New American Community Survey Data Will Be Available for Instant Access by ArcGIS Users
REDLANDS, Calif.—January 09, 2020—Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, announced today that ArcGIS software users will now have easy access to the newest values for five-year estimates of the most current data on demographic, housing, and workforce characteristics of the US population. Through ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, people can see and use over 1,400 annually refreshed attributes of American Community Survey (ACS) tables from the US Census Bureau.
New layers in this updated data release that are available in Living Atlas include the following:
- Education by Veteran Status
- Population in Limited-English Households
- Age Group by Labor Force Participation
- School Enrollment
- Heating Fuel Type by Tenure
- Housing Costs as a Percentage of Income by Age and Tenure
Layers also now have improved metadata in the form of long field descriptions for each attribute, bringing US Census documentation closer to the geographic information system (GIS) analyst. These long descriptions provide users with definitions that are helpful when deciding which attributes are most appropriate for their needs.
There will also be new “highlight layers” that group attributes from many topics, helping users to answer questions with a single layer. These include attributes like households without a vehicle, households with no internet connection, and other populations vulnerable in an emergency; child well-being; senior living standards; and other well-being patterns.
“These new layers and workflow updates are a valuable tool especially for professionals in fields such as emergency management who rely on US Census data,” said Lisa Berry, Esri cartographic product engineer. “Being able to access this information in real time as well as added layers of analytics gives government personnel a significant advantage when responding to disasters like wildfires.”
Many government organizations are required by law to use ACS data when conducting any kind of spatial analysis involving populations. This integration provides them with a faster way of accessing and analyzing demographic data to make important decisions. ACS data layers in Living Atlas 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 ArcGIS StoryMaps. All maps using these layers will automatically contain the newest ACS figures.
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.
To learn more about the latest updates and using ACS data layers in ArcGIS Living Atlasof the World, visit go.esri.com/living-atlas/acs.
About Esri
Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, offers the most powerful geospatial cloud available, to help customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations including 90 of the Fortune 100 companies, all 50 state governments, more than half of all counties (large and small), and 87 of the Forbes Top 100 Colleges in the U.S., as well as all 15 Executive Departments of the U.S. Government and dozens of independent agencies. 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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