Research Guides: Environmental and Energy Policy: Find Census Information

The American Census

The major source for demographic data in the United States is the U.S. Census Bureau. There is an excellent guide for the census by Research Data Services in Lehman Library.

The U.S. Census Bureau is a government agency that produces several surveys; the two major ones are:

1- Decennial Census: What is generally called "the census" (or sometimes "Census of Population & Housing"). Survey of the entire U.S. population, performed once every 10 years (2010, 2000, 1990, etc. back to 1790).

Census Housing Data
NYC Housing & Vacancy Survey
Current Population Survey (CPS, labor stats)

2- ACS (American Community Survey): A more detailed survey, performed more frequently than the Decennial Census (different areas on a rolling basis). If the decennial census data is too outdated or not detailed enough, you may use the ACS instead. See: Subjects included in the ACS

How to Access Census Data

Once you know which survey data you need, you must then choose which source from which to get that data.

American FactFinder (Census): From the U.S. Census Bureau, American FactFinder is a tool that allows you to build custom searches using existing data tables from the Census Bureau’s many surveys, including the Decennial Census, American Community Survey (ACS), the Economic Census, and more. See also: tutorials from the Census Bureau.
Infoshare online: Database of statistics about New York City from 1980 to the present. Consists of official statistical data from U.S., New York State, and New York City agencies. Includes population statistics, housing data, immigration trends, socio-economic indicators, birth and death data, hospitalizations, and more. Select Area Profile to begin your data retrieval. There's a PDF User Guide and a brief walk-through here.
NYC Department of City Planning (Community Portal) : The NYC DCP has great information on population change and demographic information on New Yorkers, including the foreign-born population of New York. (Data drawn from Census Bureau.) Useful resources include the Population Page, Basic Population Info (from ACS), Social Characteristics(Foreign-born, nativity of recent immigrants),and Population Change (Immigration / Migration).
Social Explorer: Visually displays the demographic change that has occurred in the U.S. since 1790 through the present, for the country over all down to the level of the county.

Census Special Population: The Homeless

NYC Department of Homeless Services: Provides statistics and reports on shelter populations.
Coalition for the Homeless: Authored the 2014 State of the Homeless Report.
HOPE (Homeless Outreach Population Estimate) NYC: Each year, this volunteers from this group count unsheltered people in parks, subways, and other public spaces. This is a helpful parallel to the shelter population statistics (above).

Census Special Population: Undocumented Immigrants

Here's a great article on this topic from Pew Research, who has a respected estimate on the undocumented population:Unauthorized Immigrants: How Pew Research Counts Them and What We Know About Them
The Dept. of City Planning's Chapter 7 of Newest New Yorkers 2013 discusses the undercount of the undocumented and how they make estimates.

Census Special Population: The Aging

The NYC Department for the Aging has a couple of reports on the elderly population: