New Estimate: Kentucky Population was 4,314,113 as of July 1, 2009

There were 26,182 more Kentuckians in 2009 than in 2008 according to new state population estimates released December 23, 2009. That is an increase of 0.61%, slightly less than the United States increase of 0.86%.  As of July 1, 2009 the Bureau estimates that there were 4,314,113 people living in Kentucky.  All of the new estimates data, including the components of change, are available from the Census Bureau at the 2009 Estimates web site.
Below is a table showing how Kentucky and its seven border states compare for population growth in the past year and since the 2000 Census. Tennessee and Virginia were the only two to add people at a faster rate than Kentucky in the past year:

	2000	Est. Pop.	Est. Pop.		# Change	% Change		# Change	% Change
Area	Census	July 1, 2008	July 1, 2009		2000-2009	2000-2009		2008-2009	2008-2009
USA	281,421,906	304,374,846	307,006,550		25,584,644	9.09%		2,631,704	0.86%
Illinois	12,419,293	12,842,954	12,910,409		491,116	3.95%		67,455	0.53%
Indiana	6,080,485	6,388,309	6,423,113		342,628	5.63%		34,804	0.54%
Kentucky	4,041,769	4,287,931	4,314,113		272,344	6.74%		26,182	0.61%
Missouri	5,595,211	5,956,335	5,987,580		392,369	7.01%		31,245	0.52%
Ohio	11,353,140	11,528,072	11,542,645		189,505	1.67%		14,573	0.13%
Tennessee	5,689,283	6,240,456	6,296,254		606,971	10.67%		55,798	0.89%
Virginia	7,078,515	7,795,424	7,882,590		804,075	11.36%		87,166	1.12%
West Virginia	1,808,344	1,814,873	1,819,777		11,433	0.63%		4,904	0.27%

Here is a link to the News Release from the Census Bureau with some notes about the new state estimates.

Quick Facts Available for Kentucky, Counties and Cities

The Census Bureau provides a Quick Facts query service that makes it very easy to get the most current estimates and demographic data available from the Bureau about states, counties and cities. Once you select Kentucky from the map of states, you will be prompted to choose the county or city you are interested in from a pull down list. Hit the "Go" button and your data is shown.

Here are the links to Bath County and Shelby County.  A nice feature of these Quick Facts profiles is that the state level Kentucky estimates appear along side them so you can compare the county or city data with Kentucky's corresponding demographics.

The Census Bureau has developed numerous ways to locate and download data from their web sites. Quick Facts, as the name implies, is probably the quickest method of all.  If you want details not available from Quick Facts, the next place to look is American Fact Finder.

The Kentucky State Data Center also provides tables, maps, estimates and projections in formats not available from the Bureau at the KSDC web site.

New Three-Year Estimates Released for 2006-2008

The Census Bureau released the newest 3-year estimates for 2006-2008 from the American Community Survey on October 27, 2009. In September the Bureau released 1-year estimates from the 2008 ACS. If all of these releases are beginning to get confusing, here is a quick explanation.

The American Community Survey is an ongoing survey and is being released in three primary data sets; one-year estimates, three-year aggregate estimates and five-year aggregate estimates. The aggregated data over several years allows the Bureau to create estimates for geographies with smaller populations. The population thresholds are as follows:

1-year estimates are released annually for geographic areas with 65,000+ population.
3-year estimates are released annually for geographic areas with 20,000+ population.
5-year estimates will be released annually down to the Block Group level beginning in 2010. Block Groups vary in population but average around 1,500 people.

Areas with 65,000+ will have estimates from all three of these data sets, so you will need to choose which is best for your purposes for these geographic areas: a 1-year estimate with the smaller sample and greater margin of error, or a 3-year or 5-year sample that has smaller margin of error, but some of the data will be older than in the 1-year estimates.

Here is a link to some great resources for better understanding the different ACS data releases. And the Bureau has made available a series of handbooks in PDF that do a good job of addressing how different groups of people can access and understand the ACS data, with illustrated examples of how to download the data and understand what you are looking at when you do.

The biggest thing to remember is that the Decennial Census is a point-in-time sample reflecting totals on April 1 of the census year and the ACS data are obtained throughout the year, and even aggregated over a period of years. Here is a link to estimates for poverty status, income, home values for the 55 Kentucky counties that are available in this newest data release.

New Maps Available at KSDC

KSDC has a large selection of maps downloadable as PDF files for printing or viewing online. Recently updated maps include a map of the nine Metropolitan Statistical Areas in Kentucky and color and black and white maps of the 15 Area Development Districts (ADD).

Links to these and other maps are conveniently collected on one KSDC Maps Page. If you have suggestions for these or new maps, please email them to the Kentucky State Data Center using the email link on the home page: ksdc@louisville.edu.

Economic data from 2008 ACS 1-Year Estimates Now Available

The 2008 ACS poverty and income data that was delayed due to a coding error has been released. Shortcut links to the Economic and Narrative profiles for Kentucky Counties and MSA's are available here on the KSDC American Community Survey page. The economic data may be of special interest to people researching the effects of the current economic recession which officially began in December 2007, meaning that the entire 2008 sample was taken during a recession.

This latest ACS data release is from the 1-year sample. On October 27 the Bureau plans to release the newest 3-year estimates for geographic areas with 20,000+ population.

Newly Released 2008 Estimates include Insurance Coverage

Estimates for 2008 are now available at the American Fact Finder. There are some interesting new variables available, including insurance coverage and marital history. People are also examining the numbers for clues on how the economic troubles of 2008 affected households. Over the next few days the Kentucky State Data Center will be posting tables and analysis of the data on the KSDC web site. The social, housing and demographic profiles are available now.

