Mean Center of Our Country

The U.S. mean center of population, as of April 1, 2010, is near Plato, Mo., an incorporated village in Texas County. The U.S. Census Bureau calculated this point as the place where an imaginary, flat, weightless and rigid map of the United States would balance perfectly if all 308,745,538 residents counted in the 2010 Census were of identical weight.

Ever since Chestertown, Md., was determined to be the center of population after the first census was conducted in 1790, the center of population has told the story of America, illustrating how we've grown as a nation. It follows a trail across the country ─ across Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Missouri ─ that reflects our history of settling the frontier, manifest destiny, waves of immigration and regional migration.

The Census Bureau will install a commemorative "geodetic control mark" at a site near the official coordinates during a dedication ceremony in April 2011. This survey disc will be used by satellites and land surveyors to conduct scientific surveys to generate precise position data that serve as the foundation for accurate mapping and charting in America.

Housing Unit Changes 2000-2010

Of the few thing released in the 2010 PL94-171 data is information on housing units - namely the the number of total housing units, the number occupied, and the number vacant. Below is a table showing the counts from the Census 2000, Census 2010, and the changes within each municipality.

Only three communities saw a decline in the number of housing units (Bridgewater, Rome and Utica). As a whole, both counties saw increases of more than 1,300 new housing units identified in this year's census compared to the 2000 Census.

Census 2010 Data Has Arrived !

Finally, after what seems like a decade (oh wait...it HAS been ten years hasn't it?) Herkimer and Oneida Counties have new decennial census data ! The data, released on March 24th, represents the PL 94-171 data used for redistricting purposes. It is a limited release of data but includes four components of the 2010 Census: population, racial breakdowns, voting age racial breakdowns, and housing occupancy. More data from the 2010 Census will be released in May.

In the meantime, this data gives us our first look at what the decade has wrought to our region in the last decade. the news appears to be much more positive than the Census Estimates program would have led us to believe.

To begin with, Herkimer County's population actually has grown ! And in Oneida County, while the population has dropped slightly, the overall loss is less than 600 people. Below are two tables with historical population counts for Herkimer and Oneida Counties, including the 2010 Census !

Welcome

This represents our first post to the Herkimer and Oneida Counties  Census Data Affiliate Blog.