Posts in Census & ACS
PUMAs: What They Are And How You Can Help

During CTData’s 2021 Conference, we hosted a session dedicated to Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs). If you attended the session, we want to thank you for engaging and offering your input and suggestions. If you missed this session, read on to learn more about what PUMAs are, why they are important, what needs to be done by January 2022, and how you can help with this important process!

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Most Common Race or Ethnicity by Census Tract

When looking at census data for Connecticut, the state-level population data can hide the diversity that lies within our state. The Census Bureau analyzed the national data by county to uncover the racial and ethnic diversity that lies underneath the top-line stats about which racial or ethnic identity is most common. We wondered what Connecticut looks like when we explore the second and third most common racial and ethnic identity by census tract.

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Census & ACSIlya Ilyankou
American Community Survey: Release Updates

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a survey administered by the Census Bureau covering topics such as social, economic, housing, and demographic characteristics. The ACS surveys around 3.5 million addresses and informs over $675 billion of federal government spending each year. Due to Covid-19, outreach and participation significantly decreased in 2020, and the data collected did not meet quality standards for the 2020 1-year estimates.

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2020 Decennial Census: Data Release Schedule

In 2020, CTData focused on ensuring a complete 2020 Census count in Connecticut through efforts such as tracking town and county response rates and providing resources to increase response rates in communities. Now that the data collection process has been completed, many of us are awaiting the release of 2020 Census data. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has pushed back many of the previously anticipated data product release dates.

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Connecticut Census Tract Boundaries are Changing

In February 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau updated census geographic boundaries for many states across the country, including Connecticut. Since data from both the American Community Survey and decennial census is often consumed at the census-tract level (areas of up to 4,000 people), it is important for data users to understand the differences between 2010 and 2020 boundaries, as new data will be disseminated using updated boundaries going forward.

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What the Census Bureau Proposal Means for Connecticut’s Data

If you use census data, stay tuned for an important update that will impact the future of your data work in Connecticut.

The State of Connecticut requested and the Census Bureau proposed the appointment of the state’s nine Councils of Governments (COGs) as the “county-equivalent geographic unit for purposes of collecting, tabulating, and disseminating statistical data.” The change is set to be implemented in 2023.

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New Connecticut Census Data Shows: Increase in Diversity, More Residents Insured, But Minimal Population Change

How has Connecticut changed in the last five years? According to our analysis on the newly released 2015-2019 American Community Survey (ACS) data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the total population of Connecticut has declined slightly. However, the share of the population that identifies as a person of color has increased by 3%, and the share of the population that has health insurance has increased as well.

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Census & ACSJason Cheung
Not Sure What to Say? Messaging to Help Increase 2020 Census Responses in Your Community

As we’ve spoken with people during the last couple of months about census outreach, one theme has become clear: many people still have hesitations about completing their 2020 Census questionnaires. Reasons include not realizing that the census brings funding to their community, feeling doubtful that funding would be distributed, or reluctance to provide personal information to the federal government.

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Join Us in Demanding an Accurate Census Count

A lot is going on in our lives right now, but we hope you will take 5 minutes to join us to support a fair and accurate census count. Like you, we at CTData care about an accurate count in Census 2020. There is funding, representation, and data at stake. We are concerned that the U.S. Census Bureau has recently shortened the timeline for the decennial count and that Congress isn’t funding census operations at a level that meets the needs in Connecticut and other states.

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Data Tools to Help You Get Out the Count

As the response rate in Connecticut nears 65%, our recent analysis shows that there are still many tracts that are struggling to increase their self-response rates. While we don’t typically think about the world around us as census tracts, they allow us to really focus our efforts on encouraging people to be counted in very specific areas.

There are two tools you will learn about in this post. First is the U.S. Census Bureau’s own Response Rates map. The second is the Census 2020 Hard to Count Map. I use both for different purposes, and by the end of this post, you will be using them, too.

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Connecticut’s Self-Response Rises, but Many Tracts Are Struggling

Our analysis of Census 2020 self-response rates in Connecticut by tract with demographic characteristics found that many tracts in Connecticut are struggling with their self-response rate. These include rates lower than Connecticut’s average among our major cities, tracts with over 50% Hispanic or black residents, tracts with fewer home-owners and more multi-family homes, tracts that received bilingual census mailings, and tracts with less Internet access. Learn more about the details and resources you can access to support these tracts.

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