest within counties. Designed to be relatively homogeneous units with respect to population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions at the time of establishment, census tracts average about 4,000 inhabitants. They may be split by any sub-county geographic entity.
Central city
The largest city of a Metropolitan area (MA). Central cities are a basis for establishment of an MA. Additional cities that meet specific criteria also are identified as central cities. In a number of instances, only part of a city qualifies as central, because another part of the city extends beyond the MA boundary.
Related term: Metropolitan area (MA)
Central place
The core incorporated place(s) or a census designated place of an urban area, usually consisting of the most populous place(s) in the urban area plus additional places that qualify under Census Bureau criteria. If the central place is also defined as an extended place, only the portion of the central place contained within the urban area is recognized as the central place.
Related terms: Urban, Urbanized area
Child
A son or a daughter by birth, an adopted child, or a stepchild, regardless of the child's age or marital status.
Related terms: Own children, Related children,
Children ever born - fertility
For data from the 1990 Census of Population and Housing and the American Community Survey for 1996-1998, this refers to the number of children born live to women. The item was asked of all women 15 years old and over regardless of marital status. Stillbirths, stepchildren, and adopted children are excluded from the number of children ever born. Ever-married women were instructed to include all children born to them before and during their most recent marriage, children no longer living, and children living away from home, as well as children who were still living in the home. Never-married women were instructed to include all children born to them.
Beginning in 1999, the item on the number of children ever born was deleted in the American Community Survey and replaced by a question asking if a woman has had a live birth in the 12-month period preceding the survey date. The universe for this item is all women 15 to 50 years of age, regardless of marital status.
Related term: Universe
Citizenship status
Citizen
People who indicate that they were born in the United States, Puerto Rico, a U.S. Island Area, or abroad of a U.S. citizen parent(s) are citizens.
People who indicate that they are U.S. citizens through naturalization are also citizens.
Naturalized citizens are foreign-born people who identify themselves as naturalized. Naturalization is the conferring, by any means, of citizenship upon a person after birth.
Not a citizen
People who indicate they are not U.S. citizens.
Related terms: Foreign born, Place of birth,
City
A type of incorporated place in 49 states and the District of Columbia. In 23 states and the District of Columbia, some or all cities are not part of any Minor Civil Division (MCD), and the Census Bureau also treats these as county subdivisions, statistically equivalent to MCDs.
Related terms: Incorporated place, Minor civil division (MCD)
Class of worker
All people over the age of 15 who have been employed at any time are asked to designate the type of work normally done or the work performed most regularly. Occupations and types of work are then broken down into the following 5 classes.
Private Wage and Salary Workers--Includes people who worked for wages, salary, commission, tips, pay-in-kind, or piece rates for a private-for-profit employer or a private-not-for-profit, tax-exempt, or charitable organization.
Self-employed people whose business was incorporated are included with private wage and salary workers because they are paid employees of their own companies. Some tabulations present data separately for these subcategories: "For profit," "Not-for-profit," and "Own business incorporated."
Government Workers--Includes people who are employees of any local, state, or federal governmental unit, regardless of the activity of the particular agency. For some tabulations, the data are presented separately for the three levels of government.
Employees of foreign governments, the United Nations, or other formal international organizations controlled by governments should be classified as "Federal Government employee."
Self-Employed Workers--Includes people who worked for profit or fees in their own unincorporated business, profession, or trade, or who operated a farm.
Unpaid Family Workers--Includes people who worked 15 hours or more without pay in a business or on a farm operated by a relative.
Salaried/Self-Employed--In tabulations that categorize persons as either salaried or self-employed, the salaried category includes private and government wage and salary workers; self-employed includes self-employed people and unpaid family workers.
Related term: Worker
Commonwealth
The legal designation for four states (Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia), Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands. The Census Bureau does not use this term in presenting data.
Comunidad
Represents a census designated place that is not the representing governmental center of the municipio in Puerto Rico. There are no incorporated places in Puerto Rico. For Census 2000 there are no minimum population requirements. For 1990 comunidades had to have at least 1,000 people.
Related term: Municipio
Confidence interval
The sample estimate and its standard error permit the construction of a confidence interval which
represents the degree of uncertainly about the estimate.
Related terms: Estimates (American Community Survey), Standard error (ACS)
Confidentiality
The guarantee made by law (Title 13, United States Code) to individuals who provide census information regarding nondisclosure of that information to others.
Related term: Title 13 (U.S. Code)
Confidentiality edit
The name for the Census 2000 disclosure avoidance procedure.
Related term: Disclosure avoidance
Congressional district (CD)
An area established by law for the election of representatives to the United States Congress. Each CD is to be as equal in population to all other CDs in the state as practicable, based on the decennial census counts. The number of CDs in each state may change after each decennial census, and the boundaries may be changed more than once during a decade.
In the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, a single CD is created consisting of the entire area. The representative is termed a delegate or resident commissioner, respectively and does not have voting rights in Congress.
Related terms: Apportionment, Reapportionment, Redistricting
Consolidated city
A consolidated government is a unit of local
government for which the functions of an incorporated place and
its county or minor civil division (MCD) have merged.
The legal aspects of this action may result in both the primary incorporated place and the county or MCD continuing to
exist as legal entities,even though the county or MCD performs few or no governmental functions
and has few or no elected officials. Where this occurs, and where one or more other incorporated
places in the county or MCD continue to function as separate governments,even though they
have been included in the consolidated government, the primary incorporated place is referred to
as a consolidated city.
Related term: Incorporated place
Consolidated metropolitan statistical area (CMSA)
A geographic entity defined by the federal Office of Management and Budget for use by federal statistical agencies. An area becomes a CMSA if it meets the requirements to qualify as a metropolitan statistical area, has a population of 1,000,000 or more, if component parts are recognized as primary metropolitan statistical areas, and local opinion favors the designation.
Related terms: Metropolitan statistical area (MSA), Primary metropolitan statistical area (PMSA)
Continuous Measurement System
This system is a re-engineering of the method for collecting the housing and socio-economic data traditionally collected in the decennial census. It provides data every year instead of once in ten years. It blends the strength of small area estimation from the census with the quality and timeliness of the continuing surveys. This system includes a large monthly survey, the American Community Survey, and additional estimates through the use of administrative records in statistical models. It is in a developmental period that started in 1996.
Related term: American Community Survey (ACS)
Contract rent
The monthly rent agreed to or contracted for, regardless of any furnishings, utilities, fees, meals, or services that may be included. For vacant units, it is the monthly rent asked for the rental unit at the time of interview.
Related term: Gross rent
Core-Based Statistical Areas
Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and Micropolitan Statistical Areas (MISAs) are collectively referred to as Core-Based Statistical Areas.
See Metropolitan Areas Guide.
Metropolitan statistical areas have at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.
Micropolitan statistical areas are a new set of statistical areas that have at least one urban cluster of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000 population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.
Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas are defined in terms of whole counties or county equivalents, including the six New England states.
County and equivalent entity
The primary legal subdivision of most states. In Louisiana, these subdivisions are known as parishes. In Alaska, which has no counties, the county equivalents are boroughs, a legal subdivision, and census areas, a statistical subdivision. In four states (Maryland, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia), there are one or more cities that are independent of any county and thus constitute primary subdivisions of their states. The District of Columbia has no primary divisions, and the entire area is considered equivalent to a county for statistical purposes. In Puerto Rico, municipios are treated as county equivalents.
Related terms: Borough, Municipio
County subdivision
A legal or statistical division of a county recognized by the Census Bureau for data presentation. The two major types of county subdivisions are census county divisions and minor civil divisions.
County subdivision not defined- The name assigned to an area of unpopulated coastal water within a county that belongs to no county subdivision.
Related terms: Minor civil division (MCD), Unorganized territory
Critical Access Hospital CAHs are small, generally geographically remote facility that provide
outpatient and inpatient hospital services to people in rural areas.
The designation was established by law, for special payments under the Medicare program.
To be designated as a CAH, a hospital must be located in a rural area, provide 24-hour emergency services;
have an average length-of-stay for its patients of 96 hours or less; be located more than 35 miles
(or more than 15 miles in areas with mountainous terrain) from the nearest hospital or be designated by its State
as a "necessary provider". Hospitals may have no more than 25 beds.
Related term: Acute Care Hospital, Hospital
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DADS - Data Access and Dissemination System
Census Bureau internal system used for tabulating and publicly disseminating data. No longer available.
dBase
dBase was the first widely used database management system (DBMS) for microcomputers and developed by Ashton-Tate.
dBase files use a simple header structure that defines the names and attributes of fields in the file.
Software using dBase files can index on multiple keys/fields enable rapid look-ups/record access and sorting.
dBase field names are limited to 10 uppercase characters with no blanks or special characters other than the underscore.
Other capacity features include maximum file size: 2GB,
maximum records per dbf: 1 billion,
maximum open dbfs on a single computer: 30,
maximum number of fields per record: 255,
maximum size of a record: 4000 characters.
Now in the public domain, different software developers have transformed the original dBase structure.
Proximity tools use the dBase IV structure; any program that can process a dBase IV file (e.g., Excel) can process
any Proximity dBase file. However, Excel can process a maximum of 65,536 rows/records whereas dBase files may contain up to one billion records. Excel and dBase are limited to 255 fields per file.
GIS shapefiles include a dBase file (.dbf) which is used to store attributes of fields associated with each geographic object (e.g., a point, line or polygon).
Decennial
Occurring or being done every 10 years.
Decennial census
The census of population and housing, taken by the Census Bureau in years ending in 0 (zero). Article I of the Constitution requires that a census be taken every ten years for the purpose of reapportioning the U.S. House of Representatives. Title 13 of the U. S. Code provides the authorization for conducting the census in Puerto Rico and the Island Areas.
Related terms: Apportionment, Reapportionment, Redistricting, Title 13 (U.S. Code)
Demographic profile
A profile includes tables that provide various demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics for the U.S., regions, divisions, states, counties, minor civil divisions in selected states, places, metropolitan areas, American Indian and Alaska Native areas, Hawaiian home lands and congressional districts. It includes 100-percent and sample data from the decennial censuses. It also is available on CD-ROM.
There are five tables in the Demographic Profile, labeled (DP-1 thru DP-5). For Census 2000 data, the DP-1 table will be available as part of the Summary File 1, and the other four tables will available as part of the Summary File 3 data set.
Related terms: Geographic comparison tables (GCT), Quick tables (QT)
Dependency Ratio
In 2020, the total dependency ratio in the U.S. was 63.6 .. children under age 18 and adults age 65 and older for every 100 working-age person ages 18 to 64. The total dependency ratio provides a rough approximation of economic dependency in a population by dividing the dependent-age populations (children and adults age 65 and older, who are not generally expected to work) by the working-age population (ages 18 to 64). In 2010, the dependency ratio for the nation as a whole was 49.0 .. the working-age population is not keeping pace with growth in older Americans.
Derived measures
Census data products include various derived measures, such as medians, means, and percentages, as well as certain rates and ratios. Derived measures that round to less than 0.1 are not shown but indicated as zero.
Related terms: Mean, Median, Percentage
Detailed Tables (DT)
Tables from summary files that provide the most detailed data on all topics and geographic areas from the decennial censuses and the American Community Survey. Tables include totals and subtotals. Users may choose more than one geographic area and more than one table that display in a scrolling list, but only what displays on the width of the screen will print.
Census 2000 detailed tables are identified and labeled using established guidelines. Table identification begins with a letter that refers to the type of data in the table, and then a number is assigned sequentially as the tables are produced.
Tables labeled: ‘P’ are population tables;
‘H’ are housing tables;
‘PCT’ are population tables that cover geographies to the census tract level;
‘PL’ are tables derived from the Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171) Summary File.
For example, ‘Table P12. Sex by Age‘ is a population table with the sequential number, ‘12’.
Related terms: American Community Survey (ACS),
Summary file (SF)
Disability
A long-lasting physical, mental, or emotional condition. This condition can make it difficult for a person to do activities such as walking, climbing stairs, dressing, bathing, learning, or remembering. This condition can also impede a person from being able to go outside the home alone or to work at a job or business.
Disability & 2009 ACS
Under the conceptual framework of disability described by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF), disability is defined as the product of interactions among individuals’ bodies; their physical, emotional, and mental health; and the physical and social environment in which they live, work, or play. Disability exists where this interaction results in limitations of activities and restrictions to full participation at school, at work, at home, or in the community. For example, disability may exist where a person is limited in their ability to work due to job discrimination against persons with specific health conditions; or, disability may exist where a child has difficulty learning because the school cannot accommodate the child’s deafness.
