County Level Health Insurance Estimates Released July 27, 2010

On July 27, 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau today released 2007 estimates of health insurance coverage for each of the nation's roughly 3,140 counties. Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) are currently the only source for estimates of health insurance coverage status for every county in the nation.

SAHIE are based on models combining data from a variety of sources, including the Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey, 2000 Census, the Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program, the County Business Patterns data set, and administrative records, such as aggregated federal tax returns and Medicaid participation records.

SAHIE provide information on health insurance coverage by age, sex, race, Hispanic origin, and income categories at the state level and by age, sex and income categories at the county level. They therefore enable local planners to determine, for instance, the counties in which low-income children are most likely to lack health insurance coverage. The data pertain to those under age 65.

Here is the link to access the data.

SAHIE are used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in support of its National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. The program provides free cancer screenings to low-income, uninsured women. The health insurance estimates assist in determining the level of need for breast and cervical cancer screening in communities nationwide.

In September, the Census Bureau will release health insurance coverage estimates from the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS). These single-year estimates will be available for counties and other geographic areas with total populations of 65,000 or more. The health insurance question was added to the 2008 ACS to permit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to more accurately understand state and local health insurance needs. Eventually the ACS will have health insurance coverage data for smaller areas from three-year and five-year estimates.

In Kentucky, 16.5% of people less than 66 years old were uninsured in 2007. For comparison, the following list shows the percent  of population age 65 and under who were uninsured in Kentucky counties in the same period:


Adair 20.0

Allen 16.8

Anderson 15.3

Ballard 19.2

Barren 17.2

Bath 16.4

Bell 12.4

Boone 15.5

Bourbon 17.3

Boyd 15.1

Boyle 16.7

Bracken 18.8

Breathitt 11.9

Breckinridge 21.8

Bullitt 17.1

Butler 20.5

Caldwell 16.5

Calloway 23.6

Campbell 14.0

Carlisle 24.3

Carroll 15.3

Carter 16.7

Casey 20.1

Christian 20.4

Clark 15.4

Clay 13.0

Clinton 16.7

Crittenden 20.0

Cumberland 20.1

Daviess 15.5

Edmonson 21.8

Elliott 17.0

Estill 15.5

Fayette 19.6

Fleming 18.2

Floyd 13.3

Franklin 16.3

Fulton 14.0

Gallatin 18.8

Garrard 18.8

Grant 18.3

Graves 19.9

Grayson 16.2

Green 20.8

Greenup 14.8

Hancock 15.9

Hardin 17.7

Harlan 13.1

Harrison 15.8

Hart 18.3

Henderson 15.2

Henry 21.4

Hickman 21.3

Hopkins 17.1

Jackson 17.1

Jefferson 14.3

Jessamine 19.3

Johnson 14.8

Kenton 12.5

Knott 14.5

Knox 13.0

Larue 20.5

Laurel 14.8

Lawrence 14.2

Lee 12.1

Leslie 12.6

Letcher 13.7

Lewis 16.5

Lincoln 17.7

Livingston 18.9

Logan 17.7

Lyon 22.4

McCracken 16.8

McCreary 17.5

McLean 20.7

Madison 19.0

Magoffin 13.5

Marion 18.4

Marshall 18.1

Martin 12.7

Mason 15.6

Meade 20.8

Menifee 17.3

Mercer 17.1

Metcalfe 20.0

Monroe 19.9

Montgomery 16.1

Morgan 16.7

Muhlenberg 17.8

Nelson 18.0

Nicholas 18.7

Ohio 16.8

Oldham 15.8

Owen 21.3

Owsley 11.8

Pendleton 20.2

Perry 15.0

Pike 14.5

Powell 17.3

Pulaski 15.4

Robertson 19.0

Rockcastle 15.9

Rowan 18.5

Russell 18.6

Scott 14.8

Shelby 20.2

Simpson 15.7

Spencer 19.9

Taylor 14.2

Todd 23.4

Trigg 18.2

Trimble 18.5

Union 19.1

Warren 22.3

Washington 19.7

Wayne 15.7

Webster 19.9

Whitley 13.7

Wolfe 15.4

Woodford 17.9

Presenters announced, permits mailed for Economic Census Conference

Attention Attendees: We look forward to seeing you at the Kentucky conference on data from the Economic Census. Parking permits and maps to the event were mailed July 14 to the address you furnished when you registered for the event, so be on the look out for those materials.

Your expert presenters from U.S. Census Bureau headquarters in Washington, DC, are Paul Zeisset and Chuck Brady, Economic Planning and Coordination Division. Kentucky State Data Center staff will also be there assisting with the workshop.

If you have any questions, please call the Kentucky State Data Center at (502) 852-7990.
The online campus map to the UofL parking lots is here: http://louisville.edu/parking/maps/Belknap%20Map%2010-11.pdf

Directions to the conference in Miller IT Center Room 03 are available in a PDF here: http://ksdc.louisville.edu/data1/KSDC_Conference_Directions.pdf

The workshop and presentation materials for the Kentucky Conference are now available online if you would like to preview them at: http://www.census.gov/econ/census07/www/conferences/conference_materials.html

 

July 22 Economic Census Worshop Almost Full

If you were putting off enrolling in the FREE workshop KSDC is hosting about the 2007 Economic Census data you might want to sign up soon.  As of this morning there are only 1 workstation ticket and five "bring your laptop and use our wifi" tickets remaining.

