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!

The latest in the Islamic center controversy has the media focusing on a small church in Gainesville, Florida.  Here, Terry Jones, the outspoken anti-Islam pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center, has the spotlight.  Just this week, he cancelled a planned 9/11 Koran burning protest and is now visiting New York City.

This pastor and his 50 parishioners have the world’s attention, but how representative are they?

Beyond ideologies, Social Explorer can provide helpful numbers and context.  The Religious Congregations and Membership Survey, conducted by the Association of Religious Data Archives, tracks the number of religious adherents and congregations, as well as dozens of denominations.

In 2000, Alachua County, Florida (where the Dove World Outreach Center is located) had 217,955 residents and a diversity of religions.  The proportion of the population that is estimated to be religious is lower in Alachua County (43.13%) than in both the rest of Florida (50.79%) and the entire United States (61.49%).

While Catholicism is the largest religion nationwide, Evangelical Protestants make up the most popular religious group in Alachua County.  Terry Jones’ Dove World Outreach Center parishioners represent 0.15% of the total 33,865 Evangelical Protestants in the county.  They are greatly outnumbered numerically and in public opinion by other Evangelicals.

They are also outnumbered by Alachua County Muslims.  According to the 2000 survey, Alachua County was also home to 450 Muslims and one mosque.

For full details on the different religious groups in Alachua County and around the country, visit Social Explorer’s religious survey maps and reports.

Born in Staten Island, NY, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino spent his formative tanning and toning years in Manalapan, NJ.  Last summer, he joined the cast of MTV’s The Jersey Shore.

From flashing his abs to regaling housemates with dating strategies, “The Situation” likes to put it out there, but Social Explorer can teach you even more.  For this installment of The Jersey Shore Data Hookup, we’ll use reports to help you learn what’s behind the your favorite shirtless Jersey Shore cast member.

Median household income in Manalapan, NJ, is twice the national average, but at $82,876, it would afford only a couple of appearance fees with “The Situation.”   He is reported to earn over $5 million this year for the Jersey Shore, Dancing with the Stars, product endorsements and events.

Social Explorer created one table you’d think Mike might have designed himself—“Single Males to Females Ratio By Age Group.”  And looking at the data, a young, single Manalapan man might want to move.  There are 23% more single men than single women among 20-29 year olds (7% higher than nationwide) in his old stomping ground.  Seaside Heights, NJ, has a more favorable ratio for the single guy, but Miami Beach has even more single 20-29 year old men than women (35%).  (At least he’ll have more in common with fellow Miami Beach residents, where men are five times more likely to be in arts, design, entertainment, sports and media occupations than in Manalapan.)

From Manalapan to Seaside Heights to Miami Beach, “The Situation” needs a little luck and a little data to improve his game.

In The Wall Street Journal’s “Young Women’s Pay Exceeds Male Peers’,” Conor Dougherty reports the latest findings on 20-something women.

In 2008, single, childless women between ages 22 and 30 were earning more than their male counterparts in most U.S. cities, with incomes that were 8% greater on average, according to an analysis of Census Bureau data released Wednesday by Reach Advisors, a consumer-research firm in Slingerlands, N.Y.

In the article, Social Explorer’s Andrew Beveridge “I expect the trend to continue.” And he would know–it’s a trend he’s been researching for years.

In 2007, the New York Times covered the topic in “For Young Earners in Big City, a Gap in Women’s Favor,” where an examination of young women (across all marital statuses and with or without children) in big cities revealed that women were now earning more than men in the work world.

Analyzing 2005 Census estimate data, Beveridge wrote about the unique social and economic position of New York City women for GothamGazette.com, finding that:

They are much more likely to be single, earn more money, and have more education than women living in the rest of the United States. And while the same percent of New York women are working as women elsewhere in the country, the jobs they are doing are much different.

A subsequent article about 20 somethings in New York City from the 1970s to the 2000s highlighted the achievement and wage gap between men and women.  Beveridge examined the trends of women beating men in educational attainment, and making gains in salary levels too.

Men have seen their real wages fall substantially and women outside of New York have seen only very modest gain…Over this period, women in New York City saw an amazing jump in their wages compared with those of men in their age group. While women in the city earned, on average about $7,000 less than men in 1970, by 2005 they made about $5,000 more. Interestingly, women in the country as a whole have closed the gap between their earning and those of men, but still lag behind.

Social Explorer helps you understand the trends of today with decades of data and context.