Census 2000

In this project I took county-level race data from the 2000 Census and used it to create maps showing the population density of various races across the continental United States. I made three individual maps displaying Black, Asian, and Some Other Race categories. To begin this project I started with the map I created in the ArcGIS Census2000 tutorial which included an excel table with basic census data such as county area, population per square mile, etc. To this table I joined the race data that I collected from the US Census Bureau website. To do this, however, required me to clean up the census data I collected and simplify the headings in of the excel spreadsheet. By using the same State and County FIPS (codes for identify the individual counties) in each of the census data tables, I was able to use this specific field to create the join. Thus in doing so I was able to add this new race census data and create my three maps of Black, Asian, and Some Other Race population densities.
When choosing a map projection I decided to use the Lambert conic projection for all three maps because I feel that this projection shows a relatively accurate model of the continental United States. Next when it came time to classify the race data, I chose to use the natural breaks to model the data. I feel that using natural breaks instead of a preselected range of percentages yields a more accurate representation of the data that I am displaying. I also chose to use only four categories and grayscale for simplicity.
When looking at the map of black race data it shows that in the year 2000 a higher percentage of blacks lived in counties found in the Southeastern states such as Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia. Also near Chicago, Illinois there is a relatively large black population. The map of Asian race census data shows that the highest population densities of Asians are found on the West Coast, especially around the San Francisco Bay Area. One trend that I can see from looking at both the Black and Asian race census data is that the highest populations of each race in America are found nearer to their original homelands. More Asians live on the West Coast which is closer to Asia and more Blacks live in the Southeastern United States which is closer to Africa. It is interesting that in the year 2000 immigration to America--either recent or centuries ago, willingly or forced--people for the most part people have remained closest to their native homeland.
The map for Some Other Race shows highest population densities from Texas westward through the Sunbelt up to Washington. According to the US Census Bureau website, “some other race” includes all other responses not included in “White,” “Black,” “American Indian and Alaska Native,” “Asian,” and “Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander” race categories. Thus this race category is very broad and can include people who are multiracial, interracial, or consider themselves to be from a particular Hispanic/Latino group--Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban--or those who are Jewish. Therefore since this racial category is not very specific, it is difficult to determine and patterns or trends from the map. The most one could infer from this map is that the majority of people who consider themselves in this category are found in the Center-West part of the continental United States and that most people on the East Coast do not consider themselves in this category.