America’s Cities: Situation & Outlook

.. the path forward .. planning for the future .. in April 2019, the employment in Houston, TX was 1,111,283 with an unemployment rate of 3.2%. In April 2020, the employment in Houston, TX was 927,105 with an unemployment rate of 14.9%. What will the 2020 annual look like? 2021? There are many paths to get to 2021 and beyond. What policy and action measures might work best? What about your cities of interest? See the related Web section for more details.

Houston characteristics: Demographic .. Social .. Economic .. Housing
Get for any city/area .. e-mail your request

The pandemic impacts on America’s cities in different ways .. some experiencing little change, others with massive change. When, where and how will these disparate patterns change in cities and communities of interest? How might this change impact you and your community? A comprehensive plan needs to be developed and set in motion to achieve best outcomes. This section provides access to tools and data that stakeholders can use to examine America’s cities demographic-economic characteristics and trends. Examine cities of interest. Use ProximityOne data, tools, methods and advisory services to achieve improved results.

Of the nation’s 327.2 million people, an estimated 206.0 million (62.9%) live within an incorporated place. Of approximately 19,500 incorporated places, about 76 percent had fewer than 5,000 people and nearly 50 percent had fewer than 1,000 people. Examine characteristics of individual city population trends and compare cities in states, regions and peer groups using the interactive table below.

Patterns of Economic Prosperity; Cities 50,000 Population or More
The following view shows cities with 2019 population of 50,000 or more as markers .. mainly principal cities of metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). Nationally, there are 69 cities with 2019 population of 5,000 or more (determine using interactive table below). The marker color shows the median household income; see inset legend. Click graphic for larger view; expand window to full screen.

– View developed using the ProximityOne CV XE GIS software.

Patterns of Economic Prosperity; Cities 5,000 Population or More
– zoom-in to Dallas Metro
The following view shows cities with 2019 population of 5,000 or more as polygons/city boundary-area in the Dallas metro area. There are 201 cities that intersect with the Dallas metro (code 19100); 96 of these cities have a population greater than 5,000 (determine using interactive table below). The color patterns show the median household income range; see inset legend. Click graphic for larger view; expand window to full screen.

Patterns of Economic Prosperity by Neighborhood & Adjacent Areas
The following view shows patterns of median household income by block group (sub-neighborhoods) within city (bold black boundary) in the Dallas County, TX area. In examining the situation & outlook for a city it is important to examine characteristics of drill-down geography and adjacent cities/areas. Inset legend shows median household income color intervals. Click graphic for larger view; expand window to full screen. In the larger view, a cross-hatch pattern is applied to Dallas city. It is easier to see how Dallas city is comprised of a core area as well as outlying areas and extends into adjacent counties.

Interactive Analysis of Cities: Demographic-Economic Patterns & Trends
Use the interactive table to view, rank, compare cities based on demographic-economic trends and characteristics. The following static graphics provide two examples.

 

Largest 15 U.S. Cities Ranked on 2019 Population

California Cities Ranked on Educational Attainment

Learn more — Join me in the Situation & Outlook Web Sessions
Join me in a Situation & Outlook Web Session where we discuss topics relating to measuring and interpreting the where, what, when, how and how much demographic-economic change is occurring and it’s impact.

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. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

America’s Cities: Examining Characteristics & Trends

… examining city/place demographic-economic characteristics .. of the approximate 29,323 U.S. cities/places, there are just 548 “large cities” .. those with population of 65,000 population or more.  A semi-arbitrary classification, these are cities/places that meet a size criteria for which American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year estimates are developed annually.  This results in the availability of extensive annual demographic-economic data that are much more current than available for all other cities/places (incorporated cities and CDPs).  Click this link to display a list of these cities/places that include 42 CDPs.  They comprise 2017 population of 119,342,501 of the total U.S. population 325,719,178 (36.6%).

Visual Analysis of City/Place Population Dynamics
Use the CV XE GIS software with city/place GIS project to examine characteristics of city/place population. The following view shows patterns of population percent change by city in the Charlotte, NC/SC metro area.

… view developed using the CV XE GIS software.
… click map for larger view and details including city name.

Access updated city/place for all 29,323 U.S. cities/places based on data from American Community Survey 5-year estimates (ACS2017).  Only here, for example, can you compare income characteristics and educational attainment, and much more, among all cities/places or peer groups .. or examine one/a few of interest to you.

