The “Census Data by County” data set aggregates many different quantities of interest over the counties of the US. I
The USDA provides this data as 4 separate sheets (on
This page). Any one of them could tell an interesting story but together, they provide a very rich and complex data set full of stories.
We have (well, Young Wu, the 765 TA in 2020 has) joined the 4 spreadsheets together (joining by the “FIPS Code” column) creating a single file. The four files are also combined (joined by the “FIPS Code” column) into one file. The rows for the states (not counties) are also removed. The data is downloaded and processed on September 13, 2020 from USDA/ERS. (this is why the data only goes up to 2019 - the USDA has newer data).
The CSV File census_counties.csv is about 4MB and has 3196 rows and 339 columns.
The variable descriptions can be found on
here, and some of them are replicated in the following table:
Variable Descriptions
| Column name | Description |
|---|
| Births_2019 | Births in period 7/1/2018 to 6/30/2019 |
| CENSUS_2010_POP | 4/1/2010 resident Census 2010 population |
| CI90LB017_2018 | 90% confidence interval lower bound of estimate of people age 0-17 in poverty 2018 |
| CI90LB017P_2018 | 90% confidence interval lower bound of estimate of percent of people age 0-17 in poverty 2018 |
| CI90LBINC_2018 | 90% confidence interval lower bound of estimate of median household income 2018 |
| CI90UB017_2018 | 90% confidence interval upper bound of estimate of people age 0-17 in poverty 2018 |
| CI90UB017P_2018 | 90% confidence interval upper bound of estimate of percent of people age 0-17 in poverty 2018 |
| CI90UBINC_2018 | 90% confidence interval upper bound of estimate of median household income 2018 |
| Civilian_labor_force_2018 | Civilian labor force annual average, 2018 |
| Deaths_2019 | Deaths in period 7/1/2018 to 6/30/2019 |
| DOMESTIC_MIG_2019 | Net domestic migration in period 7/1/2018 to 6/30/2019 |
| Economic_typology_2015 | County economic types, 2015 edition |
| Employed_2019 | Number employed annual average, 2019 |
| ESTIMATES_BASE_2010 | 4/1/2010 resident total population estimates base |
| FIPS_Code | State-County FIPS Code |
| GQ_ESTIMATES_2019 | 7/1/2019 Group Quarters total population estimate |
| GQ_ESTIMATES_BASE_2010 | 4/1/2010 Group Quarters total population estimates base |
| INTERNATIONAL_MIG_2019 | Net international migration in period 7/1/2018 to 6/30/2019 |
| Med_HH_Income_Percent_of_State_Total_2019 | County Household Median Income as a percent of the State Total Median Household Income, 2019 |
| MEDHHINC_2018 | Estimate of median household income 2018 |
| Median_Household_Income_2019 | Estimate of Median household Income, 2019 |
| Metro_2013 | Metro nonmetro dummy 0=Nonmetro 1=Metro (Based on 2013 OMB Metropolitan Area delineation) |
| N_POP_CHG_2019 | Numeric Change in resident total population 7/1/2018 to 7/1/2019 |
| NATURAL_INC_2019 | Natural increase in period 7/1/2018 to 6/30/2019 |
| NET_MIG_2019 | Net migration in period 7/1/2018 to 6/30/2019 |
| PCTPOV017_2018 | Estimated percent of people age 0-17 in poverty 2018 |
| POP_ESTIMATE_2019 | 7/1/2019 resident total population estimate |
| POV017_2018 | Estimate of people age 0-17 in poverty 2018 |
| R_death_2019 | Death rate in period 7/1/2018 to 6/30/2019 |
| R_DOMESTIC_MIG_2019 | Net domestic migration rate in period 7/1/2018 to 6/30/2019 |
| R_INTERNATIONAL_MIG_2019 | Net international migration rate in period 7/1/2018 to 6/30/2019 |
| R_NATURAL_INC_2019 | Natural increase rate in period 7/1/2018 to 6/30/2019 |
| R_NET_MIG_2019 | Net migration rate in period 7/1/2018 to 6/30/2019 |
| RESIDUAL_2019 | Residual for period 7/1/2018 to 6/30/2019 |
| Rural-urban_Continuum_Code_2013 | Rural-urban Continuum Code, 2013 |
| State | State Abbreviation |
| Unemployed_2019 | Number unemployed annual average, 2019 |
| Unemployment_rate_2019 | Unemployment rate, 2019 |
| Urban_Influence_Code_2013 | Urban Influence Code, 2013 |
Note: FIPS (“Federal Information Processing System”) code is a 5 digit string (the leading zeros are important!) that are the US Government’s ways to indicate counties. Each county has a unique code.