Furthermore, disability is a dynamic concept that changes over time as one’s health improves or declines, as technology advances, and as social structures adapt. As such, disability is a continuum in which the degree of difficulty may also increase or decrease. Because disability exists along a continuum, various cut-offs are used to allow for a simpler understanding of the concept, the most common of which is the dichotomous “With a disability”/“no disability” differential.
Measuring this complex concept of disability with a short set of six questions is difficult. Because of the multitude of possible functional limitations that may present as disabilities, and in the absence of information on external factors that influence disability, surveys like the ACS are limited to capturing difficulty with only selected activities. As such, people identified by the ACS as having a disability are, in fact, those who exhibit difficulty with specific functions and may, in the absence of accommodation, have a disability. While this definition is different from the one described by the IOM and ICF conceptual frameworks, it relates to the programmatic definitions used in most Federal and state legislation.
In an attempt to capture a variety of characteristics that encompass the definition of disability, the ACS identifies serious difficulty with four basic areas of functioning – hearing,
vision, cognition, and ambulation. These functional limitations are supplemented by questions about difficulties with selected activities from the Katz Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scales, namely difficulty bathing and dressing, and difficulty performing errands such as shopping. Overall, the ACS attempts to capture six aspects of disability, which can be used together to create an overall disability measure, or independently to identify populations with specific disability types.
Information on disability is used by a number of federal agencies to distribute funds and develop programs for people with disabilities. For example, data about the size, distribution, and needs of the disabled population are essential for developing disability employment policy. For the Americans with Disabilities Act, data about functional limitations are important to ensure that comparable public transportation services are available for all segments of the population. Federal grants are awarded, under the Older Americans Act, based on the number of elderly people with physical and mental disabilities.
Question/Concept History – In the 2009 American Community Survey, disability concepts were asked in questions 17 through 19. Question 17 had two subparts and was asked of all persons regardless of age. Question 18 had three subparts and was asked of people age 5 years and older. Question 19 was asked of people age 15 years and older.
Hearing difficulty was derived from question 17a, which asked respondents if they were “deaf or … [had] serious difficulty hearing.” Vision difficulty was derived from question 17b, which asked respondents if they were “blind or … [had] serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses.” Prior to the 2008 ACS, hearing and vision difficulty were asked in a single question under the label “Sensory disability.”
Cognitive difficulty was derived from question 18a, which asked respondents if due to physical, mental, or emotional condition, they had “serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions.” Prior to the 2008 ACS, the question on cognitive functioning asked about difficulty “learning, remembering, or concentrating” under the label “Mental disability.”
Ambulatory difficulty was derived from question 18b, which asked respondents if they had “serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.” Prior to 2008, the ACS asked if respondents had “a condition that substantially limits one or more basic physical activities such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying.” This measure was labeled “Physical difficulty” in ACS data products.
Self-care difficulty was derived from question 18c, which asked respondents if they had “difficulty dressing or bathing.” Difficulty with these activities are two of six specific Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) often used by health care providers to assess patients’ self-care needs. Prior to the 2008 ACS, the question on self-care limitations asked about difficulty “dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home,” under the label “Self-care disability.”
Independent living difficulty was derived from question 19, which asked respondents if due to a physical, mental, or emotional condition, they had difficulty “doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping.” Difficulty with this activity is one of several Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) used by health care providers in making care decisions. Prior to the 2008 ACS, a similar measure on difficulty “going outside the home alone to shop or visit a doctor’s office” was asked under the label “Go-outside-home disability.”
Disability status is determined from the answers from these six types of difficulty. For children under 5 years old, hearing and vision difficulty are used to determine disability status. For children between the ages of 5 and 14, disability status is determined from hearing, vision, cognitive, ambulatory, and self-care difficulties. For people aged 15 years and older, they are considered to have a disability if they have difficulty with any one of the six difficulty types.
Limitation of the Data – The universe for most disability data tabulations is the civilian noninstitutionalized population. Some types of GQ populations have disability distributions that are different from the household population. The inclusion of the noninstitutionalized GQ population could therefore have a noticeable impact on the disability distribution. This is particularly true for areas with a substantial noninstitutionalized GQ population. For a discussion of the effect of group quarters data has on estimates of disability status, see “Disability Status and the Characteristics of People in Group Quarters: A Brief Analysis of Disability Prevalence among the Civilian Noninstitutionalized and Total Populations in the American Community Survey” (http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/disability/GQdisability.pdf).
Comparability – Beginning in 2008, questions on disability represent a conceptual and empirical break from earlier years of the ACS. Hence, the Census Bureau does not recommend any comparisons of 2009 disability data to 2007 and earlier ACS disability data. Research suggests that combining the new separate measures of hearing and vision difficulty to generate a sensory difficulty measure does not create a comparable estimate to the old Sensory disability estimates in prior ACS products. Likewise, the cognitive difficulty, ambulatory difficulty, self-care difficulty, and independent living difficulty measures are based on different sets of activities and different question wordings from similar measures in ACS questionnaires prior to 2008 and thus should not be compared. Because the overall measure of disability status in 2008 and 2009 are based on different measures of difficulty, these estimates should also not be compared to prior years. For additional information on the differences between the ACS disability questions beginning in 2008 and prior ACS disability questions, see “Review of Changes to the Measurement of Disability in the 2008 American Community Survey” (http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/disability/2008ACS_disability.pdf).
The 2009 disability estimates should also not be compared with disability estimates from Census 2000 for reasons similar to the ones made above. ACS disability estimates should also not be compared with more detailed measures of disability from sources such as the National Health Interview Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation.
The 2009 ACS disability estimates are comparable with the ACS disability estimates from 2008.
Disclosure avoidance
Statistical methods used in the tabulation of data prior to releasing data products to ensure the confidentiality of responses.
Related term: Confidentiality edit
Dividends, Interest and Rent
Personal dividend income, personal interest income, and rental income of persons with capital consumption adjustment are sometimes referred to as "investment income" or "property income."
Dividends: This component of personal income consists of the payments in cash or other assets, excluding the corporation's own stock, made by corporations located in the United States or abroad to persons who are U.S. residents. It excludes that portion of dividends paid by regulated investment companies (mutual funds) related to capital gains distributions.
Interest: This component of personal income is the interest income (monetary and imputed) of persons from all sources.
Rent: Rental income is the net income of persons from the rental of real property except for the income of persons primarily engaged in the real estate business; the imputed net rental income of the owner-occupants of nonfarm dwellings; and the royalties received from patents, copyrights, and the right to natural resources.
Division
A grouping of states within a census geographic region, established by the Census Bureau for the presentation of census data. The current nine divisions are intended to represent relatively homogeneous areas that are subdivisions of the four census geographic regions.
New England Division: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island
Middle Atlantic Division: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
South Atlantic Division: Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida
East South Central Division: Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi
West South Central Division: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana
East North Central Division: Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois
West North Central Division: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota
Mountain Division: Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico
Pacific Division: Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Hawaii
Puerto Rico and the Island Areas do not belong to any division.
Related Term: Region
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Earnings
Earnings is defined as the algebraic sum of wage or salary income and net income from self-employment. Earnings represent the amount of income received regularly before deductions for personal income taxes, Social Security, bond purchases, union dues, Medicare deductions, etc.
Related term: Income
Earnings by place of work
Earnings by place of work is the sum of Wage and Salary Disbursements, supplements to wages and salaries and proprietors' income.
The earnings by place of work are presented because it can be used in
the analyses of regional economies as a proxy for the income that is generated
from participation in current production.
Economic census
Collective name for the censuses of construction, manufactures, minerals, minority- and women-owned businesses, retail trade, service industries, transportation, and wholesale trade, conducted by the Census Bureau every five years, in years ending in 2 and 7.
Economic place
A statistical subdivision of a state delineated according to Census Bureau guidelines for the purpose of presenting economic census data. Economic places include incorporated places of 2,500 or more people, county subdivisions of 10,000 or more people in 12 designated states, and census designated places in Hawaii. Any residual area within a state is delineated into Economic places so as not to cross the boundaries of any consolidated city, county subdivision in 12 designated states, metropolitan area in New England, or county.
Educational attainment
Refers to the highest level of education completed in terms of the highest degree or the highest level of schooling completed.
Embedded housing unit (EHU)
An EHU is a housing unit within a group quarters where the occupants live separately from others living in the group quarters. An example of an EHU is a house parent’s room in a dormitory. Embedded means located within the building and not free-standing.
Employed
Employed includes all civilians 16 years old and over who were either (1) "at work" -- those who did any work at all during the reference week as paid employees, worked in their own business or profession, worked on their own farm, or worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers on a family farm or in a family business; or (2) were "with a job but not at work" -- those who did not work during the reference week but had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, industrial dispute, vacation, or other personal reasons. Excluded from the employed are people whose only activity consisted of work around the house or unpaid volunteer work for religious, charitable, and similar organizations; also excluded are people on active duty in the United States Armed Forces. The reference week is the calendar week preceding the date on which the respondents completed their questionnaires or were interviewed. This week may not be the same for all respondents.
Related terms: Labor force, Unemployed, Worker
Employer contributions for employee pension and insurance funds
Employer contributions for employee pension and insurance funds
This component of personal income consists of employer payments to private and government employee retirement plans, private group health and life insurance plans, privately administered workers' compensation plans, and supplemental unemployment benefit plans.
Employer contributions for government social insurance
These contributions, which are subtracted in the calculation of personal income as part of contributions for government social insurance, consist of employer payments under the following Federal and state and local government programs: Old-age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI); hospital insurance (HI); unemployment insurance; railroad retirement; government employee retirement; pension benefit guaranty; veterans life insurance; publicly-administered workers' compensation; military employee programs (veterans life and military medical insurance); and temporary disability insurance.
These contributions are excluded from personal income by definition, but as part of supplements to wages and salaries, are included in earnings by place of work.
All state and local area dollar estimates are in current dollars (not adjusted for inflation).
Employment status reference week
The data on employment status and journey to work relate to the calendar week preceding the date on which the respondents completed their questionnaires or were interviewed. This week may not be the same for all respondents.
Establishment
A business or industrial unit at a single location that distributes goods or performs services.
Estimates (American Community Survey)
Data for the American Community Survey are collected from a sample of housing units and used to produce estimates of the actual figures that would have been obtained by interviewing the entire population using the same methodology.
Related terms: American Community Survey (ACS),
Confidence interval (ACS), Standard error (ACS)
Ethnicity
Ethnicity, also referred to as "origin" by the Census Bureau,
refers to the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth
of the person or the person’s parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States.
People who identify their ethnicity/origin as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino may be of any race.
People who identify with the terms "Hispanic" or "Latino" are those who classify
themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the Census 2000
and related questionnaire — "Mexican," "Puerto Rican," or "Cuban" —
as well as those who indicate that they are "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino."
While there are many ethnicities, the most common ethnicity demographics
in use by the U.S. Federal statistical system are "Hispanic" and "Non-Hispanic."
There has been interest in adding an ethnicity data collection/tabulation category for
Arabs/Middle Easterners but there has been an absence of agreement on a definition for this category.
Experienced civilian labor force
Consists of the employed and the experienced unemployed.
Related term: Unemployed
Experienced unemployed
These are unemployed people who have worked at any time in the past.
Related term: Unemployed
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Family
A group of two or more people who reside together and who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption.
Family household (Family)
A family includes a householder and one or more people living in the same household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. All people in a household who are related to the householder are regarded as members of his or her family. A family household may contain people not related to the householder, but those people are not included as part of the householder's family in census tabulations. Thus, the number of family households is equal to the number of families, but family households may include more members than do families. A household can contain only one family for purposes of census tabulations. Not all households contain families since a household may comprise a group of unrelated people or one person living alone.
Related terms: Household, Householder
Family size
Refers to the number of people in a family.
Family type
Refers to how the members of a family are related to one another and the householder. Families may be a "Married Couple Family," "Single Parent Family," "Stepfamily," or "Subfamily."
Farm residence
Dwelling or household located in a rural farm area and concerned with growing crops or raising livestock.
Feature
Any part of the landscape, whether natural (such as a stream or ridge), man-made (such as a road or power line), that can be shown on a map.
Related term: Reference map
Federal home heating and cooling assistance program
The data on this topic are designed to measure the number of households receiving benefits from the federal home heating and cooling assistance program. The Low-income Home Energy Assistance Act (Title XXVI of P.L. 97- 35 as amended) provides 100 percent federal funding for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program through annual block grants to states, the District of Columbia, more than 100 eligible Indian tribes, 2 commonwealths, and 4 territories. In addition, these funds may be supplemented with money from court-ordered oil-price overcharge settlements (distributed by the Department of Energy), state and local appropriations, and agreements with energy providers. The Department of Health and Human Services distributes annual federal appropriations to states, eligible Indian tribes, and the Island Areas (grantees) using an allocation formula established in law.
Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS)
Standardized system of numeric and/or alphabetic coding issued by the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),
an agency of the US Department of Commerce.
FIPS codes are assigned for a variety of geographic entities including American
Indian and Alaska Native Areas, Hawaiian home lands, congressional districts,
counties, county subdivisions, metropolitan areas, places and states.
The purpose in using FIPS codes is to improve the use of data and avoid unnecessary duplication and incompatibility in the collection, processing and dissemination of data.
Female householder, no husband present
A female maintaining a household with no husband of the householder present.
Fertility
See Children ever born - fertility
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
A communications protocol that enables transfer of large files and datasets.
FIPS Code -- See
Federal Information Processing Standards Code
Food stamp receipt
The data on participation in the Food Stamp Program are designed to identify households in which one or more of the current members received food stamps during the past 12 months. Once a food stamp household was identified, a question was asked about the total value of all food stamps received by the household during that 12 month period. The Food Stamp Act of 1977 defines this federally funded program as one intended to "permit low-income households to obtain a more nutritious diet." (From title XIII of P.L. 95-113, The Food Stamp Act of 1977, declaration of policy.) Providing eligible households with coupons that can be used to purchase food increases food purchasing power. The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) administers the Food Stamp program through state and local welfare offices. The Food Stamp program is the major national income support program to which all low-income and low-resource households, regardless of household characteristics, are eligible.
Foreign born
Foreign-born population
People who are not U.S. citizens at birth.
Nativity status refers to whether a person is native- or foreign-born. The native-born population comprises anyone who is a
U.S. citizen at birth, including people born in the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Marianas, or
abroad to a U.S. citizen parent or parents.
Foreign-born are people
who were not U.S. citizens at birth, including naturalized U.S. citizens,
lawful permanent residents (immigrants), temporary migrants (such
as foreign students), humanitarian migrants (such as refugees and
asylees), and unauthorized migrants.
Native population
People born in either the United States, Puerto Rico, or a U.S. Island Area such as Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands, or people born in a foreign country to a U.S. citizen parent(s).
Related terms: Citizenship status, Immigrants, Native population, Place of birth
Foster children
Children receiving parental care and guidance although not related through blood or legal ties; placed in care by a government agency.
When a foster child is also a relative, such as a nephew or niece, the child is counted as a related individual rather than a foster child.
Related term: Nonrelatives
Free or reduced-price meals programs
The data on this topic are designed to measure the number of households where at least one member of the household received free or reduced-price lunches. The National School Lunch Program is designed "to help safeguard the health and well-being of the Nation’s children by assisting the states in providing an adequate supply of foods" (P.L. 79-396, the National School Lunch Act of 1946) for all children at moderate cost. Additional assistance is provided for children determined by local school officials to be unable to pay the "full established" price for lunches. Like the Food Stamp program, the National School Lunch Program is administered by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture through state educational agencies or through regional USDA nutrition services for some nonprofit private schools.
Full-time, year-round workers (in designated calendar year)
All people 16 years old and over who usually worked 35 hours or more per week for 50 to 52 weeks in the designated calendar year.
Related terms: Employed, Worker
Full-time, year-round workers (in the past 12 months)
All people 16 years old and over who usually worked 35 hours or more per week for 50 to 52 weeks in the past 12 months.
Related terms: Employed, Worker
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GBF/DIME
GBF/DIME is an abbreviation for "Geographic Base File/Dual Independent Map Encoding"
developed by the Census Bureau in the late 1960s for geocoding 1970 Census address data.
GBF/DIME files, developed for metropolitan areas, was replaced with the Census Bureau
Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) Line files/program.
Gentrification
Gentrification is the process (over time) where the character of a
poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving into the area.
Some results include improving housing, attracting new businesses, and displacing current residents.
Voting demographics may also tend to shift.
Geocode
A code, consisting of one or more alphanumeric or special-text characters,
used to identify a geographic entity. Also referred to as a geographic identifier.
Examples of widely used geocodes: ZIP code, state FIPS code, county FIPS code, census tract code,
block group code, place code, school district code.
Geocodes provide a standardized, coded, method of uniquely identifying geographic areas for
computer processing applications not possible using only the name of an area.
Geocoding
Geocoding is the process of assigning latitude-longitude coordinates to address-based data
and often associated geocodes.
The latitude-longitude coordinates are assigned based on the street address.
For example, when the address '1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500' is geocoded,
the latitude-longitude coordinates [38.8976777, -77.0365170] is assigned to the address record containing that address.
That address record is then said to have been geocoded.
The latitude-longitude coordinates can then be used to show the location of the address in a map.
Sometimes the latitude-longitude is used to assign a geocode (geographic code) to the address record.
For example, the above address is located in census tract '006202' located in the District of Columbia.
The uniquely identifying geocode for this tract is '11001006202'. It can then be said that this address is located in
in census tract '006202' in the District of Columbia.
Geocoding Base Files
Geocoding Base Files, typically streets/roads shapefiles, are used by geocoding software to locate a street address
based on the street address record in the "Geocoding Base File" (GBF).
There are three types of GBFs:
1 - Census Bureau TIGER shapefiles -- Edges shapefile in combination with other TIGER files
2 - GeoBase shapefiles -- augmentations of the TIGER shapefiles
3 - Other roads shapefiles -- roads shapefiles created independently of TIGER shapefiles
Only GBFs 1 and 2 have road segments coded with census block geocode on the right- and left-side of each road segment.
Consider the address '1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500' shown by the marker in the following view.
In the above view, using TIGER, the GBF street segment for the address '1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500'
is highlighted in red. The identify tool is used to show a profile for this road segment (edges shapefile).
Fields include left-side low address and high-address and right-side low address and right-side high address.
(Often in TIGER these fields are not loaded correctly and are often blank -- improved using GeoBase; sometimes the segment does not exist in TIGER
and has been updated in GeoBase.)
The census block geocodes are available from the corresponding "faces" dataset which contain the TFIDL and TFIDR codes.
The latitude-longitude for the end points of the road segment are provided by the roads shapefile itself.
More than 95 percent of the type 3 GBFs will not have a reference to geocodes from right and left side of road segment
and typically have slightly different
latitude-longitude values for the end points of the road segment as compared to TIGER and GeoBase.
Use of Type 3 GBFs can result in the incorrect census block (or tract, city, etc.) being assigned.
Geographic Comparison Tables (GCT)
These tables provide basic measures for decennial census 100-percent and sample population and housing subjects. Users can compare data across geographic areas in the same table (e.g., all counties in a state).
Related terms: Demographic Profile, Quick Tables (QT)
Geographic Component
A geographic component is the portion of a geographic area (e.g., Alabama) that meets a location-based test such as "in a metropolitan area" or "in a rural place". For example, a geographic component of "in metropolitan area" for Texas combines the land area of El Paso, TX MSA, San Antonio, TX MSA and all other metropolitan areas in Texas into a single collective identity.
The Census Bureau recognizes about 100 different geographic components, with most focusing on urban/rural or metropolitan/non-metropolitan distinctions. Geographic components are only available for some types of geographic areas (e.g., State, Region). And the specific geographic components available for one geographic type may be different from those available for another geographic type.
Geographic entity
A geographic unit of any type, legal or statistical, such as a state, county, place, county subdivision, census tract, or census block.
Geographic Identifiers
These are also called geocodes and include codes, names and data relevant to the geography chosen, such as land area, water area, the center point longitude and latitude, etc. The G001. Geographic identifiers table listed in AFF typically includes the 100-percent population and housing counts as well as the geocodes and other data mentioned above.
Geography (census)
A collective term referring to the types of geographic areas used by the Census Bureau in its data collection and tabulation operations, including their structure, designations, and relationships to one another.
Geography Quick Report (GQR)
Data for this report are collected by the Economic Census. The report displays all industries for a geographic area.
Related term: Economic census
Grade in which enrolled
The level of enrollment in school, nursery school through college and graduate or professional school.
Related term: Educational attainment
Grandparents as caregivers
Grandparent(s) who have assumed full care of their grandchildren on a temporary or permanent live-in basis. A new question/data category for Census 2000.
Gross rent
The amount of the contract rent plus the estimated average monthly cost of utilities (electricity, gas, and water and sewer) and fuels (oil, coal, kerosene, wood, etc.) if these are paid for by the renter (or paid for the renter by someone else). Gross rent is intended to eliminate differentials which result from varying practices with respect to the inclusion of utilities and fuels as part of the rental payment.
Related term: Contract rent
Group quarters (GQ)
The Census Bureau classifies all people not living in households as living in group quarters. There are two types of group quarters: institutional (for example, correctional facilities, nursing homes, and mental hospitals) and non-institutional (for example, college dormitories, military barracks, group homes, missions, and shelters).
Related term: Household
Group quarters population
People residing in group quarters as of the date on which a particular survey/census was conducted.
The Census Bureau recognizes two general categories of people in group quarters:
(1) institutionalized population and (2) non-institutionalized population. The institutionalized population includes people under formally authorized supervised care or custody in institutions at the time of enumeration. Such people are classified as "patients or inmates" of an institution regardless of the availability of nursing or medical care, the length of stay, or the number of people in the institution. Generally, the institutionalized population is restricted to the institutional buildings and grounds (or must have passes or escorts to leave) and thus have limited interaction with the surrounding community. Also, they are generally under the care of trained staff who have responsibility for their safekeeping and supervision. The noninstitutionalized population includes all people who live in group quarters other than institutions.
Related terms: Institutionalized population, Noninstitutionalized population
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Hawaiian home land
Lands held in trust for Native Hawaiians by the State of Hawaii, pursuant to the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920, as amended. This is a new geographic entity type for Census 2000.
Heating fuel
The type of fuel used most often to heat the house, apartment, or mobile home.
Hispanic or Latino origin
For Census 2000 and demographic updates: People who identify with the terms "Hispanic" or "Latino" are those who classify themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the Census 2000 questionnaire—"Mexican," "Puerto Rican," or "Cuban"—as well as those who indicate that they are "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino." Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino may be of any race.
See Spanish/Hispanic/Latino.
Homeowner vacancy rate
The homeowner vacancy rate is the proportion of the homeowner housing inventory which is vacant for sale. It is computed by dividing the number of vacant units for sale only by the sum of owner-occupied units and vacant units that are for sale only, and then multiplying by 100.
Hospital. See Acute Care Hospital, Critical Access Hospital
Related terms: Owner-occupied housing unit, Rental vacancy rate
Household
A household includes all the people who occupy a housing unit (such as a house or apartment) as their usual place of residence.
A household includes the related family members and all the unrelated people, if any, such as lodgers, foster children, wards,
or employees who share the housing unit. A person living alone in a housing unit, or a group of unrelated people
sharing a housing unit such as partners or roomers, is also counted as a household.
The count of households excludes group quarters. There are two major categories of households, "family" and "nonfamily."
Household size
The total number of people living in a housing unit.
Household type and relationship
Households are classified by type according to the sex of the householder and the presence of relatives. Examples include: married-couple family; male householder, no wife present; female householder, no husband present; spouse (husband/wife); child; and other relatives.
Householder
The person, or one of the people, in whose name the home is owned, being bought, or rented.
If there is no such person present, any household member 15 years old and over can serve as the householder for the purposes of the census.
Two types of householders are distinguished: a family householder and a nonfamily householder. A family householder is a householder living with one or more people related to him or her by birth, marriage, or adoption. The householder and all people in the household related to him are family members. A nonfamily householder is a householder living alone or with nonrelatives only.
Housing unit
A house, an apartment, a mobile home or trailer, a group of rooms, or a single room occupied as separate living quarters, or if vacant, intended for occupancy as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live separately from any other individuals in the building and which have direct access from outside the building or through a common hall. For vacant units, the criteria of separateness and direct access are applied to the intended occupants whenever possible.
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iframe
An inline frame (iframe) is a HTML element that loads another HTML page within the document.
The iVDA iframe loads a variation of the VDA Web GIS4.
Immigrants
Aliens admitted for legal permanent residence in the United States.
Immigration statistics are prepared by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Department of Justice, from entry visas and change of immigration forms.
Related term: Foreign born
Imputation
When information is missing or inconsistent, the Census Bureau uses a method called imputation to assign values. Imputation relies on the statistical principle of "homogeneity," or the tendency of households within a small geographic area to be similar in most characteristics. For example, the value of "rented" is likely to be imputed for a housing unit not reported on owner/renter status in a neighborhood with multi-units or apartments where other respondents reported "rented" on the census questionnaire.
