Measuring & Analyzing Households by Social Class by PUMA

.. a social class is a population or household group typically referred to as a lower, middle and upper class. The size of the population or households in a social class is often determined in relationship to an interval related to the median household income of an area — from two-thirds of median household income to twice the median household income (MHI). Subsequent blog posts will address a broader definition for class determination. By better understanding composition and determinants of social class for an area, we might better understand and improve on income inequality and create new opportunities. This is a multi-part blog post on social class analytics. Click Follow at right to receive updates.

Percent Population in Households by Social Class by PUMA
.. Los Angeles area .. click for larger view.

Los Angeles metro area by social class .. PUMAs shown with black boundaries; pointer at Los Angeles-Orange County line

Percent of Households by Social Class by PUMA
.. Los Angeles area .. click for larger view.

Los Angeles metro area by social class .. PUMAs shown with black boundaries; pointer at Los Angeles-Orange County line

Using American Community Survey Microdata
We use of the American Community Survey microdata or “public use microdata samples” (PUMS) http://proximityone.com/pums.htm to develop estimates of population and households by middle class, lower class and upper class by “public use microdata area” (PUMA) http://proximityone.com/puma.htm. Microdata files are comprised of anonymized individual respondent data within PUMAs. The approximate 2,800 PUMAs cover the U.S. wall-to-wall and must have 100,000 population or more. 2010 and 2020 vintages PUMAs may be examined and compared with other geography using the VDA Web GIS http://proximityone.com/vda.htm with the MetroDynamics Project.

Social Class Participation by PUMA
Using custom software, the PUMA (ACS 2021 1 year data in this case), individual housing records are summarized for each PUMA. An estimate is developed for the lower, middle and upper class based on an algorithm.

Examine patterns of social class stratification using VDA Web GIS anywhere in U.S.
The estimates are then integrated into a PUMA shapefile. The PUMA shapefile is added to a Geographic Information System (GIS). Access this shapefile/layers using VDA Web GIS to examine patterns of social class, such as the graphics shown above, or in combination with other geography and subject matter.

About VDA GIS
VDA Web GIS is a decision-making information resource designed to help stakeholders create and apply insight. Use VDA Web GIS with only a Web browser; nothing to install; GIS experience not required. VDA Web GIS has been developed and is maintained by Warren Glimpse, ProximityOne (Alexandria, VA) and Takashi Hamilton, Tsukasa Consulting (Osaka, Japan).

Data Analytics Web Sessions
Join us in the every Tuesday, Thursday Data Analytics Web Sessions. See how you can use VDA Web GIS and access different subject matter for related geography. Get your geographic, demographic, data access & use questions answered. Discuss applications with others.

About the Author
Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for national scope statistical programs and innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Examining City GeoDemographic Drilldown; Intersecting Tracts and Places

.. how can “our city” do a better job of providing housing for low-income individuals and families? One part of a successful program involves looking at attributes of the neighborhood, or census tract, geography across the city. We need to analyze needs by city component census tracts, areas averaging 4,000 population. Here is how that might be approached — determining which census tracts. And while this applies to low income housing, it applies to many other planning topics.

Relate census tract geography to city/place geography using GIS tools for analytical purposes … determine which tracts intersect a city/place. This section considers intersecting tracts and places for illustrative purposes. But the methodology, and tools to do this, involve many, many other types of geography .. geographic spatial intersection. The inputs in this case are U.S. national scope 2020 census tracts (85,190 areas covering the U.S. wall-to-wall) and U.S. national scope 2020 places (32,188 areas). The output from the process of intersecting these geographies are tract-place intersecting parts (119,906 areas). There are 32,146 tracts that are wholly contained in places.

Developing Intersect Files
Tracts intersecting with cities can be determined using the VDAGIS Intersect tool. Select the two input shapefiles and name the intersect output shapefile. The intersect shapefile is added to the GIS project being used.

Focusing on a City
What tracts intersect a city of interest? By having this information, stakeholders, policymakers can study and better understand inequities, differences and needs across the city. Consider Santa Ana, CA (Orange County). There are 65 tracts that intersect with the city of Santa Ana. This could be any city across America. The following view shows Santa Ana with intersecting tracts.