Interactive Tables
Use interactive tables to view, rank, compare cities for any selected item; examine peer groups. Four pages/tables:
• General Demographics
• Social Characteristics
• Economic Characteristics
• Housing Characteristics
Related:
• City/Place GeoDemographics Main Section
• Annual City/Place Population Estimates & Trends
• Similar ACS tables: Census Tracts | ZIP Codes | State, Metro & County

Using API Tools to Access Trend Data; Build Data Files
An example: Examine Citizen Voting Age Population; 2014-2017 annually
Using API Tools to access ACS 2017 1 year estimates for all cities/places:
.. item D084 (CVAP: citizen voting age population) in the interactive table
.. click here to view list of places 65,000 population and over and CVAP
.. join us in the Data Analytics Web Sessions to learn more

Data Analytics Web Sessions
See these applications live/demoed. Run the applications on your own computer.
Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for 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. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Examining Appalachia City Characteristics & Trends

.. using tools and data to examine geographic, demographic, economic characteristics of the Appalachia Region .. Appalachia is a region that includes parts of 13 states, 420 counties, and has long been challenged with poverty. This section is part of a series focused on Appalachia.  See related more detailed Web section.

The Appalachia Region; Lay of the Land
The population of Appalachia increased from 25.1 million in 2010 to 25.5 million in 2016, an increase of 289,806. The following graphic shows how Appalachia region counties have gained population (blue and green) and lost population (orange and red) during the period 2010 to 2016. Click graphic for larger view; expand browser window for best quality view.

.. view developed with ProximityOne CV XE GIS and related GIS project.

Cities in Appalachia
In 2016, there were 2,393 cities in Appalachia. Seven cities had population over 100,000; 16 cities had over 50,000 population and 213 cities had 10,000 or more population.

The following graphic shows cities (red markers) with 2016 population of 10,000 or more in the Appalachia region in context of counties (yellow fill pattern). Click graphic for larger view; expand browser window for best quality view. Larger view shows city names except where labels could overlap.

.. view developed with ProximityOne CV XE GIS and related GIS project.

Growing Cities
The following view shows cities as green markers having 5,000+ 2016 population with growth of 500+ or more population, 2010-2016.

.. view developed with ProximityOne CV XE GIS and related GIS project.

Cities & Metros in Appalachia
The following graphic shows Metropolitan Statistical Areas (green fill pattern) that intersect with Appalachia region counties. Note that some metros only partly intersect with Appalachia. County boundaries are shown as overlay on metros. For example, only northern counties of the Atlanta metro (see pointer) are Appalachia counties. “Edge” Appalachia metros create opportunities for nearby Appalachia counties. Cities within Appalachia and having 50,000+ 2016 population are shown with orange markers. Click graphic for larger view; expand browser window for best quality view.

.. view developed with ProximityOne CV XE GIS and related GIS project.

Characteristics of Metros, Cities and School Districts
• Demographic-economic profiles for selected cities
Examples (click link above to view other cities; click links below for specific city profiles):
.. Cumberland, MD [2421325] (19,978)
.. Frostburg, MD [2430900] (8,676)
Access any/all U.S. city(s) — http://proximityone.com/places15dp1.htm
• Demographic-economic profiles for selected school districts
Examples (click link above to view other districts; click links below for specific district profiles):
.. Allegany County Public Schools, MD [2400030]
.. Pittsburgh School District, PA [4219170]
Access any/all U.S. school district(s) — http://proximityone.com/sd15dp1.htm
• S&O metro reports

Examining Characteristics of All Cities/Places
Use these resources to examine all U.S. cities/places.
• Cities/Places Main Section
• America’s Communities Program — city profiles
• All Cities/Places — 4 Web section/tables
• City Population Estimates & Trends 2010-2016 interactive table

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for 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. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Relating ZIP Codes to City/Places

.. relating ZIP codes to cities .. 214 ZIP code areas intersect with New York city — what are these ZIP codes, their population and how many are completely within the city? What part of a ZIP code area of interest intersects with what city? Conversely, what ZIP code areas intersect with a city of interest? This section provides data and tools that can be used to answer these types of questions and gain insights into geospatial relationships. See more detailed information in the related full Web section.

The 2010 ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) to City/Place relationship data provide a means to equivalence ZCTAs with Census 2010 cities/places. ZCTAs are geographic areas defined as sets of Census 2010 census blocks closely resembling USPS ZIP codes (lines, not areas). ZCTA boundaries are fixed for the intercensal period 2010 through 2020. Census 2010 vintage city/place areas are likewise defined as sets of Census 2010 census blocks. The ZCTA-City/place relationship data are developed through the use of the intersecting census block geography and associated Census 2010 Summary File 1 demographic data.

ZCTA-Place Relationships
The following graphic shows relationships between two selected ZCTAs (red boundaries) and related cities/places (blue fill pattern) in the Pima/Cochise County, AZ area. Relationships between these geographies are reviewed in examples shown below.

– View developed using CV XE GIS and related GIS project.