Due to a coding error at the Census Bureau, the poverty and income data has been delayed a week.

Materials available to teachers for Census in Schools

The 2010 Census offers teachers and students an opportunity to learn about a Constitutionally required activity and responsibility. Apportioning our government representatives depends on it!

The Census Bureau has produced and made available a lot of material that can be used for classroom instruction, as well as materials for student involvement. Available are things such as lesson plans, history lessons and "Facts for Features" that shed light on little known trivia and subjects.

This has all been made available in a nicely executed web page at the following URL:
http://www.census.gov/schools/

The Bureau states that the materials will be continually expanded and updated through the Census. If you are a teacher or student, or know someone who is, please check it out. You might learn something useful and/or interesting.

Census Bureau Has A New Director

Robert Groves was confirmed by the Senate and is now the Director of the Census Bureau. He definitely needs to hit the ground running with the 2010 Census to take place about eight months from now. You can read the Bureau's press release here.

Six Kentucky Cities Have Less Than 100 People

The Census Bureau released estimates for the population of incorporated places today. These new estimates are available here on the Kentucky State Data Center web site.

The new estimates reveal that there are six Kentucky cities with fewer than 100 people. Concord is the smallest, with only 27 residents, followed by Carrsville (71), Fairfield (77), California (82), Woodbury (87) and Gratz (95). Smithfield, with 101 residents, is the only other Kentucky city near the 100 mark, as the next smallest cities are Blackey and Germantown, each with 141 people.

On the flip side, Louisville (557,224) and Lexington (282,114) are the only two cities in Kentucky to have more than 100,000 people. The next closest is Owensboro, with 55,516 people.

Lexington (+3,070) and Bowling Green (+853) added the most people from 2007 to 2008, while Louisville had the greatest number population decline of 565 people in that period. The fastest growing from 2007 to 2008 was Coal Run Village which increased 17.3% and the greatest percentage decline was Lakeview Heights at -17.6%.

New City Population Estimates Released Next Week

Wondering what the population of Hardinsburg or Paducah is? Or any other city in Kentucky? How many folks live in your old Kentucky hometown these days?

Next week (on Wednesday, July 1) population estimates of the nation’s incorporated places — cities, towns, villages and boroughs — is scheduled for public release. These will be estimates of how many people lived in the towns on July 1 of last year.

The new estimates will be available at the KSDC web site. You can find these data and much more Kentucky Information there.

Addressing the 2010 Census

The 2010 Census is about ten months away (April 1, 2010) but preparation has been ongoing for years. One of the most critical aspects of counting everyone in the United States is to locate all housing units. To do this, the Census Bureau updates its Master Address File several ways. In Kentucky, as in all states, local and state governments help do this by reviewing addresses in their jurisdictions and participating in the Local Update of Census Addresses. Additionally, from March 2009 until mid-July 2009, the Bureau is employing 140,000 workers whose goal is to locate and verify every residential address in the country, all 145 million of them. This is obviously a huge undertaking, and this year the workers are using GPS devices to improve their data collection.

“A complete and accurate address list is the cornerstone of a successful census,” said Tom Mesenbourg, acting director of the U.S. Census Bureau. “Building on the achievements of the 2000 Census, we have been testing and preparing for the 2010 count all decade, and we’re ready to fulfill our constitutional mandate to count everyone living in the United States . . .
The primary goal of the census is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place”

There is a slick two-page PDF summary about the Address Canvasing you can read at this link.
So now that you have read this, don't be too surprised if a canvasser knocks on your door to verify the address and find out if you added a mother-in-law suite above your garage. Mother-in-laws need to be counted too, after all.

Why is Census Data in the news so often?

Census data is frequently in the news because the Census Bureau releases analyses, reports and new data several times a month. These releases often prompt news stories or commentary because they generally describe changing demographics in certain regions of the country or among various population groups. The next time you see one of these news reports you can go to this link to the Census Bureau Press Releases page to find the press releases which have links to the source data. While these frequent releases are usually limited to analysis of larger geographies, such as regions, states or MSAs, sometimes county and city level data is available.

The Bureau releases are a true mixed bag, so you can read about how the Guam economy grew at 36%, or read some highlights from the new State and County 2008 population estimates released on May 14, 2009. The latter report tells us that:

• There is a greater than 13-year difference in the median ages of the state with the highest median age (Maine at 42) and the one with the lowest (Utah at 28.7). Kentucky's median age was 37.7.


• There are only 11 states where men make up the majority of the population. Alaska has the highest percentage of men at 52.1 percent. Following Alaska are Nevada (50.9 percent), Wyoming (50.7 percent), Utah (50.5 percent) and Colorado (50.4 percent). In Kentucky, males were only 48.9 percent of the total population.
  

Not all of the releases are the usual suspect demographics like race, eduation and poverty status. Just today, the Bureau released a report about how Internet usage has tripled from 1997 to 2007. By visiting this Bureau site you can now know the story behind the news story. I will put a link to the Press Releases page in the sidebar for quick access to this site in the future.

Kentucky State Data Center has a new blog.

This is the first post on the new KSDC blog. In the future we will be highlighting the newest data and reports available at the Kentucky State Data Center and Census Bureau web sites. The next year will be eventful with the release of American Community Survey data for smaller areas, down to Census Tract and Block Groups, as well as the 2010 Census.