By viewing the intersecting file in VDAGIS, intersecting tracts can be examined. The graphic below shows a zoom-in to tract 06059089102 (blue boundary). This tract is shown at the pointer in the above graphic. in the following zoom-in view, the white label shows the tract code for the whole tract and the two split parts are shown with the same code. The part to the right in Santa Ana city, the part to the left is in Garden Grove city.

Using the intersecting file, the list (a partial list) of these tracts and tract codes can be determined as shown below. By knowing the tract codes, detailed demographic-economic data can be pulled using DEDE and tract characteristics can be studied. Inequities ab be examined, special needs can be determined, east versus west tract groups might identify patterns to facilitate collaboration and policy development. What are the patterns of affordable housing across the city?

About VDAGIS
VDA Web GIS is a decision-making information resource designed to help stakeholders create and apply insight. Use VDA Web GIS with only a Web browser; nothing to install; GIS experience not required. VDA Web GIS has been developed and is maintained by Warren Glimpse, ProximityOne (Alexandria, VA) and Takashi Hamilton, Tsukasa Consulting (Osaka, Japan).

About the Author
Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for national scope statistical programs and innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Population Living Alone & Age 65 Years and Over

.. how many people are living alone in your community, neighborhood? How does this population impact the community? What are their special needs? How does this population vary by area and population group? There were 37.9 million one-person households, 29% of all U.S. households in 2022. In 1960, single-person households represented only 13% of all households. These estimates are based on the 2022 Current Population Survey (CPS). Moving forward, the number of one-person households, people living alone, will increase at the rate of one million or more per year. People in households exclude people living in group quarters. This post examines patterns of people living alone with focus on people living alone age 65 year and over and distribution by small area geography.

While the CPS data provide a current snapshot of the number of people living alone, we have to use data from the American Community Survey to obtain data for smaller area geography like counties and census tracts.

Population Living Alone by Census Tract –Visual Data Analytics
The four graphics below show patterns of the population living alone by census tract. These views have been developed using the Visual Data Analytics (VDA GIS) tools with integrated demographics. Develop variations on these views using the VDA Web GIS using only a web browser.

Patterns of Population Living Alone by Tract

.. click graphic for larger view.

Patterns of Population 65 and Over Living Alone by Tract

.. click graphic for larger view.

Patterns of Population Living Alone by Tract — Houston Metro Area

Patterns of Population 65 and Over Living Alone by Tract — Houston Metro Area

Examine the Data in More Detail
As noted in this related New York Times story, nearly 26 million Americans 50 or older now live alone, up from 15 million in 2000. Older people have always been more likely than others to live by themselves makes up a bigger share of the population than at any time in the nation’s history. The trend has also been driven by deep changes in attitudes surrounding gender and marriage. People 50-plus today are more likely than earlier generations to be divorced, separated or never married. Similar ACS data as used to develop the graphics shown above are available by race/origin. These data are based on the ACS 2020 data; the same scope of data will be available from ACS 2021 to be released in December 2022.

About VDA GIS
VDA Web GIS is a decision-making information resource designed to help stakeholders create and apply insight. Use VDA Web GIS with only a Web browser; nothing to install; GIS experience not required. VDA Web GIS has been developed and is maintained by Warren Glimpse, ProximityOne (Alexandria, VA) and Takashi Hamilton, Tsukasa Consulting (Osaka, Japan).

About the Author
Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for national scope statistical programs and innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Personal Economic Well-Being

.. examining characteristics, patterns and change in personal economic well-being; learning about what per capita personal income by county tells us. Per capita personal income (PCPI) is the best single measure of personal economic well-being. PCPI differs American Community Survey (ACS) measure of per capita income, median household income and similar income measures as PCPI includes non-monetary income .. PCPI provides a more comprehensive measure. This post provides an update focused on new data released November 2022, county level personal income time series data starting in 1969.

Patterns of 2021 Per Capita Personal Income by County

.. click graphic for larger view
.. use VDA Web GIS for Web-based interactive viewing/analytics.
.. see this more detailed analytical framework for analytics using VDA Desktop.

