Social Explorer users now have access to new and detailed religion demographics from infoGROUP’s American Church List (ACL) data for 2009.  The ACL provides the most complete and accurate database of churches and religious associated businesses with approximately 350,000 houses of worship.

The data includes over 20 groups and 230 denominations, and are viewable by religious tradition or family.  The reports offer a detailed breakdown of each religion, such as this table for Jewish congregations and adherents in New York County (Manhattan).

2009 American Church List Data Table: Jewish Tradition

You can look at both county-level and Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA)-level data.  County-level data offers a high level of religion data detail in less-populated communities.  PUMA-level data (at least 100,000 per PUMA) enables users to see a much higher level of detail in big cities. For instance, New York has five counties (some with millions of people in them), but with the PUMA map, you can see religion data in 54 large neighborhoods.

2009 American Church List Data PUMA-level: A Zoomed-In View of Parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn

Also, each house of worship is viewable by name and location on the map.  (Additional details on each one will be included in future releases.)

2009 American Church List Data: A Zoomed-In View of Upper Manhattan

If you think a house of worship is missing, please report it by clicking on the “Report a missing congregation” link at the top right of the map screen.

Start exploring the new data and features through the maps or the reports (subscription required).

As candidates, voters and pundits continue to celebrate, mourn and scrutinize this week’s election, Social Explorer can add context to the discussion.

For example, data reveal a spectrum of economic indicators in districts that Republican candidates picked up this year.   Social Explorer lets users investigate American Community Survey (ACS) data by congressional district to learn more about the places where these changes occurred.

Four congressional districts in Florida changed from Democratic to Republican control this election:

• District 2 (eastern panhandle): Republican Steven Southerland beat incumbent Democrat Allen Boyd.
• District 8 (central, Orlando-area): Republican Daniel Webster beat incumbent Democrat Alan Grayson.
• District 22 (southeast coast): Republican Allen B. West beat incumbent Democrat Ron Klein.
• District 24 (east of Orlando) : Republican Sandy Adams beat incumbent Democrat Suzanne Kosmas

According to the ACS data, Florida as a whole saw larger increases in the unemployment rate and decreases in income and home values.  These figures vary by district, as shown in the table below.

2009 Economic Indicators in Florida and the US (including change since 2006)

Table contains 2009 ACS data and inflation-adjusted 2006 ACS data.

Whether or not the economy or ideology drove the election results, data from Social Explorer provides background for discussions of the state of the US.  Subscribers can investigate their own districts using the report tool.

Social Explorer enjoyed two busy days at the USA Science and Engineering Festival in DC this past weekend.  About half a million science fans explored over 1,500 exhibits and activities at the event. Visitors to the American Sociological Association booth made predictions about their neighborhoods, which they compared to census data from Social Explorer tools.

Everyone from kids to high schoolers to parents to educators stopped by to test out hypotheses and learn more about sociology.

We even had a visit from a very famous printer and scientist, all the way from 18th century Philadelphia.

You can be like Ben Franklin and look up information on your own neighborhood using Social Explorer’s maps.

This weekend, science enthusiasts are taking over DC for the USA Science and Engineering Festival organized by globally renowned science event producer, Lawrence Alan Bock.

The festival aims to re-invigorate the interest of the nation’s youth in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) by producing and presenting the most compelling, exciting, educational and entertaining science gatherings in the United States.

Social Explorer will be at the American Sociological Association exhibit demonstrating demographic tools and using data to test hypotheses about the social world.

Stop by our booth to find out how well you know your neighborhood. We are at Booth 1261 in section PA-13, between Pennsylvania Avenue North and South and 13th and 14th Street.  Hope to see you there.

As the fall weather moves in, Social Explorer is looking westward to enjoy a little more of those California beaches.  Inspired by several songs about this great state, we can use Social Explorer to sing with data.

After humming along with Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” and The Beach Boys 1960s hit “California Girls” (remade by David Lee Roth in 1985), what is the state of West Coast women?

With Social Explorer, users can quickly compare maps and reports across the decades.  Looking at the female population of California for each of the three songs–Census years 1960 and 1980 and the newly released 2009 American Community Survey–we see how women are distributed around the state.

