Herkimer County Comparisons Of Young Adults: 1980 Census through 2013 ACS Data

The Census Explorer offers a new report and feature entitled "Young Adults: Then and Now". It looks at socioeconomic characteristics of 18- to 34-year-olds using the 2009-2013 American Community Survey and the 2000, 1990 and 1980 Censuses. The interactive data tool has estimates for the national, state, metropolitan, and county level of geography. Below is a walk through to get you to the Herkimer County data.

After clicking the link above, click the Explore! button:

This will take you to a page where you can then type in "Herkimer County" in the location box on the upper left:

This will bring you to the Herkimer County data and map. To see all the data at once, including comparisons to NYS and the US, click the "Show Full Report" button:

Tables include comparisons of 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2013 data on:

• Total population
• Percent non-Hispanic white alone
• Percent minority (Note: “Minority” refers to people who reported their ethnicity and race as a group other than non-Hispanic white alone)
• Year-round, full-time median earnings
• Percent living in poverty
• Percent employed
• Percent foreign born
• Percent with a bachelor’s degree or higher
• Percent veterans
• Percent language other than English spoken at home
• Percent never married
• Percent living in their parents’ home
• Percent living alone
• Percent of workers who drove or carpooled

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.