Census Data Via Social Explorer

Start with the Library Web Site

It's helpful to start from the libraries' web site, https://cul.colgate.edu.

Click on the "Databases" link in the center main menu.

Selecting Social Explorer

Then click on "Social Explorer" towards the bottom of the list of databases.

Selecting Data Tables

Click on "Tables" in the left hand menu bar.

Click on "U.S. Decennial Census" at the very top of the list of data sources.

Then click on "BEGIN REPORT" on the right side of the first option "Census 2010".

Selecting Specific Data

Now the fun starts : )  Using the top-most drop-down menu under "Select a geographic type:"  Choose the geographic unit that matches your data.  The most likely units are:

• 050 County
• 060 County Subdivision (Town)
• 140 Census Tract
• 871 5-Digit ZIP Code Tabulation Area

Then, select your state from the drop-down menu under "Select A State".

If selecting County Subdivision or Census Tract units, you will be prompted to select counties, and then county subdivisions or census tracts.

Then, under "Select one or more geographic areas and click 'add':", select the areas that match your data.

Hold down the <Ctrl> key on your keyboard while clicking on your selected geographies to select multiple areas.

Finally, click the "Add" button, then click on the "Proceed to Tables": button.

Selecting Specific Data Sets

Select "Summary File 1" from the drop-down menu below "Select a dataset:"

Then, under "Select one or more tables" and click "add':" choose the data tables you wish to analyze, and click the "Add" button.

For starters, click on and add tables:

• P1. Total Population
• P2. Race
• P5. Hispanic or Latino By Race
• P12. Sex by Age

Click on the "Show results" button after you have added the tables you want.

Download the Data

Click on the middle "Excel" tab.

Un-check the "Output Percents" box

Click on Excel 2007 (.xlsx)

Open the downloaded file, or save the file.

This concludes selecting and downloading census data from Social Explorer.

------------------

Searching for and selecting data from the American Community Surveys works in exactly the same manner.

Certificate

Please enter your name and email address to retrieve a copy of your completed quiz.

You can enter multiple email addresses separated by commas. If you are doing this for a class, you may need to enter your instructor's email address also.

Feedback