Census Data, Getting To The Numbers
Accessing Census 2010 data will be easier than ever with the explosion of online technologies. Anyone who wants to can find a wealth of information drawn from Census 2010 results. Navigating the Census Bureau's website and its "American Fact Finder" subsection was a big part of a workshop offered by the U.S. Census Bureau Wednesday in Casper.
K2 Radio's Karen Snyder was there and spoke with Census Bureau Economist, Amy Bittner.
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"Its an exciting time. Last year everybody was filling out their census form and there were messages saying, 'It's important to be counted. Make sure you fill out your form and send it back', and now we're seeing the result of that. The data for areas, states, local communities, is starting to come out."
Amy Bittner, Economist with the U.S. Census Bureau in Wyoming, was one of a room full of government workers, geographers, journalists; people who'll compile statistics for some aspect of their work.
So far, data available specific to Wyoming, is for population totals along with some Hispanic data. Next week, Bittner says, more detailed demographics for the state will be released; Age data, housing information, types of households. She reminds us that all census information is confidential and remains so for 72 years.
"after 72 years the Census Bureau releases the actual individual census form and I know people who are interested in ancestry and do genealogy searches. Right now the 1930s census records(are available) but there's nothing more current than 1930. So if your looking for a 1940s record of a specific person living in a specific area, that's not available yet."
Here's a link to the Census Bureau Website with loads of information and tutorials on how to navigate;