Importance of these Data
How is the regional economy doing? How is it trending? What policies might be changed to improve personal economic well-being? Answers to these and similar questions are why knowing about personal income and its derivation, components is important — to residents, businesses and governments. While median household income is often considered the best measure of buying power for an area, it is not the best measure of personal or household economic well-being. PCPI and the Regional Economic Information System provides insights and answers to these questions.

U.S. Change in PCPI
In U.S. metropolitan areas, PCPI increased 7.3 percent in 2021, up from 6.0 percent in 2020. In U.S. nonmetropolitan areas, PCPI increased 7.5 percent, down from 7.9 percent.

Regional Economic Information System
PCPI is a small part of the broader Regional Economic Information System (REIS). The following links show examples of detailed tables for Harris County, TX comparing 2019 and 2021 developed using the ProximityOne REIS package. Develop these profiles for any county for your selected year 1970 through 2021.
  • Personal Income by Major Source
  • Earnings by Source & Sector
  • Employment by Type & Sector
  • Transfer Payments
  • Economic Profile
  • Farm Income & Expenditures

About VDA GIS
VDA Web GIS is a decision-making information resource designed to help stakeholders create and apply insight. Use VDA Web GIS with only a Web browser; nothing to install; GIS experience not required. VDA Web GIS has been developed and is maintained by Warren Glimpse, ProximityOne (Alexandria, VA) and Takashi Hamilton, Tsukasa Consulting (Osaka, Japan).

About the Author
Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for national scope statistical programs and innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities in Path of Hurricane Ian

.. 25.8 million U.S. households had a head of household age 65 years or over in 2010; 22.1% of total households. 3.1 million households with head of household 65 years or over were located in 10,201 “naturally occurring retirement communities” (NORCs) — areas where the percent of head of household age 65 or over is 40 percent or more. Has the number of NORCs tripled by now? Where and how much .. a next blog.

Here, we review Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities in the Path of Hurricane Ian by block group (BGs) in Lee County, FL … using VDA Web GIS. The same process can be applied to any area.

The following view shows a map view of the BGs meeting the criteria. A partial list of the BGs are shown in the table below the map. In the graphic, BGs meeting the criteria show with blue cross-hatch. Zoom in, label, get a profile if viewing real-time. In the graphic, for example, BG 120710019151 (state 12, county 171, tract 001951, BG code 1) has a total Census 2020 population of 2,061.

Step-by-Step Guide
See this VDA Web GIS tutorial showing how to develop a similar view for areas of interest.

About VDA Web GIS
VDA Web GIS is a decision-making information resource designed to help stakeholders create and apply insight. VDA Web GIS has been developed and is maintained by Warren Glimpse, ProximityOne (Alexandria, VA) and Takashi Hamilton, Tsukasa Consulting (Osaka, Japan).

About the Author
Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for national scope statistical programs and innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Examining Majority-Minority Population by Census Tract

.. a geographic area, such as a census tract or county, has a majority-minority (MM) population when the percent of the population less White, NonHispanic population is more than 50-percent or more of the total population. This section examines patterns of MM by 2020 census tract in the Houston, TX area using the VDA Web GIS (VDA). You can use VDA to examine patterns of MM by tract for areas of interest. All you need is a Web browser and Internet.

MM Tracts in the Houston Area
The following graphic shows patterns of the MM by tract in the Houston metro developed with VDA. The map shows tracts having more than 50% MM population with a red/salmon color. Tracts having 50% or less MM population are shown in blue/green/yellow. Harris County, TX has 1,115 2020 census tracts; 854 of these tracts have a MM population. See the partial list of those tracts by tract code and %MM in the table below the map. A query was used to determine the number of tracts meeting a criteria and sorted in descending order by %MM.

See this VDA Guide section for a step-by-step description
of how you can develop this or a similar view/analysis.

Percent Majority-Minority is a demographic attribute/measure for a geographic area. Like population density or percent population of a certain age, %MM can provide insights for stakeholders or analysts.