Using the ZCTA-Place Relationship Data
Two examples illustrating how to use the ZCTA-place relationship data are provided below. The examples are interconnected to the GIS project used to develop the map views, interactive table and data file described in this section. Example 1 describes how to use the data for a ZIP code area entirely located within one city/place. Example 2 describes how to use the data for a ZIP code area located in more than one city/place and area not located in any city/place.

ZCTA to Place Relationships: Example 1
In this example, ZCTA 85711, highlighted in red in the graphic shown below, falls wholly within place 77000, outlined in bold black below. As a result, there is only one corresponding record for ZCTA 85711 in the relationship file. The 2010 Census population for this relationship record is 41,251 (POPPT) which is equal to the 2010 Census population for ZCTA 85711 (ZPOP). See more details about this example.

ZCTA to Place Relationships: Example 2
In this example, ZCTA 85630, highlighted below in red in the graphic shown below, contains two places: all of place 62280 and part of place 05770, both are outlined in black below. As a result, there are two corresponding relationship records in the relationship file. For the first relationship record, the total 2010 Census population for ZCTA is 2,819 (ZPOP). See more details about this example.

Using the Interactive Table
Use the full interactive table to examine U.S. national scope ZCTA-city/place relationships. The following graphic illustrates how ZIP code can be displayed/examined for one city — Tucson, AZ. Each row summarizes characteristics of a ZIP code in Tucson. The last row in the graphic shows characteristics of ZIP code 85711 — the same ZIP code reviewed in Example 1 above.

Click graphic for larger view.

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for 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. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

America’s Cities: Demographic-Economic Characteristics Annual Update

.. tools and data to interactively examine demographic-economic characteristics of America’s 29,321 cities/places .. understanding demographic-economic characteristics of cities and places is essential for business development, market analysis, planning, economic development, program management and general awareness of patterns and trends. This section provides access to data and tools to examine characteristics of all cities/places in the U.S. This annual update includes data for 29,321 cities/places based on ACS 2015 data.

Accessing the Data; Using Interactive Tables
Each of the four links below opens a new page providing access to U.S. by city/place interactive tables — by type of subject matter. Use tools and usage notes below table to select operations to perform queries, sort and select columns.
• General Demographics
• Social Characteristics
• Economic Characteristics
• Housing Characteristics

How the the Tables/Data Can be Used
The following table shows data derived from the Economic Characteristics table. The top 10 cities/places having the highest median household income ($MHI) are shown. The table also shows population, median family income ($MFI) and per capita income ($PCI). The $250,000 value is a cap; the actual value is $250,000 or higher. Use the interactive tables to create similar views for states of interest. Use the button below the table to select/view cities within a selected metro. Compare attributes of cities of interest to a peer group based on population size.

Visual Analysis of City/Place Population Patterns
Use GIS resources to visually examine city/place demographic-economic patterns. The following view shows patterns of population percent change by city in the Charlotte, NC-SC metro area.

… view developed using the CV XE GIS software.
… click map for larger view and details.

Related Data
• Cities/Places Main Section
• Citie Population Estimates & Trends, 2010-15

More About Using These Data
• Using ACS 1-year and 5-year data

Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for 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. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.

Examining Characteristics of America’s Smaller Cities

.. As of 2014, there were 19,509 incorporated cities/places in the U.S. 12,744 (65.3%) of these cities had a 2014 population of 2,500 or less; 15,834 (81.2)%) had a population of 7,500 or less. Rank, compare, query all cities using this interactive table. Examine change since 2010. This section illustrates how to examine more detailed characteristics for any one of these cities — irrespective of population size.

Sandpoint, Idaho: Patterns of Economic Prosperity

— Sandpoint, ID shown with bold black boundary
— colors show patterns of median household income by census tract
— view developed with CV XE GIS

Sandpoint, ID, 2014 population 7,760, intersects with three census tracts.  One of these tracts completely encompasses the places of Ponderay and Kootenai, located to the northeast of Sandpoint.  The next map shows Sandpoint in context of Bonner County, ID

Sandpoint, ID Demographic-Economic Characteristics
The following graphic shows a partial view of a demographic-economic profile for Sandpoint, ID. View the full profile here. Get a profile for any U.S. city.

The profile shows demographic-economic attributes of Sandpoint based on American Community Survey (ACS) 2012 and 2013 5-year estimates. 2014 5-year estimates will be available in December 2015.

The full profile tells a lot more about the city than only population by age. These attributes include school enrollment, educational attainment, migration, language spoken at home, employment status, employment by industry, income and wide ranging housing characteristics. Get the corresponding profile for the county or adjacent city. Compare attributes side-by-side.

About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for 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.