Income
"Total income" is the sum of the amounts reported separately for wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, or tips; self-employment income from own nonfarm or farm businesses, including proprietorships and partnerships; interest, dividends, net rental income, royalty income, or income from estates and trusts; Social Security or Railroad Retirement income; Supplemental Security Income (SSI); any public assistance or welfare payments from the state or local welfare office; retirement, survivor, or disability pensions; and any other sources of income received regularly such as Veterans' (VA) payments, unemployment compensation, child support, or alimony.
Related term: Earnings
Income maintenance
Income Maintenance Payments consists largely of supplemental security income payments, family assistance, food stamp payments, and other assistance payments, including general assistance.
Incorporated place
A type of governmental unit incorporated under state law as a city, town
(except the New England states, New York, and Wisconsin), borough (except in Alaska and New York),
municipality, or village. An incorporated place is established to provide governmental functions
for a concentration of people as opposed to a minor civil division,
which generally is created to provide services or administer an area without
regard, necessarily, to population.
Incorporated places used for Census 2000 forward tabulation purposes are those places legally
in existence on January 1 of the decennial year,
under the laws of their respective states.
In general, these areas include cities, boroughs, city and boroughs,
municipalities, towns, and villages.
Census 2010 and later.
Incorporated Places are those reported to the Census Bureau as legally in existence as of January 1, 2010,
as reported in the latest Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS), under the laws of their respective states.
An incorporated place is established to provide governmental functions for a concentration of people as opposed to a
minor civil division, which generally is created to provide services or administer an area without regard, necessarily, to population.
Places always are within a single state or equivalent entity, but may extend across county and county subdivision boundaries.
An incorporated place usually is a city, town, village, or borough, but can have other legal descriptions.
For Census Bureau data tabulation and presentation purposes, incorporated places exclude:
- Boroughs in Alaska (treated as statistical equivalents of counties).
- Towns in the New England states, New York, and Wisconsin (treated as MCDs).
Related terms: Census designated place (CDP), Place
Independent City (IC)
An incorporated place that is a primary division of a state and legally not part of any county. The Census Bureau treats an independent city as both a county equivalent and county subdivision for data tabulation purposes.
Related term: County and equivalent entity
Industrial Classification
The Economic Census classifies establishments according to the new North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). NAICS codes replace the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes used in previous censuses. NAICS classifies industries using 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6- digit levels of detail. 2-digit codes represent sectors, the broadest classifications. 6-digit codes represent individual industries in the U.S.
Related terms: Economic census, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
Industry (economic)
In the 1997 economic census data, U.S. industries are classified using a 5- or 6- digit NAICS code. Industry groups are represented by classification using a 4 digit NAICS code.
Related term: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
Industry (population data)
Information on industry relates to the kind of business conducted by a person’s employing organization. For employed people the data refer to the person’s job during the reference week. For those who worked at two or more jobs, the data refer to the job at which the person worked the greatest number of hours. Some examples of industrial groups shown in products include agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; construction; manufacturing; wholesale or retail trade; transportation and communication; personal, professional and entertainment services; and public administration.
Related terms: Economic census, Employed
Industry Quick Report (IQR)
Data for this report are collected by the Economic Census. The report displays industry statistics for the United States by state.
Related term: Economic census
Institutionalized population
People under formally authorized, supervised care or custody in institutions at the time of enumeration. Generally, restricted to the institution, under the care or supervision of trained staff, and classified as "patients" or "inmates."
Related terms: Group quarters (GQ), Group quarters population, Noninstitutionalized population
Interpolation
Interpolation frequently is used in calculating medians or quartiles based on interval data and in approximating standard errors from tables. Linear interpolation is used to estimate values of a function between two known values. Pareto interpolation is an alternative to linear interpolation. In Pareto interpolation, the median is derived by interpolating between the logarithms of the upper and lower income limits of the median category. It is used by the Census Bureau in calculating median income within intervals wider than $2,500.
Island Areas
Islands included in Census 2000 are: U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. These were formerly called outlying areas.
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Journey to work
Includes data on where people work, how they get to work, how long it takes to get from their home to their usual workplace, when they leave home to go to their usual workplace, and carpooling.
Related terms: Employed, Worker
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Labor force
The labor force includes all people classified in the civilian labor force, plus members of the U.S. Armed Forces (people on active duty with the United States Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard). The Civilian Labor Force consists of people classified as employed or unemployed
Related terms: Employed, Unemployed
Language spoken at home
The language currently used by respondents at home, either "English only" or a non-English language which is used in addition to English or in place of English.
Land Area
Land area - an area measurement providing the size, in square meters, of the land portions of geographic
entities for which the Census Bureau and others tabulate and disseminates data.
Area is calculated from the specific boundary recorded for each entity in the Census Bureau geographic database
(see "MAF/TIGER Database"). Data are provided area measurement data for both land area and water area. The
water area figures include inland, coastal, Great Lakes, and territorial sea water.
Inland water consists of any lake, reservoir, pond, or similar body of water that is recorded in the geographic database.
It also includes any river, creek, canal, stream, or similar feature that is recorded in that database as a two-dimensional feature
(rather than as a single line). The portions of the oceans and related large embayments (such as Chesapeake Bay and Puget Sound),
the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea that belong to the United States and its territories are classified as coastal and
territorial waters; the Great Lakes are treated as a separate water entity. Rivers and bays that empty into these bodies of water
are treated as inland water from the point beyond which they are narrower than 1 nautical mile across.
Identification of land and inland, coastal, territorial, and Great Lakes waters is for data presentation purposes only and
does not necessarily reflect their legal definitions.
Land area measurements are originally recorded as whole square meters (to convert square meters to square kilometers,
divide by 1,000,000; to convert square kilometers to square miles, divide by 2.58999;
to convert square meters to square miles, divide by 2,589,988).
Latino
See Spanish/Hispanic/Latino
Legend
The part of a map that lists and explains the colors, symbols, line patterns, shadings, and annotations used on the map.
Related terms: Reference map, Thematic map
Living quarters
A housing unit is a house, an apartment, a mobile home or trailer, a group of rooms or a single room occupied as separate living quarters or, if vacant, intended for occupancy as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live separately from any people in the building and which have direct access from outside the building or through a common hall.
Related term: Housing unit
Long form
The decennial census questionnaire, sent to approximately one in six households for the 1980, 1990, and 2000 censuses, contains all of the questions on the short form, as well as additional detailed questions relating to the social, economic, and housing characteristics of each individual and household. Information derived from the long form is referred to as sample data, and is tabulated for geographic entities as small as the block group level in 1980, 1990, and 2000 census data products.
Related terms: Census (decennial), Sample data, Short form,
Location Quotient
A location quotient (LQ) is a ratio that compares the distribution of employment by industry, ownership, and size class in an area to a reference area.
The U.S. is the reference area for all LQs. LQs are calculated by dividing an industry's share of a regional total for a statistic by the industry's share of
the national total for the same statistic. For example, an LQ of 1.0 means that the region and the nation are equally specialized in mining.
An LQ greater than 1 indicates that an industry has a greater share of the local area employment than is the case nationwide.
An LQ less than one means that an occupation or industry is less concentrated in that area than in the nation.
LQs are used to analyze and map the proportion of a specific variable, such as scientists, in a given subarea compared to the
total number of workers in that subarea. For example, Washington DC has a 3.33 LQ for nursing jobs, which means that Washington DC is about
three times more concentrated in nursing jobs than the U.S. as a whole.
LQs can help colleges and universities focus on developing programs that align to high impact industries and the occupations that they need.
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MAF/TIGER
MAF/TIGER is the Census Bureau Master Address File/Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing database.
The MAF/TIGER database contains the geographic and address information required to support the decennial census and many other census surveys and programs.
The MAF/TIGER is used to generated TIGER/Line shapefiles.
Marital status
Adults are generally classified by marital status as being married, never married, separated, divorced or widowed.
Mean
This measure represents an arithmetic average of a set of numbers. It is derived by dividing the sum of a group of numerical items by the total number of items in that group. For example, mean family income is obtained by dividing the total of all income reported by people 15 years and over in families by the total number of families.
Related term: Derived measures
Mean income
Mean income is the amount obtained by dividing the total income of a particular statistical universe by the number of units in that universe. Thus, mean household income is obtained by dividing total household income by the total number of households. For the various types of income, the means are based on households having those types of income.
Related term: Income
Median
This measure represents the middle value (if n is odd) or the average of the two middle values (if n is even) in an ordered list of data values. The median divides the total frequency distribution into two equal parts: one-half of the cases fall below the median and one-half of the cases exceed the median.
Related term: Derived measures
Median age
This measure divides the age distribution in a stated area into two equal parts: one-half of the population falling below the median value and one-half above the median value.
Related term: Age
Median income
The median income divides the income distribution into two equal groups, one having incomes above the median, and other having incomes below the median.
Related term: Income
Metropolitan
Refers to those areas surrounding large and densely populated cities or towns.
Metropolitan area (MA)
A collective term, established by the federal Office of Management and Budget, to refer to metropolitan statistical areas also
referred to as core-based statistical areas.
Metropolitan statistical area (MSA)
A geographic entity, also referred to as a Core Based Statistical Area,
defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal statistical agencies,
based on the concept of a core area with a large population nucleus,
plus adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration with that core.
MSAs are comprised of one or more contiguous counties.
Qualification of an MSA requires the presence of a city with 50,000 or more inhabitants,
or the presence of an Urbanized Area (UA) and a total population of at least 100,000 (75,000 in New England).
The county or counties containing the largest city and surrounding densely settled territory are central counties of the MSA.
Additional outlying counties qualify to be included in the MSA by meeting certain other criteria of metropolitan character,
such as a specified minimum population density or percentage of the population that is urban.
Microdata files
Files with non-aggregated data about the units sampled. For surveys of individuals, microdata files contain records for each individual interviewed; for surveys of organizations, the microdata contain records for each organization.
To ensure confidentiality, the Census Bureau publishes microdata only after it is stripped of all identifying information.
Migration
Migration includes all changes of residence including moving into, out of, or within a given area. Foreign country, or state, county and city of previous residence is collected and coded. In 12 states, minor civil division (MCD) is also coded.
International Migration
Movement of people across international borders.
Related terms: Immigrants, Residence 5 years ago
Mining areas
A set of boundaries available in Reference Map that focus on geographies relevant to the census of mineral industries within the Economic census.
Related term: Reference map
Minor civil division (MCD)
A primary governmental and/or administrative subdivision of a county,
such as a township, precinct, or magisterial district.
MCDs exist in 28 states and the District of Columbia.
In 20 states, all or many MCD’s are general-purpose governmental units:
Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Most of these MCD’s are legally designated as towns or townships.
Related Terms: Census county division (CCD), County subdivision, Unorganized territory
Mortgage status
"Mortgage" refers to all forms of debt where the property is pledged as security for repayment of the debt, including deeds of trust, trust deed, contracts to purchase, land contracts, junior mortgages, and home equity loans.
MTAIP
MTAIP is MAF/TIGER Accuracy Improvement Project started by the Census Bureau in 2002 to realign and update street features in TIGER/Line geographic database.
In the MTAIP, street features have been updated and relaigned by county (or equivalent entity). The MTAIP was completed in 2008.
MTFCC
MTFCC is the MAF/TIGER Feature Class Code, is a 5-character code used to classify and describe geographic objects or features in TIGER/Line shapefiles.
The MTFCC supersedes the Census Feature Class Code (CFCC) used in TIGER/Line legacy files.
MTFCC definitions are available in the metadata files that accompany each shapefile and relationship file.
Multi-unit structure
A building that contains more than one housing unit (for example, an apartment building).
Municipio
Primary legal divisions of Puerto Rico. These are treated as county equivalents.
Related term: County and equivalent entity
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NAICS
The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) replaces the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system
and provides a set of standardized codes for describing type of business.
More information.
Nationality
The status of belonging to a particular nation by birth, origin or naturalization.
Related terms: Ancestry, Place of birth
Native population
The native population includes people born in the United States, Puerto Rico, or U.S. Island Areas; as well as those born in a foreign country who had at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen.
Related term: Foreign born
Net Earnings
Net earnings by place of residence is earnings by place of work less contributions for government social insurance, plus an adjustment to convert earnings by place of work to a place of residence basis.
Earnings by place of work is the sum of wage and salary disbursements, supplements to wages and salaries, and proprietors' income.
New England County Metropolitan Area (NECMA)
A county-based alternative to the city-and-town-based metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) and consolidated metropolitan statistical areas (CMSAs) of New England. (Outside of New England, all MSAs and CMSAs are county-based.)
Noninstitutionalized population
Includes all people who live in group quarters other than institutions.
Examples: college dormitories, rooming houses, religious group homes, communes, and halfway houses.