About VDA Web GIS
VDA Web GIS is a decision-making information resource designed to help stakeholders create and apply insight. VDA Web GIS has been developed and is maintained by Warren Glimpse, ProximityOne (Alexandria, VA) and Takashi Hamilton, Tsukasa Consulting (Osaka, Japan).

About the Author
Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for national scope statistical programs and innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Housing Price Index by ZIP Code – How Housing Markets are Trending

.. housing prices can impact residential investment and affect economic growth, business opportunities and the housing market. The Housing Price Index (HPI) is one measure of how housing prices are changing. The HPI by ZIP code, as reviewed here, is an index based on the year 2000=100. Changing trends in the HPI can used used the determine the relative costs of housing and change in housing valuation. Hosing prices, and the HPI, are only one part of determining how housing markets are trending. Other measures important to examine include building permits and new construction.

Examining Housing Price Trends
Use the VDA Web GIS tool to examine the Housing Price Index for ZIP Codes of interest. Create maps and tabular profiles such as the one shown below.

Video of Steps to Explore HPI by ZIP Code
Click graphic to view video showing how to use VDA Web GIS to access a ZIP Code profile.

About VDA Web GIS
VDA Web GIS is a decision-making information resource designed to help stakeholders create and apply insight. VDA Web GIS has been developed and is maintained by Warren Glimpse, ProximityOne (Alexandria, VA) and Takashi Hamilton, Tsukasa Consulting (Osaka, Japan).

About the Housing Price Index
The Housing Price Index used here is developed by the Federal Housing Fiance Agency (FHFA). The FHFA House Price Index is the nation’s only public, freely available house price indexes that measure changes in single-family home values based on data from all states that extend back to the mid-1970s.

About the Author
Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for national scope statistical programs and innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

New Authorized Monthly Residential Construction by City

.. access/analyze monthly building permits data for any/all of 7,700 cities in a few minutes via a web browser. Building permits data, a leading economic indicator, are one of the few current indicators available at the city level to examine characteristics and trends. These data can provide insights into the type and value of housing that is being added. Use the VDA Web GIS to examine how the housing situation is changing for cities of interest.

The VDA Web GIS MetroDynamics city layer/dataset is updated with the most recent 6 months of the number of housing units by type and value. The current data provide monthly aggregated data for January 2022 through June 2022. The layer/dataset includes many other attributes (see details). Of the ~19,000 U.S. cities, ~7,700 issue monthly building permits and accessible via this resource.

Examining City Housing Characteristics & Trends
An example: cities in the Phoenix, AZ area labeled with the total building permits.

.. table under map view shows cities with largest number of building permits.
.. see steps to develop the above map and table.

Illustrative Profile for Surprise, AZ
.. selected items from MetroDynamics City layer/dataset
.. integrated subject matter from several sources
.. building permits most current

About VDA Web GIS
VDA Web GIS is a decision-making information resource designed to help stakeholders create and apply insight. VDA Web GIS has been developed and is maintained by Warren Glimpse, ProximityOne (Alexandria, VA) and Takashi Hamilton, Tsukasa Consulting (Osaka, Japan).

About Building Permits Data
Building permits data are collected monthly by the Census Bureau from permit issuing agencies. Monthly data are reported for access within one month of the reporting date. Data are collected on the number of new housing units authorized by type of units in building by value.

About the Author
Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for national scope statistical programs and innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Real Quarterly GDP Trends: State of the States

.. real gross domestic product (RGDP) decreased in 46 states and DC in 2022Q1, as real GDP for the nation decreased at an annual rate of 1.6 percent. The percent change in real GDP in 2022Q1 ranged from 1.2 percent in New Hampshire to 9.7 percent in Wyoming. Updated quarterly GDP estimates have only a 3-month lag from the reference date (e.g., 2022Q1) to access date (e.g. June 2022). Used as a time series, these data provide insights into recent economic change and prospective future change. The RGDP estimates are developed by sector, enabling an assessment of which and how sectors are contributing to change. While we look at all states in this post, California is used as an example. Examine your state(s) of interest using the tools and data described here.

See this companion video illustrating some aspects of using VDA Web GIS with the state quarterly GDP.

