Lab 7: Census 2000

For this weeks lab, we compiled three different maps showing the distribution in percentage of different races across the US. Seen below are the maps, showing Asian, Black and some other race in the US.

Map 1 - U.S. Counties with Black Population, 2000

Map 2 - U.S. Counties with Asian Population, 2000

Map 3 - U.S. Counties with Some other Race, 2000

Map 1 shows the distribution of Blacks across the US. Its clear that the vast majority of black people live in the South and South Eastern parts on the United States – Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, North and South Carolina. This distribution can be attributed to the historical background of the region. There are however other areas of interest such as the west coast (California) where there is a medium density of Blacks.

Map 2 shows the distribution of Asians in the US. Here we see a more balanced spread across the US as a whole, but there is a high percentage of asians on the west coast, again California. Additionally, the east coast sees a medium - high percentage of Asians – Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Maryland.  

Finally, Map 3 shows the population of Some other Race which is highly concentrated in the South West of the US. Although the race isn’t specified, its likely to be hispanic due to the high percentage near the Mexican/US boarder. California has a high percentage of some other race, as does New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Texas. Other areas include Washington State. 

The map series shows a lot of potential. Maps like these are very useful in showing the distribution of races across a particular area and allows further explanation and analysis. Its an easy and effective way to convey data.

GIS has once again shown to be a powerful analysis tool. When looking at the raw data taken from the census site I had no idea where the high or low percentage of different races were concentrated. But with the use of GIS, mapping the data meant identifying these patterns was clear and easy. Taking the raw numerical data and processing it onto a map was good to see. The only problem I did encounter was joining the excel spreadsheet – I mislabelled one of my columns. As an overall assessment, it was a good task showing me how to join excel files and performing spatial analysis, but if I were to do the task again I would use data from the 2010 census.