Related terms: Group quarters (GQ), Group quarters population, Institutionalized population
Nonmetropolitan
The area and population not located in any Metropolitan area (MA).
Related term: Metropolitan area (MA)
Nonrelatives
Any household member, including foster children, living in the housing unit but not related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption.
Related terms: Family, Foster children, Household,
Nonsampling error
Errors that occur during the measuring or data collection process. Nonsampling errors can yield biased results when most of the errors distort the results in the same direction. Unfortunately, the full extent of nonsampling error is unknown. Decennial censuses traditionally have experienced nonsampling errors, most notable undercount, resulting from people being missed in the enumeration processes.
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
NAICS classifies industries using 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6- digit levels of detail. Two-digit codes represent sectors, the broadest classifications. Six-digit codes represent individual industries in the U.S. The North American Industry Classification System was developed by representatives from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and replaces each country’s separate classification system with one uniform system for classifying industries. In the United States, NAICS replaces the Standard Industrial Classification, a system that federal, state, and local governments, the business community, and the general public have used since the 1930s.
Related term: Economic census
Not in labor force
Not in labor force includes all people 16 years old and over who are not classified as members of the labor force. This category consists mainly of students, housewives, retired workers, seasonal workers interviewed in an off season who were not looking for work, institutionalized people, and people doing only incidental unpaid family work (less than 15 hours during the reference week).
Related term: Labor force
Number of employees
Equivalent to the number of paid employees for census purposes. Paid employees consists of full-time and part-time employees, including salaried officers and executives of corporations. Included are employees on paid sick leave, paid holidays, and paid vacations; not included are proprietors and partners of unincorporated businesses. The definition of paid employees is the same as that used on IRS Form 941.
Related term: Economic census
Number of establishments
An establishment is a single physical location at which business is conducted and/or services are provided. It is not necessarily identical with a company or enterprise, which may consist of one establishment or more. Economic census figures represent a summary of reports for individual establishments rather than companies. For cases where a census report was received, separate information was obtained for each location where business was conducted. When administrative records of other federal agencies were used instead of a census report, no information was available on the number of locations operated. Each economic census establishment was tabulated according to the physical location at which the business was conducted.
When two activities or more were carried on at a single location under a single ownership, all activities generally were grouped together as a single establishment. The entire establishment was classified on the basis of its major activity and all data for it were included in that classification. However, when distinct and separate economic activities (for which different industry classification codes were appropriate) were conducted at a single location under a single ownership, separate establishment reports for each of the different activities were obtained in the census.
Related terms: Economic census, Establishment
Number of workers in family in (designated calendar year)
The term "worker" as used for these data is defined based on the criteria for Worked in (designated calendar year).
Number of workers in family in the past 12 months
The term "worker" as used for these data is defined based on the criteria for Worked in the Past 12 Months.
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Occupation
Occupation describes the kind of work the person does on the job. For employed people, the data refer to the person's job during the reference week. For those who worked at two or more jobs, the data refer to the job at which the person worked the greatest number of hours. Some examples of occupational groups shown in this product include managerial occupations; business and financial specialists; scientists and technicians; entertainment; healthcare; food service; personal services; sales; office and administrative support; farming; maintenance and repair; and production workers.
Related term: Employed
Occupied housing unit
A housing unit is classified as occupied if it is the usual place of residence of the person or group of people living in it at the time of enumeration.
Related terms: Housing unit, Vacancy status
Offshore Areas
Areas that are seaward of the coastal line for the United States. Within the 1997 Economic census, the census of mineral industries presents some statistics on petroleum and natural gas industries for selected offshore areas (as well as by State).
Related term: Economic census
Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Area (OTSA)
Statistical entities identified and delineated by federally recognized American Indian tribes in Oklahoma that formerly had a reservation but do not now have a reservation in that state. The boundary of an OTSA will be that of the former reservation in Oklahoma, except where modified by agreements with neighboring tribes for statistical data presentation purposes. They may cross the boundary of Oklahoma and include territory in a neighboring state but not territory in any reservation. Replaces the Tribal Jurisdiction Statistical Areas (TJSAs) of 1990.
Other relative
Any household member related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption, but not specifically included in any other relationship category. Can include grandchildren, parents, in-laws, cousins, etc.
Outlying areas
See Island Areas
Own children
A child under 18 years old who is a son or daughter by birth, marriage (a stepchild), or adoption. For 100-percent tabulations, own children consist of all sons/daughters of householders who are under 18 years of age. For sample data, own children consist of sons/daughters of householders who are under 18 years of age and who have never been married, therefore, numbers of own children of householders may be different in these two tabulations.
Related terms: Child, Related children
Owner-occupied housing unit
A housing unit is owner occupied if the owner or co-owner lives in the unit even if it is mortgaged or not fully paid for.
Related term: Housing unit, Renter-occupied housing unit
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Parish
A type of governmental unit that is the primary legal subdivision of Louisiana, similar to a county in other states.
Related term: County and equivalent entity
Part
When appearing in parenthesis after a geographic name, such as "Houston city (part)", this term indicates that only a portion of the named geography is represented. The full name reveals the geographic context which produced the part, such as "Houston city (part), Harris County, Texas", indicating that the only the portion of Houston city within Harris County is represented.
Parts can result when two or more geographic types that do not have a hierarchical relationship (e.g., county and place) are crossed against each other to produce a new geographic type. That new geographic type contains the phrase "(or part)" to indicate the crossing of hierarchies (e.g., State-County-Place (or part))
People in family
Total number of people living in one household and related to the householder.
Related terms: Family, Household
People in household
Total number of people living in one housing unit.
Related terms: Household, Housing unit
Per capita income
Average obtained by dividing aggregate income by total population of an area.
Per capita income maintenance
Income maintenance payments consists largely of supplemental security income payments,
family assistance, food stamp payments, and other assistance payments, including general assistance.
This measure of income is calculated as the income maintenance payments to the residents of a
given area divided by the resident population of the area.
In computing per capita income maintenance, Census Bureau annual midyear population estimates are used.
Per capita personal income
Personal income is the income that is received by persons from all sources. It is calculated as the sum of wage and salary disbursements, supplements to wages and salaries, proprietors' income with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments, rental income of persons with capital consumption adjustment, personal dividend income, personal interest income, and personal current tranfer receipts, less contributions for government social insurance.
This measure of income is calculated as the personal income of the residents of a given area divided by the
resident population of the area. In computing per capita personal income,
the Census Bureau annual midyear population estimate is used.
Per capita personal current transfer receipts
This component of personal income is payments to persons for which no current services are performed.
It consists of payments to individuals and to nonprofit institutions by Federal, state, and local governments
and by businesses.
Government transfer payments to individuals includes retirement and disability insurance benefits,
medical payments (mainly Medicare and Medicaid), income maintenance benefits, unemployment insurance benefits,
veterans benefits, and Federal grants and loans to students. Government transfer payments to nonprofit institutions
excludes payments by the Federal Government for work under research and development contracts.
Business transfer payments to persons consists primarily of liability payments for personal injury and of
corporate gifts to nonprofit institutions.
This measure of income is calculated as the transfer payments paid to the residents of a given area divided by the resident population of the area. In computing per capita transfer payments, the Census Bureau annual midyear population estimate is used.
Per capita retirement and other income
Retirement and other consists mostly of retirement and disability insurance benefit payments, medical payments, and veterans benefit payments. Retirement and other is computed as total transfer payments excluding income maintenance and unemployment insurance benefit payments.
This measure of income is divided by the resident population of the area.
In computing per capita transfer payments, the Census Bureau annual midyear population estimate is used.
Per capita unemployment insurance benefits
Unemployment Insurance Benefits are made up of the following:
State unemployment compensation are benefits consisting mainly of the payments received by individuals under state-administered unemployment insurance (UI) programs, but they include the special benefits authorized by Federal legislation for periods of high unemployment. The provisions that govern the eligibility, timing, and amount of benefit payments vary among the states, but the provisions that govern the coverage and financing are uniform nationally.
Unemployment compensation of Federal civilian employees is the UI program for Federal employees that is administered by the state ESA's acting as agents for the U.S. Government.
Unemployment compensation of railroad employees are benefits which are the payments that are received by railroad workers who are unemployed because of sickness or because work is unavailable. This UI program is administered by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) under a Federal formula that is applicable throughout the Nation.
Unemployment compensation of veterans are benefits which are received by unemployed veterans who have recently separated from military service and who are not eligible for military retirement benefits.
Trade adjustment allowances are benefits which are the payments received by workers who are unemployed because of the adverse economic effects of international trade arrangements.
This measure of income is calculated as the unemployment insurance benefits paid to the residents of a given area divided by the resident population of the area.
In computing per capita transfer payments, the Census Bureau annual midyear population estimate is used.
Percentage
This measure is calculated by taking the number of items in a group possessing a characteristic of interest and dividing by the total number of items in that group, and then multiplying by 100.
Related term: Derived measures
Period of military service
These periods represent officially recognized time divisions relating to wars or to legally-relevant peacetime eras. The data pertain to active-duty military service. In most tabulations of these data, people serving in combinations of wartime and peacetime periods are classified in their most recent wartime period.
Related term: Veteran status
Personal Current Transfer Receipts
This component of personal income is payments to persons for which no current services are performed. It consists of payments to individuals and to nonprofit institutions by Federal, state, and local governments and by businesses.
Government payments to individuals includes retirement and disability insurance benefits, medical payments (mainly Medicare and Medicaid), income maintenance benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, veterans benefits, and Federal grants and loans to students. Government payments to nonprofit institutions excludes payments by the Federal Government for work under research and development contracts. Business payments to persons consists primarily of liability payments for personal injury and of corporate gifts to nonprofit institutions.
All state and local area dollar estimates are in current dollars (not adjusted for inflation).
Personal Income
Personal Income is the income that is received by all persons from all sources. It is calculated as the sum of wage and salary disbursements, supplements to wages and salaries, proprietors' income with inventory valuation and capital consumption adjustments, rental income of persons with capital consumption adjustment, personal dividend income, personal interest income, and personal current transfer receipts, less contributions for government social insurance.
The personal income of an area is the income that is received by, or on behalf of, all the individuals who live in the area; therefore, the estimates of personal income are presented by the place of residence of the income recipients.
All state and local area dollar estimates are in current dollars (not adjusted for inflation).
Persons per square mile
Population and housing unit density are computed by dividing the total population or number of housing units within a
geographic entity by the land area of that entity measured in square miles or in square kilometers.
Density is expressed as "population per square mile (kilometer)" or "housing units per square mile (kilometer)."
To determine population per square kilometer, multiply the population per square mile by 0.3861.
Place
A concentration of population either legally bounded as an incorporated place,
or identified as a Census Designated Place (CDP) including comunidades and zonas urbanas in
Puerto Rico. Incorporated places have legal descriptions of borough (except in Alaska and New York),
city, town (except in New England, New York, and Wisconsin), or village.
Each place is assigned a five-digit Federal Information Processing Standards
(FIPS) code, based on the alphabetical order of the place name within each
state.
Place Codes are of two types. The five-digit Federal Information Processing Series (FIPS) place code is assigned based on alphabetical sequence within a state. If place names are duplicated within a state and they represent distinctly different areas, a separate code is assigned to each place name alphabetically by the primary county in which each place is located, or if both places are in the same county, they are assigned alphabetically by their legal descriptions (for example, "city" before "village"). Places also are assigned an eight-digit National Standard (ANSI) code.
Dependent and Independent Places refers to the relationship of places to the county subdivisions. Depending on the state, incorporated places are either dependent within, or independent of, county subdivisions, or there is a mixture of dependent and independent places in the state and in a county. Dependent places are part of the county subdivision; the county subdivision code of the place is the same as that of the underlying county subdivision(s) but is different from the place code. Independent places are not part of any minor civil division (MCD) and serve as primary county subdivisions. The independent place FIPS code usually is the same as that used for the MCD for the place. The only exception is if the place is independent of the MCDs in a state (Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Virginia) in which the FIPS MCD codes are in the 90000 range. Then, the FIPS MCD and FIPS place codes will differ. CDPs always are dependent within county subdivisions and all places are dependent within statistical county subdivisions.
Consolidated City (Balance) Portions refer to the areas of a consolidated city not included in another separately incorporated place. For example, Butte-Silver Bow, MT, is a consolidated city (former Butte city and Silver Bow County) that includes the separately incorporated municipality of Walkerville city. The area of the consolidated city that is not in Walkerville city is assigned to Butte-Silver Bow (balance). The name of the area of a consolidated city not specifically within a separately incorporated place always includes the "(balance)" identifier. Balance portions of consolidated cities are included with other places in Census Bureau products.
