Race

Race

The Race datasets are reported once per year by the United States Census. The data reflect the number of persons self-identifying as one or more races defined by the US Census. The dataset is available to download through the Urban SDK Data Hub for the years 2015 - 2020. The data has been aggregated to the census tract.

Census Race Definition

Race data is collected is based on an individual's self-identification. The Census Bureau does not tell individuals which boxes to mark or what heritage to write in. Since the year 2000, individuals have had the option to self-identify with more than one race. Individuals identifying as multi-racial may choose to provide multiple races in response to the census question. The categories provided in the questionnaire reflect a social definition of race, rather than a biological, anthropological, or genetic definition. It is recognized by the Census that the categories include racial and national origin or sociocultural groups.

Race Categories

The U.S. Census Bureau adheres to the 1997 Office of Budget and Management standards for collecting information on race and ethnicity. The classifications outlined by the census are as follows:

White – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.
Black or African American – A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
American Indian or Alaska Native – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.
Asian – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.

Census Race Parameters: Census.gov

Census Race Schema

The dataset is available in JSON, Shapefile, GEOJSON, and CSV file types.

	Description	Type	Example
`geo_id`	14-digit code relating the data to the correct geolocation	String	16981048
`census_tract_code`	The unique identifier provided by the US Census for each census tract	String	14401
`sub_category`	Racial identification provided by the census	String	String
`unit`	Total count of persons	String	Total Count
`value`	Number of persons fitting within survey criteria	Float	692
`year`	Year data was collected	String	2019
`county_name`	Name of the county that the census tract resides in	String	Duval
`state_name`	Name of the state that the census tract resides in	String	Florida
`geometry`	The GIS information required for the computer to read the mapping file	String	MULTILINESTRING ((-81.59791 30.24124, -81.59801 30.24135))

Detailed Calculations

geo_id

The “GEO.ID” field contains 14-digit codes that identify the summary level of data, the geographic component of the data, and FIPS codes that uniquely identify the data. For example, the 14-digit “GEO.ID” for Harris County, TX is “0500000US48201” where “050” represents the summary level of the data, “0000” represents the 2-digit geographic variant, and the 2-digit geographic component, “US” represents the United States, “48” represents the state of Texas and “201” represents Harris County.

Contents:

Census Race Schema