From the Horse's Mouth: Accessing Historical Census Data

Often I get requests for data from older censuses. More recent data is readily available through a variety of online resources. But when it comes to, let's say, the 1930 Census, things get a little more difficult. Sometimes it's just best to go to the horse's mouth - namely the US Census Bureau website. While many of you undoubtedly are familiar with the American Fact Finder (AFF), there are other places on the Census Bureau website where historical data can be found. It may not be as easy or as searchable as using AFF.

One of the most direct places is their historical Census of Population and Housing webpage.  From this website you can access all of the population and housing data in every census that has been done since 1790. Please keep in mind that the census has not always provided the types of data you are presently used to, but if it was released as part of the population and housing information, it's there. For some of the data, you can access it online in a pdf; for others you must download LARGE files to view the information. So beware before you click the download button !

Regardless, this page can be a valuable resource when trying to track down some long forgotten census tidbit.

A Brief History of NYS Driver's Licenses

Did you know that among workers age 16 and over in the Utica-Rome MSA (think Herkimer and Oneida Counties) nearly 90% drive or carpool to work every day ? That's nearly 120,000 people on our roads heading to work !

New York first required paper licenses back in 1903, but only for chauffeurs. It wasn't until 1918 that regular drivers also had to have an actual paper drivers license to be legal on the roadway in New York!

The New York Times has an interesting short piece showing this history with pictures and samples of how drivers licenses have changed over the last 110 years. To see how our licenses have changed, visit their article on  Evolution of Licenses. And drive safe !

Historical Herkimer and Oneida County Municipal Population Counts, 1980 to 2010

Herkimer County

Oneida County

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 !