Related terms: Census designated place (CDP), City, Comunidad, Incorporated place, Town, Zona urbana
Place of birth
The U. S. state or foreign country where a person was born. Used in determining citizenship.
Related terms: Citizenship status, Foreign born, Native population,
Plumbing facilities
The data on plumbing facilities were obtained from both occupied and vacant housing units. Complete plumbing facilities include: (1) hot and cold piped water; (2) a flush toilet; and (3) a bathtub or shower. All three facilities must be located in the housing unit.
Population
All people, male and female, child and adult, living in a given geographic area.
Population density
Total population within a geographic entity divided by the number of square miles of land area of that entity measured
in square kilometers or square miles.
Population Estimates
The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program publishes population numbers between censuses. Estimates usually are for the past, while projections are estimates of the population for future dates. July 1 estimates are published for years after the last decennial census (2000), as well as those for past decades. Data for births, deaths, and domestic and international migration are used to update the decennial census base counts. These estimates are used in federal funding allocations; as inputs to other federal agencies’ statistics and per capita time series; as survey controls; and in monitoring recent demographic changes. With each new issue of July 1 estimates, the estimates for the years since the last census are revised.
Additional population estimates that include components of change and rankings, are available at
www.census.gov/population/www/estimates/popest.html.
Portable Document File (PDF)
A type of computer file that looks the same on the screen and in print, regardless of what kind of computer or printer is being used, and what kind of software package was originally used to create it.
Poverty
Following the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB’s) Directive 14, the Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to detect who is poor. If the total income for a family or unrelated individual falls below the relevant poverty threshold, then the family or unrelated individual is classified as being "below the poverty level."
Related term: Income
Primary metropolitan statistical area (PMSA)
A geographic entity (now obsolete) defined by the federal Office of Management and Budget for use by federal statistical agencies.
If an area meets the requirements to qualify as a metropolitan statistical area and has a population of one million or more, two or more PMSAs may be defined within it if statistical criteria are met and local opinion is in favor. A PMSA consists of one or more counties (county subdivisions in New England) that have substantial commuting interchange. When two or more PMSAs have been recognized, the larger area of which they are components then is designated a consolidated metropolitan statistical area.
Related terms: Consolidated metropolitan statistical area (CMSA), Metropolitan statistical area (MSA)
Privacy Act
A 1974 act that places restrictions on the collection, use, maintenance, and release of information about individuals. It gives individuals the right to see records about themselves, to obtain copies of their records, to have records corrected or amended with Census Bureau approval, and to have a statement of disagreement filed in their records if the Census Bureau does not approve the correction or amendment.
Proprietor's Income
Proprietor's Income (component of personal income) is the current-production income (including income in kind) of sole proprietorships and partnerships and of tax-exempt cooperatives. Corporate directors' fees are included in proprietors' income, but the imputed net rental income of owner-occupants of all dwellings is included in rental income of persons. Proprietors' income excludes dividends and monetary interest received by nonfinancial business and rental incomes received by persons not primarily engaged in the real estate business; these incomes are included in dividends, net interest, and rental income of persons, respectively.
All state and local area dollar estimates are in current dollars (not adjusted for inflation).
Public Law 103-430 (P.L. 103-430)
The public law that amends Title 13, U.S. Code, to allow designated local and tribal officials access to the address information in the master address file to verify its accuracy and completeness. This law also requires the U.S. Postal Service to provide its address information to the Census Bureau to improve the master address file.
Related term: Census (decennial)
Public Law 105-119 (P.L. 105-119)
A law enacted in 1997 which requires the Census Bureau to make publicly available a second version of decennial census data that does not include statistical correction for overcounts and undercounts measured in the Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation.
Related terms: Apportionment, Census (decennial), Reapportionment, Redistricting
Public Law 94-171 (P.L. 94-171)
Public Law (P.L.) 94-171, enacted in 1975, directs the Census Bureau to make special preparations to provide redistricting data needed by the fifty states. Within a year following Census Day, the Census Bureau must send the data agreed upon to redraw districts for the state legislature to each state's governor and majority and minority legislative leaders.
To meet this legal requirement, the Census Bureau set up a voluntary program that enables participating states to receive data for voting districts (e.g., election precincts, wards, state house and senate districts) in addition to standard census geographic areas such as counties, cities, census tracts, and blocks.
Related terms: Apportionment, Census (decennial), Census day, Reapportionment, Redistricting
Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA)
An area that defines the extent of territory for which the Census Bureau tabulates public use microdata sample (PUMS) data.
Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files
Computerized files containing a small sample of individual records, with identifying information removed, from the census long form and from the American Community Survey showing the population and housing characteristics of the people included on those forms.
Puerto Rico
The U.S. Census Bureau treats the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as the equivalent of a state for data presentation purposes. Puerto Rico is divided into legal government municipios, which are statistically equivalent to counties.
Related term: Censo 2000 Puerto Rico en Español
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Query
A request for information; inquiry.
Questionnaire
The census or survey form on which a respondent or enumerator records information requested by the Census Bureau for a specific census or special survey.
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Race
Race is a self-identification data item in which respondents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify.
For Census 2000:
In 1997, the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) revised the standards
for how the Federal government would collect and present data on race and ethnicity.
The new guidelines reflect "the increasing diversity of our Nation's population, stemming from growth in
interracial marriages and immigration."
These new guidelines revised some of the racial categories used in 1990 and preceding censuses and allowed respondents to report as many race categories as were necessary to identify themselves on the Census 2000 questionnaire. Note that the full report is available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/inforeg/race.pdf.
How the new guidelines affect Census 2000 results and the comparison with data from 1990:
Census 2000 race data are not directly comparable with data from 1990 and previous censuses. See the Census 2000 Brief, "Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin".
Race Alone categories (6):
Includes the minimum 5 race categories required by OMB, plus the 'some other race alone' included by the Census Bureau for Census 2000, with the approval of OMB.
White alone
Black or African-American alone
American Indian or Alaska Native alone
Asian alone
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander alone
Some other race alone
Race Alone or in combination categories (63):
There will be other tabulations where 'race alone or in combination' will be shown. These tabulations include not only persons who marked only one race (the 'race alone' category) but also those who marked that race and at least one other race. For example, a person who indicated that she was of Filipino and African-American background would be included in the African-American alone or in combination count, as well as in the Asian alone or in combination count. The alone or in combination totals are tallies of responses, rather than respondents. So the sum of the race alone or in combination will add to more than the total population.
Some tabulations will show the number of persons who checked 'two or more races'.
In some tables, including the first release of Census 2000 information, data will be tabulated for 63 possible combinations of race:
6 race alone categories
15 categories of 2 races (e.g., White and African American, White and Asian, etc.)
20 categories of 3 races
15 categories of 4 races
6 categories of 5 races
1 category of 6 races
=63 possible combinations
Some tables will show data for 7 race categories: the 6 (mutually-exclusive) major race-alone categories (White, African-American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and some other race) and a 'two or more races' category. The sum of these 7 categories will add to 100 percent of the population.
Related terms: Alaska Native race/ethnic categories, American Indian tribe/Selected American Indian categories, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander race and ethnic categories, Spanish/Hispanic/Latino
Rate
This is a measure of occurrences in a given period of time divided by the possible number of occurrences during that period.
Ratio
This is a measure of the relative size of one number to a second number expressed as the quotient of the first number divided by the second.
Reapportionment
The redistribution of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives among the several states on the basis of the most recent decennial census as required by Article 1, section 2 of the Constitution. Reapportionment does not affect Puerto Rico.
Related term: Apportionment
Redistricting
The process of revising the geographic boundaries of areas from which people elect representatives to the U.S. Congress, a state legislature, a county or city council, a school board, and the like, to meet the legal requirement that such areas be as equal in population as possible following a census.
Related terms: Apportionment, Voting District (VTD)
Redistricting Data Program
A decennial census program that permits state officials to identify selected map features they want as block boundaries and specific areas, such as voting districts, for which they need census data.
Related term: Voting district (VTD)
Reference map
A map that shows selected geographic boundaries with identifiers along with selected features of a geographic area.
Region
Four groupings of states (Northeast, South, Midwest, and West) established by the Census Bureau in 1942 for the presentation of census data.
Northeast Region: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania
South Region: Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas
Midwest Region: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio
West Region: Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii
Puerto Rico and the Island areas are not part of any region.
Related term: Division
Related children
Includes all people in a household under the age of 18, regardless of marital status, who are related to the householder. Does not include householder's spouse or foster children, regardless of age.
Related terms: Child, Own children
Remainder
The portion of a geographic area of one geographic type (e.g., a county subdivision) which is not covered by any geographic area of a second geographic type (e.g., place). For example, the two places of Oak Ridge town and Old Appleton town exist within the county subdivision of Apple Creek township in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, That portion of Adair township that is not covered by either place is called "Remainder of Adair township".
Rental vacancy rate
The proportion of the rental inventory which is vacant for rent. It is computed by dividing the number of vacant units for rent by the sum of the renter-occupied units and the number of vacant units for rent, and then multiplying by 100.
Related term: Homeowner vacancy rate, Renter-occupied housing unit
Renter-occupied housing unit
All occupied units which are not owner occupied, whether they are rented for cash rent or occupied without payment of cash rent, are classified as renter-occupied.
Related term: Owner-occupied housing unit
Residence 5 years ago
Indicates the area of residence 5 years prior to the reference date for those who reported that they lived in a different housing unit.
Related term: Migration
Respondent
The person supplying survey or census information about his or her living quarters and its occupants.
Retirement and other transfer payments
Total transfer payments excluding unemployment insurance benefit payments and income maintenance benefits. Retirement and other consists of retirement and disability inusrance benefit payments, medical benefits, veterans benefit payments, federal education and training benefits, other government payments to individuals, government payments to nonprofit institutions, and business payments.
Rural
Territory, population and housing units not classified as urban. "Rural" classification cuts across other hierarchies and can be in metropolitan or non-metropolitan areas.
Related terms: Metropolitan, Urban
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Sample data
Population and housing information collected from the census long form for a one in six sample of households in the United States and Puerto Rico, and on a continuous basis for selected areas in the American Community Survey.
Related terms: American Community Survey (ACS),
Census (decennial), Long form
Sampling error
Errors that occur because only part of the population is directly contacted. With any sample, differences are likely to exist between the characteristics of the sampled population and the larger group from which the sample was chosen. Sampling error, unlike nonsampling error, is measurable.
School District
Geographic entities within which state, county, or local officials provide public educational services for the area’s residents. The boundaries and names are provided by state officials.
School enrollment
Enrollment in regular school, either public or private, which includes nursery school, kindergarten, elementary school, and schooling which leads to a high school diploma or college degree.
Related terms: Educational attainment, Grade in which enrolled
Sector (economic)
In the 1997 economic census data are classified into 20 NAICS sectors, using a 2 digit code. These sectors are subdivided into 96 sub-sectors, using a 3 digit code.
Related term: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
Secure Geocoding
Secure geocoding refers to a geocoding process where the geocoder software, address data and geocoding base files
all reside on a computer with no network or Internet connectivity.
Secure geocoding provides the highest degree of confidentially and security.
Secure geocoding, by definition, cannot be provided by network-based or Internet-based geocoders,
such as Google API geocoders.
Related term: Geocoding
Sex
An individual's gender classification - male or female.
Sex ratio
A measure derived by dividing the total number of males by the total number of females, and then multiplying by 100.
Shapefile
A shapefile is a digital vector file used in mapping and geospatial processing applications
and contains geometric location and associated attribute information.
A shapefile typically contains geographic attributes for points, lines or polygons
structured in a specific format.
A shapefile that might be referenced as xyz.shp actually consists of a minimum of three files: xyz.shp, xyz.shx, and
xyz.dbf. A typical additional projection component file may also exist: xyz.prj.
A optional descriptive file having no direct operational function may also exist: xyz.xml.
Short form
The decennial census questionnaire, sent to approximately five of six households for the 1980, 1990, and 2000 censuses. For Census 2000, the questionnaire asked population questions related to household relationship, sex, race, age and Hispanic or Latino origin and housing questions related to tenure, occupancy, and vacancy status. The 1990 short form contained a question on marital status. The questions contained on the short form also are asked on the long form, along with additional questions.
Related terms: Census (decennial), Long form
Spanish/Hispanic/Latino
For Census 2000 and demographic updates: People who identify with the terms "Hispanic" or "Latino" are those who classify themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the Census 2000 questionnaire—"Mexican," "Puerto Rican," or "Cuban"—as well as those who indicate that they are "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino." Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino may be of any race.
