Census Launches Interactive Demographic Map
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The tool aims to provide transparency on racial and income data across the country.
The U.S. Census Bureau unveiled a new data tool on Monday that allows users to view the demographics sharing their individual communities across the nation.
Called the My Community Explorer, the tool is an interactive dashboard that offers profiles of all U.S. counties based on the data collected from the census survey. Beginning with a state, users can filter by demographic data including race and ethnic makeup, income and economic statistics, and industry and business profiles.
The software is powered by microdata sourced from the American Community Survey, per the Census Bureau’s web page. Officials told Nextgov that the map was designed by Esri, a geographic software company.
“MCE is an interactive map-based tool that highlights demographic and socioeconomic data that measure inequality and can help inform data-based solutions,” the Census Bureau said.
In addition to the ACS information being interactive and featured within the map, data from Community Resilience Estimates, County Business Patterns and Nonemployer Statistics are included. These are socioeconomic data indicators, with the Community Resilience Estimate unique in its emphasis on how communities across the country are prepared for natural disasters.
The Census Bureau notes that the tool is a result of President Biden’s executive order to increase data transparency on diversity within the federal workforce to help promote underserved communities.