Analyzing Real Quarterly GDP by State Using VDA MetroDynamics
Percent Change in Real GDP, 2021Q1 to 2022Q1, U.S. by State

.. create variations of this view using VDA Web GIS .. nothing to install.
.. about MetroDynamics GIS Project
.. click here to start VDA Web GIS

Examine Real Quarterly GDP by State by Sector
GDP is estimated quarterly for 21 sectors. the following graphic shows quarterly RGDP by sector for California. Use VDA to examine these data for state(s) of interest. Step-by-step how-to details below.

View the above data as an Excel file (save to file and open with Excel).

Using VDA Web GIS to Examine GDP by State – Mapping Patterns
Follow these steps:
– Start VDA Web GIS
– Select MetroDynamics Project in next form.
.. VDA user interface appears
– select States in upper left dropdown
– in legend panel, uncheck “Metros Base ..”
– in legend panel, check the top 4 States layers on
– in legend panel, check “+” by “St RGDP%Ch 21q1-22q1” layer name
.. view now shows similar to view presented above.

– click a state to view a profile of the demographic-economic attributes.
.. the profile appears in lower left panel.
.. click the HTML button, lower left, to view the attributes in HTML format.

Using VDA Web GIS to Examine GDP by State — Table/Query
Complete the above steps, then click Query/Table button (below map at right)
– a table/grid now shows below the map window
.. the table has a row for each state; columns show subject matter items
– use Select Field button to select only a few items:
  .. state name
  .. RGDP2021Q1
  .. RGDP2022Q1
  .. RGDP2021Q1-2022Q1 change
  .. RGDP2021Q1-2022Q1 % change
.. table refreshes with view shown below (sorted on RGDP2021Q1-2022Q1 % change).

Looking Ahead; Updates
New quarterly GDP by state estimates for 2022Q2 and revised annual GDP by state estimates for 2017 to 2021 and will be released on September 30, 2022.

About GDP and Measurement
State GDP estimates are updated quarterly by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The following terminology may be a useful reference.
Gross domestic product (GDP) by state is the market value of goods and services produced by the labor and property located in a state. GDP by state is the state counterpart of the nation’s gross domestic product, the most comprehensive measure of U.S. economic activity.
Current-dollar statistics are valued in the prices of the period when the transactions occurred—that is, at “market value.” Also referred to as “nominal GDP” or “current-price GDP.”
Real GDP values are inflation-adjusted statistics, these values exclude the effects of price changes.
State GDP is the lowest geographic level for which quarterly estimates of GDP are produced by BEA.
Seasonal adjustment and annual rates. Quarterly values are expressed at seasonally adjusted annual rates.
Quantities and prices. Quantities, or “real” measures, are expressed as index numbers with a specified reference year equal to 100 (currently 2012). Quantity indexes are calculated using a Fisher-chained weighted formula that incorporates weights from two adjacent periods (quarters for quarterly data and annuals for annual data). “Real” dollar series are calculated by multiplying the quantity index by the current dollar value in the reference year and then dividing by 100. Percent changes calculated from chained-dollar levels and quantity indexes are conceptually the same. Chained-dollar values are not additive, because the relative weights for a given period differ from those of the reference year.
Chained-dollar values of GDP by state are derived by applying national chain-type price indexes to the current dollar values of GDP by state for the 21 North American Industry Classification System-based industry sectors. The chain-type index formula that is used in the national accounts is then used to calculate the values of total real GDP by state and real GDP by state at more aggregated industry levels. Real GDP by state may reflect a substantial volume of output that is sold to other states and countries. To the extent that a state’s output is produced and sold in national markets at relatively uniform prices (or sold locally at national prices), real GDP by state captures the differences across states that reflect the relative differences in the mix of goods and services that the states produce. However, real GDP by state does not capture geographic differences in the prices of goods and services that are produced and sold locally.

About VDA Web GIS
VDA Web GIS is a decision-making information resource designed to help stakeholders create and apply insight. VDA Web GIS has been developed and is maintained by Warren Glimpse, ProximityOne (Alexandria, VA) and Takashi Hamilton, Tsukasa Consulting (Osaka, Japan).

About the Author
Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for national scope statistical programs and innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Join Warren on LinkedIn.