Spanish/Hispanic/Latino people may be of any race. Listed below are the 28 Hispanic or Latino categories displayed in Census 2000 tabulations:
Mexican
Puerto Rican
Cuban
Dominican Republic
Central American:
Costa Rican
Guatemalan
Honduran
Nicaraguan
Panamanian
Salvadoran
Other Central American
South American:
Argentinian
Bolivian
Chilean
Colombian
Ecuadorian
Paraguayan
Peruvian
Uruguayan
Venezuelan
Other South American
Other Hispanic or Latino:
Spaniard
Spanish
Spanish American
All other Hispanic or Latino
Related terms: Ancestry, Hispanic or Latino origin, Race
Spouse
A person legally married to another person.
Standard deviation
A measure which shows the average variability in population from the mean. It is defined as the square root of the variance.
Standard error (ACS)
The standard error is a measure of the deviation of a sample estimate from the average of all possible samples.
Related terms: American Community Survey (ACS),
Confidence interval (ACS), Estimates (American Community Survey)
Standard Industrial Classification (SIC)
Industry classification system that was used in Economic Censuses prior to 1997. This system identifies establishments by the principal activity in which they are engaged. SIC has been replaced by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) in the 1997 Economic Census.
Related terms: Economic census, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
State and equivalent entity
The primary legal subdivision of the United States. The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas (the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands) are each treated as the statistical equivalent of a state for census purposes.
State data center (SDC)
A state agency or university facility identified by the governor of each state and state equivalent to participate in the Census Bureau’s cooperative network for the dissemination of census data. A SDC also may provide demographic data to local agencies participating in our statistical areas.
State Designated American Indian Statistical Area (SDAISA)
A statistical entity for state recognized American Indian tribes that do not have a state recognized reservation. SDAISAs are identified and delineated for the Census Bureau by a designated state official. They generally encompass a compact and contiguous area that contains a concentration of individuals who identify with a state recognized American Indian tribe and in which there is structured or organized tribal activity. New for the 2000 Census.
State legislative district (SLD)
An area from which members are elected to state legislatures. The SLDs embody the upper (senate) and lower (house) chambers of the state legislature. (Nebraska has a unicameral legislature that is represented as an upper chamber legislative entity.)
State Senate District not defined- The name assigned to an area of unpopulated coastal water within a state that belongs to no state senate district.
State House District not defined- The name assigned to an area of unpopulated coastal water within a state that belongs to no state house district.
Stepfamily
A "married couple" family in which there is at least one stepchild of the householder present. If the child has been adopted by the householder, that child is classified as an adopted child and the family is not classified as a stepfamily, unless another non-adopted stepchild is present.
Related terms: Adopted child, Family
Subbarrio
The primary legal subdivision of the barrios-pueblo and some barrios in Puerto Rico. There is no United States equivalent.
Related terms: Barrio, Barrio-Pueblo
Subfamily
A married couple (with or without children) or a single parent with one or more never-married children under the age of 18, residing with and related to the householder, but not including the householder or the householder's spouse.
When grown children move back to the parental home with their own children or spouse, they are considered a subfamily.
Related terms: Family, Householder
Sub-sector (economic)
In the 1997 economic census data are classified into 96 sub-sectors using a 3 digit NAICS code.
Related term: North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)
Summary file (SF)
Statistics for a large number of geographic areas that are designed to show great subject matter detail presented in tabular form. There are four main summary files produced from the data collected during Census 2000.
See the individual definitions for Summary Files 1, 2, 3, and 4 for a more in-depth explanation of each.
Related term: Census (decennial)
Summary File 1 (SF 1)
This file presents 100-percent population and housing figures for the total population, for 63 race categories, and for many other race and Hispanic or Latino categories. This includes age, sex, households, household relationship, housing units, and tenure (whether the residence is owned or rented). Also included are selected characteristics for a limited number of race and Hispanic or Latino categories. The data are available for the U.S., regions, divisions, states, counties, county subdivisions, places, census tracts, block groups, blocks, metropolitan areas, American Indian and Alaska Native areas, tribal subdivisions, Hawaiian home lands, congressional districts, and ZIP Code Tabulation Areas. Data are available down to the block level for many tabulations, but only to the census-tract level for others. Available on CD-ROM, DVD, and American FactFinder.
The Census 2000 Summary File 1 data are released in three stages. Individual state files and two national files are released. The state-level data are released first, followed by the Advance National File, which covers the same data subjects, but includes national level summary data such as ZCTAs, whole metropolitan areas, whole American Indian areas, etc. The Final National File contains the same data subjects and geographic areas as the Advance National File, but adds the first available urban/rural and urbanized area data. For the most current release dates for these files, see the "Census 2000 Release Schedule" link on the AFF Main Page.
Planned release dates:
(States): June-September 2001
(Advance National File): November-December 2001
(Final National File): May-June 2002
Related term: Census (decennial)
Summary File 2 (SF 2)
This file presents data similar to the information included in Summary File 1. These data are shown down to the census tract level for 250 race, Hispanic or Latino, and American Indian and Alaska Native tribe categories. For data to be shown in SF 2, a population category must meet a population size threshold of 100 or more people of that specific population category in a specific geographic area. Available on CD-ROM, DVD, and American FactFinder.
Related term: Census (decennial)
Summary File 3 (SF 3)
This file presents data on the population and housing long form subjects such as income and education. It includes population totals for ancestry groups. It also includes selected characteristics for a limited number of race and Hispanic or Latino categories. The data are available for the U.S., regions, divisions, states, counties, county subdivisions, places, census tracts, block groups, metropolitan areas, American Indian and Alaska Native areas, tribal subdivisions, Hawaiian home lands, congressional districts, and Zip Code Tabulation Areas. Available on CD-ROM, DVD, and American FactFinder.
Related terms: Census (decennial), Long form
Summary File 4 (SF 4)
This file presents data similar to the information included in Summary File 3. These data are shown down to the census tract level for 336 race, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian and Alaska Native tribe, and ancestry categories. For data to be shown in SF 4, there must be at least 50 unweighted sample cases of a specific population category in a specific geographic area. In addition, the data for the specific population category for the specific geographic area must also have been available in Summary File 2. Available on CD-ROM, DVD, and American FactFinder.
Related terms: Census (decennial), Long form
Summary table
A collection of one or more data elements that are classified into some logical structure either as dimensions or data points.
Summary Tape Files 1-4 (STFs 1-4)
Summary tape files are products of the 1990 Census of Population and Housing. They are summary tabulations of 100-percent and sample population and housing data available for public use on computer tape and CD-ROM. Summary Tape Files 1 and 3 also are available through American FactFinder.
Related terms: 100-Percent data, Products
Supplements to wage and salary disbursements
Supplements to wage and salary disbursements (component of personal income) consists of employer contributions for employee pension and insurance funds and of employer contributions for government social insurance.
All state and local area dollar estimates are in current dollars (not adjusted for inflation).
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Tenure
Refers to the distinction between owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing units.
Related terms: Housing unit, Owner-occupied housing unit,
Renter-occupied housing unit
Thematic map
A map that reveals the geographic patterns in statistical data.
TIGER/MAF
Census Bureau Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) system and
Master Address File (MAF).
Provides geographic information and support to aid the Bureau in establishing
where to count the U.S. population. The Bureau’s address
list dataset, the MAF, is associated with the TIGER system, which is a geographic
information system containing digital vector-based geographic data, geocodes and related geographic attributes.
See http://proximityone.com/tigerline.htm.
MAF is a Census internal resource; TIGER/Line shapefiles are public use resources derived from the TIGER System
used as the geographic base files for many
geographic information system (GIS) applications within and outside the government.
TIGER/Line Shapefile
The TIGER/Line Shapefiles are extracts of selected geographic and cartographic information from the
Census Bureau's Master Address File/Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) database.
Geographic base linear, area, and point features such as streets, railroads, rivers, lakes, and geographic area boundaries
are represented in the files, as well as the polygons that make up the legal and statistical geographic areas for which the Census Bureau tabulates data.
The files also contain attribute information about these features, such as names, the type of feature, address ranges for most streets, the geographic relationship to other features, and other related information. The shapefiles include information for the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Island areas (American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands).
The TIGER/Line Shapefiles are an extract of all geographic areas for which the Census Bureau tabulates data and a
selected set of attributes associated with each geographic feature. The shapefiles do not contain any sensitive data,
areas used for administering censuses and surveys, or attributes used only in internal processing.
The TIGER/Line Shapefiles are designed for use with geographic information system (GIS) software.
The TIGER/Line Shapefiles do not contain statistical data published by the Census Bureau for statistical programs such as the decennial census.
Title 13 (U.S. Code)
The law under which the Census Bureau operates and that guarantees the confidentiality of census information and establishes penalties for disclosing this information. It also provides the authorization for conducting the census in Puerto Rico and the Island Areas.
Related terms: Confidentiality, Decennial census, Privacy Act
Total full-time and part-time employment
As used in the calculation of personal income, the employment series for states and local areas comprises estimates of the number of jobs, full-time plus part-time, by place of work. Full-time and part-time jobs are counted at equal weight. Employees, sole proprietors, and active partners are included, but unpaid family workers and volunteers are not included.
Proprietors employment consists of the number of sole proprietorships and the number of partners in partnerships. The description "by place of work" applies to the wage and salary portion of the series and, with relatively little error, to the entire series. The proprietors employment portion of the series, however, is more nearly by place of residence because, for nonfarm sole proprietorships, the estimates are based on IRS tax data that reflect the address from which the proprietor's individual tax return is filed, which is usually the proprietor's residence. The nonfarm partnership portion of the proprietors employment series reflects the tax-filing address of the partnership, which may be either the residence of one of the partners or the business address of the partnership.
The employment estimates are designed to be consistent with the estimates of wage and salary disbursements and proprietors' income that are part of the personal income series. The employment estimates are based on the same sets of source data as the corresponding earnings estimates and are prepared with parallel methodologies. Two forms of proprietors' income-the income of limited partnerships and the income of tax-exempt cooperatives-have no corresponding employment estimates.
Town
A type of minor civil division in the New England states, New York, and Wisconsin and a type of incorporated place in 30 states and the Virgin Islands of the United States.
Related term: County subdivision
Tract
See Census tract.
Tract number
Used to uniquely identify a census tract within a county.
Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ)
An area delineated by state and/or local transportation officials for tabulating traffic-related data – especially journey-to-work and place-of-work statistics. Usually consists of one or more census blocks, block groups, or census tracts.
Related term: Journey to work
Tribal Block Group (BG)
A subdivision of a tribal census tract, a tribal block group is the smallest geographic unit for which the Census Bureau tabulates sample data. Tribal BGs are delineated by American Indian tribal participants or the Census Bureau, and average about 1,000 people. A tribal BG consists of all the census blocks within a tribal census tract with the same beginning number.
Example: Tribal BG 3 within a tribal census tract consists of all blocks numbered from 3000 to 3999.
In situations where an American Indian reservation or trust land crosses county or state lines, the same tribal BG number (within a tribal census tract) may be assigned on both sides of the county/state line.
Tribal Census Tract
A small, relatively permanent statistical subdivision of a federally recognized American Indian reservation and/or off-reservation trust land, delineated by American Indian tribal participants or the Census Bureau for the purpose of presenting data. Designed to be relatively homogeneous units with respect to population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions, tribal census tracts average about 2,500 people.
A tribal census tract must consist of territory located on a reservation/trust land. The boundaries of tribal census tracts may cross state and/or county lines, and normally follow visible features, but may follow governmental unit boundaries and other nonvisible features in some instances. The Census Bureau has reserved the numbers 9400 to 9499 for tribal census tracts delineated on reservations/trust lands that are located in more than one county, but tracts numbered in the 9400 range do not necessarily cross county lines.
Tribal Designated Statistical Area (TDSA)
A statistical entity identified and delineated for the Census Bureau by a federally recognized American Indian tribe that does not currently have a legally established land base. A TDSA encompasses a compact and contiguous area that contains a concentration of individuals who identify with a federally recognized American Indian tribe and which there is structured or organized tribal activity.
Tribal Jurisdiction Statistical Area (TJSA)
A statistical area identified and delineated for the 1990 decennial census by American Indian tribal officials in Oklahoma. They encompass the area that includes the American Indian population over which the tribe has jurisdiction. TJSAs replaced the Historic Areas of Oklahoma recognized by the Census Bureau for the 1980 decennial census. Beginning with Census 2000 these areas are called Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Areas (OTSAs).
Tutorial
An on-line mini-course, part of the American FactFinder Help system, which demonstrates how to accomplish various important tasks using the FactFinder site.
Type of institution
Institutions are those facilities designed for group quarters living. Institutions may specialize in one specific type of service such as a prison, or may offer varied services such as Veteran's Administration hospitals.
