REDLANDS, Calif.—December 11, 2018—Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, today announced that ArcGIS software users will now have easy access to the most current data on the US population, housing, and workforce. Through ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, people can see and use over 1,000 annually refreshed attributes of American Community Survey (ACS) tables from the US Census Bureau’s five-year estimates.
After this year’s massive wildfires in Santa Barbara County, California, government analysts used ACS census data to track damage boundaries and target recovery efforts. In the past, when a task like this called for current US Census Bureau data, ArcGIS users had to first download data directly from the US Census Bureau website and translate it into a GIS-compatible format. This process, which required additional steps and expertise, would potentially create delays on time-sensitive projects.
“Those who have worked with census data know that the process of making multiple data tables GIS ready can be very time-consuming,” said Lisa Berry, Esri cartographic product engineer. “Now there’s no need to manually process the data. Living Atlas will not only have a subset of ACS data readily available for GIS workflows, but the data will also be updated automatically each year when the US Census Bureau releases its new data.”
Living Atlas—the foremost collection of global geographic information including maps, apps, and data layers—supports governments, businesses, and universities in performing research, analysis, and decision-making. Many government organizations are required by law to use ACS data when conducting any kind of spatial analysis involving populations. This new integration will provide them with a faster way of accessing and analyzing demographic data to make important decisions. ACS data layers in Living Atlas will update every December when the US Census Bureau produces new five-year estimates.
The most current five-year ACS data is now easily available through Living Atlas, which can be accessed in ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online, Esri’s configurable mobile apps and dashboards, and Esri Story Maps.
To learn more about using ACS data layers in ArcGIS Living Atlas, visit go.esri.com/living-atlas/acs.
About Esri
Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system software, location intelligence, and mapping, offers the most powerful geospatial cloud available. Since 1969, Esri has helped customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Today, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations including the world’s largest cities, most national governments, 75 percent of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most advanced solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. Visit us at esri.com.
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