Can you compare different dataset years to look at trend?
Claritas warns to not compare estimates between their yearly releases due to changing methodologies and input data used between each data release. Claritas does NOT provide revised estimates for previous time periods that utilize the latest methodologies and estimation techniques for the current year's data release.
What groups are included under "Some Other Race?" How does this differ from "Two or more races?"
“Some other race” includes all other responses not included in the “White,” “Black or African American,” “American Indian or Alaska Native,” “Asian,” and “Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander” race categories described above. Respondents reporting entries such as multiracial, mixed, interracial, or a Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish group (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or Spanish) in response to the race question are included in this category.
The current Census standards allow a respondent to mark off one or more races. Those that mark off two or more races are tabulated into the category "Two or More Races." However, the individual races that a person checks off are not counted in the other race categories. For example, a person that marks both "Black" and "White" are counted in the "Two or more Races" category and are NOT counted in either the "Black" or "White" categories. The "Some Other Race category" is quite broad and it is marked by those, including those that generally would be considered "Multiracial," that do not personally identify with the other listed race categories. All of these race categories, including "Two or more Races," do sum to the total population.
How does Claritas come up with demographic estimates for zip codes?
The following Claritas methodology for creating estimates may explain why demographic data values are not as expected for a specific zip code, why values do not appear for a specific zip code, why zip code boundaries differ from a user's expectations, etc.
ZIP Code estimates and projections are aggregations of Pop-Facts estimates for census block groups. The process used is similar to that for retrieving data for circles and polygons. Census data, including estimates and projections, already exists for block groups, and is aggregated to the current roster of ZIP Codes reflecting current definitions. Data for all years (including Census 2010 and Census 2020) is aggregated the same way to maintain a consistent reference to current ZIP Code definitions.
All Claritas products provide spatial definition ZIP Code data. Spatial definition ZIP Codes are based on a block group-to-ZIP Code correspondence, which is updated one or more times each year. This correspondence is based on the location of block centroids (latitude/longitude points) within current ZIP Code boundaries estimated by TomTom®. If a block’s centroid falls within a ZIP Code boundary, it is allocated to that ZIP Code. These block-to-ZIP Code allocations determine the block groups that are included in a given ZIP Code. For block groups allocated to more than one ZIP Code, percent inclusion factors determine the percent of the block group allocated to each ZIP Code. Inclusion factors are updated annually based on the most recent distribution of addresses on the Claritas Master Address File. For all spatial ZIP Codes, the resulting block group-to-ZIP Code relationship establishes a geographic definition that is used to aggregate block group data to current ZIP Codes.
Claritas products do not provide demographic data for rural P.O. Box or general delivery ZIP Codes. These ZIP Codes serve residents in rural areas where there is no mail delivery; residents pick up their mail at a central location such as a post office. Although included in the roster, these ZIP Codes have no clearly defined spatial dimension, and therefore have no demographic data associated with them. Instead, the data for these ZIP Codes is included in the spatially defined ZIP Code (or multiple ZIP Codes) covering the area near the post office. These are sometimes known as parent ZIP Codes.
It is not unusual to find spatial definition ZIP Code data that appears to be discrepant with deliverable address counts. For example, spatial definition data might indicate no data for a rural P.O. Box ZIP Code for which the post office reports 600 residential deliveries. Furthermore, spatial definition estimates for parent ZIP Codes are often higher than delivery counts since they also include the populations served by P.O. Box ZIP Codes.
Updated Indicator Definition:
Households With Own Children: Due to changes implemented in the 2020 Census, the 'Households with Children' indicator has been replaced by 'Households with Own Children'. Biological, adopted, and stepchildren of the householder who are under the age of 18 are the “own children” of the householder. Own children do not include other children present in the household, regardless of the presence or absence of the parents of those children. For more details, please refer to: https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/2020/census-briefs/c2020br-10.pdf
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