Related terms: Group quarters (GQ), Institutionalized population
Type of school
Schools are designated as public or private institutions and are separated by levels of education offered, including: college, pre-primary, elementary or high school.
Related term: Educational attainment, School enrollment
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Unemployed
All civilians 16 years old and over are classified as unemployed if they (1) were neither "at work" nor "with a job but not at work" during the reference week, and (2) were actively looking for work during the last 4 weeks, and (3) were available to accept a job. Also included as unemployed are civilians who did not work at all during the reference week, were waiting to be called back to a job from which they had been laid off, and were available for work except for temporary illness.
Related terms: Employed, Labor Force
Unemployment insurance compensation
Unemployment insurance compensation are made up of the following:
State unemployment compensation are benefits consisting mainly of the payments received by individuals under state-administered unemployment insurance (UI) programs, but they include the special benefits authorized by Federal legislation for periods of high unemployment. The provisions that govern the eligibility, timing, and amount of benefit payments vary among the states, but the provisions that govern the coverage and financing are uniform nationally.
Unemployment compensation of Federal civilian employees are benefits received by former Federal employees under a Federal program administered by the state employment security agencies.
Unemployment compensation of railroad employees are benefits received by railroad workers who are unemployed because of sickness or because work is unavailable in the railroad industry and in related industries, such as carrier affiliates. This UI program is administered by the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) under a Federal program that is applicable throughout the Nation.
Unemployment compensation of veterans are benefits which are received by unemployed veterans who have recently separated from military service and who are not eligible for military retirement benefits. The compensation is paid under a Federal program that is administered by the state employment security agencies.
Trade adjustment allowances are the payments received by workers who are unemployed because of the adverse economic effects of international trade arrangements.
All state and local area dollar estimates are in current dollars (not adjusted for inflation).
United States
The 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Units in structure
A structure is a separate building that either has open spaces on all sides or is separated from other structures by dividing walls that extend from ground to roof. In determining the number of units in a structure, all housing units, both occupied and vacant, are counted.
Universe
The total number of units, e.g., individuals, households, businesses, in the population of interest.
Unmarried-partner household
Household in which the householder and his or her partner are not legally married or participating in a common law marriage.
Related terms: Household, Householder
Unorganized Territory
Occur in 10 minor civil division (MCD) states where portions of counties are not included in any legally established MCD or independent incorporated place. The pieces are recognized as one or more separate county subdivisions for statistical data presentation purposes.
Unrelated individual
Person, sharing a housing unit, who is not related to the householder by birth, marriage or adoption. Includes foster children.
Related terms: Foster children, Householder, Nonrelatives
Urban
For the 2010 Census, an urban area is a densely settled core of census tracts and/or census blocks
that meet minimum population density requirements,
along with adjacent territory containing non-residential urban land uses
as well as territory with low population density included to link outlying
densely settled territory with the densely settled core.
To qualify as an urban area, the territory identified according
to criteria must encompass at least 2,500 people, at least 1,500 of which reside outside institutional group quarters.
There are two types of urban areas:
-- Urbanized Areas (UAs) of 50,000 or more people;
-- Urban Clusters (UCs) of at least 2,500 and less than 50,000 people.
Rural consists of all territory, population, and housing units located outside of UAs and UCs.
Related terms: Metropolitan, Rural
Urban Area
Collective term referring to all areas that are urban.
For Census 2010, there are two types of urban areas: urban clusters and urbanized areas.
Urban Cluster
An urban area of at least 2,500 and less than 50,000 people.
Urban Growth Area
Legally defined entity in Oregon. Defined around incorporated places and used to regulate urban growth. They are delineated cooperatively by state and local officials and then confirmed by state law. New for Census 2000.
Urbanized area
For the 2010 Census, an urban area of 50,000 or more people.
Usual hours worked per week worked in (designated calendar year)
The data pertain to the number of hours a person usually worked during the weeks worked in the designated calendar year. The respondent was to report the number of hours worked per week in the majority of the weeks he or she worked in the designated calendar year. If the hours worked per week varied considerably during the designated calendar year, the respondent was asked to report an approximate average of the hours worked per week. People 16 years old and over who reported that they usually worked 35 or more hours each week during the weeks they worked are classified as "Usually worked full time"; people who reported that they usually worked 1 to 34 hours are classified as "Usually worked part time."
Related term: Employed
Usual hours worked per week worked in the past 12 months
The data pertain to the number of hours a person usually worked during the weeks worked in the past 12 months. The respondent was to report the number of hours worked per week in the majority of the weeks he or she worked in the past 12 months. If the hours worked per week varied considerably during the past 12 months, the respondent was asked to report an approximate average of the hours worked per week. People 16 years old and over who reported that they usually worked 35 or more hours each week during the weeks they worked are classified as "Usually worked full time"; people who reported that they usually worked 1 to 34 hours are classified as "Usually worked part time."
Related term: Employed
Usual residence
The living quarters where a person spends more nights during a year than any other place.
Related term: Living quarters
Usual residence elsewhere
A housing unit temporarily occupied at the time of enumeration entirely by people with a usual residence elsewhere is classified as vacant. The occupants are classified as having a "Usual residence elsewhere" and are counted at the address of their usual place of residence.
Related term: Housing unit
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Vacancy status
Unoccupied housing units are considered vacant. Vacancy status is determined by the terms under which the unit may be occupied, e.g., for rent, for sale, or for seasonal use only.
Related terms: Housing unit, Occupied housing unit,
Vacant housing unit
A housing unit is vacant if no one is living in it at the time of enumeration, unless its occupants are only temporarily absent. Units temporarily occupied at the time of enumeration entirely by people who have a usual residence elsewhere are also classified as vacant.
Related terms: Housing unit, Usual residence elsewhere, Occupied housing unit
Value
Value is the respondent's estimate of how much the property (house and lot, mobile home and lot, or condominium unit) would sell for if it were for sale.
Veteran status
A "civilian veteran" is a person 18 years old or over who has served (even for a short time), but is not now serving, on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or the Coast Guard, or who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II. People who served in the National Guard or military Reserves are classified as veterans only if they were ever called or ordered to active duty, not counting the 4-6 months for initial training or yearly summer camps. All other civilians 16 years old and over are classified as nonveterans.
Related term: Years of military service
Village
A type of incorporated place in 20 states and American Samoa. The Census Bureau treats all villages in New Jersey, South Dakota, and Wisconsin and some villages in Ohio as county subdivisions.
Related term: County subdivision, Incorporated place,
Visible feature
A feature that can be seen on the ground, such as, a street or road, railroad track, power line, stream, shoreline, fence, ridge, or cliff. A visible feature can be a man-made or natural feature.
Related term: Feature
Voting District (VTD)
Any of a variety of areas, such as election districts, precincts, legislative districts, or wards, established by states and local governments for voting purposes.
Census 2010. Voting Districts (VTDs) refer to the generic name for geographic entities, such as precincts, wards,
and election districts, established by state governments for the purpose of conducting elections. States
voluntarily participating in Phase 2 of the 2010 Census Redistricting Data Program provided the Census
Bureau with boundaries, codes, and names for their VTDs. Each VTD is identified by a one-to-six-character
alphanumeric census code that is unique within county. The code “ZZZZZZ” identifies a portion of counties
(usually bodies of water) for which no VTDs were identified. For the 2010 Census, only Rhode Island did
not participate in Phase 2 (the Voting District/Block Boundary Suggestion Project) of the 2010 Census
Redistricting Data Program. Kentucky chose not to provide VTDs as part of their participation in Phase 2,
and the states of Montana and Oregon provided VTDs for some counties. Therefore, for 2010 Census data
products, no VTDs exist in select counties in Montana and Oregon or for the states of Rhode Island and
Kentucky in their entirety. Participating states often submitted VTDs conforming to the feature network
in the MAF/TIGER database rather than the complete legal boundary of the VTD. If requested by the
participating state, the Census Bureau identified the VTDs that represent an actual voting district with an "A"
in the voting district indicator field. Where a participating state indicated that the VTD has been modified to
follow existing features, the VTD is a pseudo-VTD, and the voting district indicator contains "P."
Voting Districts not defined- The name assigned to an area within a county for which no voting district information is known by the Census Bureau. This designation is used if the state government chose not to provide the Census Bureau with voting district boundaries (e.g., in California), or if that portion of a county (as reported by the state government) is truly devoid of voting districts (e.g., the coastal waters of Sussex County, DE).
Related terms: Redistricting, Redistricting Data Program
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Wage and salary disbursements
Wage and salary disbursements consists of the monetary remuneration of employees, including corporate officers salaries and bonuses, commissions, pay-in-kind, incentive payments, and tips. It reflects the amount of payments disbursed, but not necessarily earned during the year.
Wage and salary disbursements is measured before deductions, such as social security contributions and union dues.
In recent years, stock options have become a point of discussion. Wage and salary disbursements includes stock options of nonqualified plans at the time that they have been exercised by the individual. Stock options are reported in wage and salary disbursements. The value that is included in wages is the difference between the exercise price and the price that the stock options were granted.
All state and local area dollar estimates are in current dollars (not adjusted for inflation).
Weeks worked in (designated calendar year)
The data pertain to the number of weeks during the designated calendar year in which a person did any work for pay or profit (including paid vacation, paid sick leave, and military service) or worked without pay on a family farm or in a family business.
Related term: Employed
Weeks worked in the past 12 months
The data pertain to the number of weeks during the past 12 months in which a person did any work for pay or profit (including paid vacation, paid sick leave, and military service) or worked without pay on a family farm or in a family business.
Related term: Employed
Without Correction for ICM
Statistical sampling was addressed in the 1998 appropriations bill (Public Law 105-119) which was passed by the House of Representatives in 1997. According to PL 105-119, the population count produced without using statistical methods, whether for Census 2000, or simulations that prepare for it, must be publicly available for all levels of census geography. ICM is a quality check survey program designed to produce statistically valid estimates that correct for undercoverage.
Related term: Integrated Coverage Measurement (ICM)
Worked in (designated calendar year)
People 16 years old and over who did any work for pay or profit (including paid vacation, paid sick leave, and military service) or worked without pay on a family farm or in a family business at any time from January to December of the designated calendar year are classified as "worked in (designated calendar year)." All other people 16 years old and over are classified as "Did not work in (designated calendar year)."
Related term: Employed
Worked in the past 12 months
People 16 years old and over who did any work for pay or profit (including paid vacation, sick leave, and military service) or worked without pay on a family farm or in a family business at any time during the past 12 months are classified as "worked in the past 12 months." All other people 16 years old and over are classified as "Did not work in the past 12 months."
Related term: Employed
Worker
This term appears in connection with several subjects: journey-to-work items, class of worker, work status in the past 12 months, weeks worked in the past 12 months, and number of workers in family in the past 12 months. Its meaning varies and, therefore, should be determined in each case by referring to the definition of the subject in which it appears.
Related terms: Class of worker, Employed, Journey to work
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Year of entry
All people born outside the United States were asked for the year in which they came to live in the U.S. This includes: people born in Puerto Rico and U.S. Island Areas; people born abroad of a U.S. citizen parent(s); and the foreign born.
Related terms: Foreign born, Immigrants, Place of birth
Year structure built
The data on year structure built were obtained from both occupied and vacant housing units. Year structure built refers to when the building was first constructed, not when it was remodeled, added to, or converted. The data relate to the number of units built during the specified periods that were still in existence at the time of enumeration.
Related term: Housing unit
Years of military service
This is a measure of the total amount of time a person has spent on active duty service in the U.S. Armed Forces. The measure excludes any breaks in active-duty service.
Related term: Veteran status
------------------------------ Z ------------------------------ [top]
ZIP Code
A ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan) Code is a five-, seven-, nine-, or eleven-digit code assigned by the U.S. Postal Service to a section of a street, a collection of streets, an establishment, structure, or group of post office boxes, for the delivery of mail.
The Census Bureau uses only 5-digit ZIP codes for the addresses and address ranges in most Census 2000 operations.
ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA)
A ZIP Code Tabulation Area is a geographic area that approximates the delivery area for a five-digit or a three-digit ZIP Code. ZCTAs do not precisely depict the area within which mail deliveries associated with that ZIP Code occur.
Census 2000
A five-digit ZCTA ending in "HH" (e.g., "006HH") represents the water area within a three-digit ZCTA that is not associated with any mail delivery route.
A five-digit ZCTA ending in "XX" (e.g., "006XX") represents the land area within a three-digit ZCTA that is not associated with any mail delivery route.
Census 2010
Additional information: http://proximityone.com/gallery/guide/index.htm?census2010zcta.htm.
Zona Urbana
Represents a census designated place that is the governmental center of each municipio in Puerto Rico. There are no incorporated places in Puerto Rico.
Related term: Municipio
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