Social Explorer’s report tools enable a closer look at trends in the female population, including age, race and more.  For example, the female population in California changed from 50.1% during the Beach Boys songs to 50.7% while David Lee Roth was rocking to 49.9% as Katy Perry sang.

So, why have California women inspired such songwriting?  Are they truly “undeniable, fine, fresh and fierce?”  Are they “the cutest girls in the world?” According to the data, throughout this period, California females were a bit rarer than US women overall in numbers, making them unique, in terms of numbers.

Click the above map or the reports link for more California data dreamin.

Now that the trapped Chilean miners have all been safely rescued, Social Explorer takes a look at the mining industry here in the US.

With detailed maps and reports, Social Explorer can help trace mining over time. According to the 2000 Census, there were 496,370 miners in the US, representing just 0.4% of the over 16 employed civilian population. By comparison, the largest industries were manufacturing (14.1%), retail trade (11.7%) and health case and social assistance (11.2%).

Small in numbers nationwide, miners are heavily concentrated in certain regions of the US. In these areas, the swings in the mining population have been large. These maps show the distribution of miners in the US in 1970 and 1990—the most recent year that mining can be mapped as a separate industry (separate from agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting).

1970 United States Mining Industry

1990 United States Mining Industry

The mining industry has grown in central Nevada, while it has receded and all but disappeared in other areas of the country, such as parts of northern Michigan and Minnesota. Reports provide more detail about these shifts.  For instance, a Social Explorer report confirms that between 1990 and 2000, the mining industry in West Virginia dropped from 5.4% to 2.8% of employed residents.

Mine the data for yourself by clicking on either of the maps, or visiting the reports section of the site.

And for more on Chileans in the US, check out Social Explorer’s recent blog post in honor of Chilean Independence Day.

Social Explorer will soon have access to new religion demographics from infoGROUP’s American Church List (ACL) data.

Users will be able to examine the data at different levels of detail, and view information about every congregation in the US.

Building on Social Explorer’s 1980, 1990 and 2000 religion data, this new data will enable a more thorough and current examination of religion in the US.

Two days after Mexicans declared independence from Spain, Chileans began their battle for independence.  September 18th, 2010, marks the 200th birthday of the Republic of Chile.

Social Explorer helps you learn where Chileans live in the US.  As of the 2000 Census, 68,849 Chileans resided across the US, including at least one famous Chilean-born star in Marlborough, New York.

Census 2000: Number of Chileans (each dot represents 10 people)

Social Explorer also lets you examine the Spaniard population, and at 100,135, Spaniards outnumber Chileans in the US.

Census 2000: Number of Spaniards (each dot represents 10 people)

Click on either map to explore more, or click here to create your own.

In his latest Gotham Gazette column “Census Likely to Offer Accurate Count of New Yorkers,” Social Explorer’s Andrew Beveridge assesses the Census Bureau’s count of New York City households.  He discusses the improved response rate and practices for correcting gaps and inaccurate data, “In short, the 2010 Census is shaping up to be very accurate and reliable.”

Census data collection does not end when you fill out your form or an enumerator knocks on your door.  Some residents are never reached, as illustrated in the map below.  Data is often lacking in certain areas of the city, and the Census Bureau must account for that in its mission to survey every resident of the US.

2000 Data Imputation Rates in New York City

Beveridge explains the Census’s strategy of substituting answers where they are missing, “Imputation makes up for many of the problems in data collection, including non-response and inaccurate or misleading information. It improves the quality of the census and the overall results by filling in holes and fixing other problems.”

Click here to read the rest of the article.

On Sept. 16, 1810, Mexican insurgents began the fight for independence from Spanish loyalists, and 11 years later, they won it.  Today marks the 200th anniversary of Mexican Independence Day.

With Social Explorer, you can examine where Mexicans are now.  Maps offer portraits of where the US’s 20,640,711 Mexicans live.

Census 2000: Number of Mexicans (each dot represents 10 people)

And, Social Explorer can illustrate what percentage of the population is Mexican.

With some areas of the country nearly as Mexican as Mexico.

Census 2000: Percentage Mexicans in the Southwest

Click on any of the maps to explore more, or click here to create your own.

Viva Mexico!  Viva data!