This half-day workshop will cover a lot of data resources that are useful for businesses and economic development officials.  The workshop will take place on the University of Louisville's Belknap Campus (main campus) on Thursday, July 22 from 1:00pm-4:30pm.

Sign-up page and details are available here.

2009 City Population Estimates Released Today

The U.S. Census Bureau today released July 1, 2009, population estimates for each of the nation's incorporated places, including cities, boroughs and villages and minor civil divisions, such as towns and townships. The new estimates are not 2010 Census population counts. They are, however, the last estimates to use 2000 Census results as a base.

The city estimates are based on 2000 Census data updated to reflect legal boundary changes, housing unit estimates updated to reflect inputs such as building permits, and county population estimates. The county population estimates are produced by using administrative records — namely births, deaths, and domestic and international migration. The resulting county population estimates are then distributed to the areas within each county by using the updated housing unit estimates.

The Kentucky State Data Center has made the following Excel workbooks available for download:
Annual Population Estimates for Kentucky Cities from 2000 to 2009
Percent Change in City Population Estimates, 2000-2009

The entire estimate series is available from the Census Bureau here. Additional housing unit and population estimate tables are availble on the KSDC Estimates Page.

New Housing Unit Estimates Released

The latest estimates of total housing units by state and county - for July 1, 2009 - were released June 16, 2010. You can access the data here. Three Kentucky counties were in the top one hundred nationally for rate of increase in housing units from 2000 to 2009 among counties with at least 5,000 housing units. Spencer County ranked 35th with an increase of 47.2%. Boone County ranked 90th (36.5%) and Scott County ranked 97th (35.7%). No Kentucky counties ranked in the top one hundred for single-year increase from July 2008 to July 2009, though the state of Kentucky added 8,233 new housing units during this period, ranking Kentucky 29th among the states for annual rate of increase.

Registration for Economic Census Conference Now Open

Data users can now register for the hands-on workshop and conference about the 2007 Economic Census hosted by the Kentucky State Data Center. Visit the registration page to reserve your spot. The conference is free, but limited to the first 38 attendees to register.

If you cannot attend or would like to preview the conference, you can download handouts and materials from previous Economic Census Conferences here.

A list of all the Bureau's upcoming Economic Census Conferences and a typical program schedule are located here.

Economic Census Conference - July 22, 2010

The Kentucky State Data Center is hosting the 2007 Economic Census Conference on July 22, 2010 at the University of Louisville Belknap Campus. This hands-on training session will be conducted by Census Bureau staff in a computer-lab setting. New users will learn about the range of data about businesses available from the Census Bureau, including both the Economic Census and more frequent data sets. Experienced users will learn about new features of the data, comparability issues, and qualifications of the data. Attendees will gain skills in accessing Economic Census data in American FactFinder, very important now that PDFs and other media are no longer provided.

Please plan on joining us for this unique opportunity. Information about registration and program details will be forthcoming soon.

The Economic Census is conducted every five years (i.e. 2002, 2007) and is a huge resource for industry and economic information.  Visit the Economic Census web site to learn more or access the data now.

Kentucky 2010 Participation Rate Bests The 2000 Census

The Census Bureau has released final tallies for the mail participation rates in the 2010 Census. Kentucky had a 75% rate, which bested the 2000 particpation rate of 70%.  In all, 28 states had better participation rates than in 2000.

Among Kentucky counties, the highest participation rates were in Leslie County (86%) and Robertson County (85%).  Bell county had the lowest rate at 43% and Wolfe county was next lowest at 44%.  All of the state, county and city rates can be viewed here on the Bureau's Participation Rate Map.

Census Takers Start Door-to-Door Canvasing on May 1st

On May 1st, census takers will begin going door-to-door to roughly 1/3 of households that did not mail back their forms. They also will verify that housing units indicated as "unoccupied" to us by the postal service or others are indeed unoccupied and vacant. Click here for more information about this phase of the Census.

Particpation Rate Updated Today

The Census Bureau updated the particpation map today and now Kentucky has nearly half the state households particpating with less than three days until Census Day on April 1.  Kentucky stands at 49% participation, still ahead of the national rate which is 46%.

If you haven't mailed your census form yet, please take ten minutes and mail it back.  It saves the cost and time of an enumerator coming to your home to record the data.

Kentucky Census Participation Rates

The Census Bureau has made available tools for checking the Census mail participation rates for states, counties and cities.  As of March 29, Kentucky has a 40% participation rate.  This is slightly better than the Nation participation rate of 34%.

You can go to this link to zoom in on the national and state maps to see  your local county and city participation rates.  Below is an image of the Kentucky participation rates that was captured today.  The darker colors are counties with the lowest mail return rates.  Eastern Kentucky counties are faring worse than other areas.

The Census is important for determining how many Congressional Representatives each state has, as well as used to distribute federal funds for highways and other purposes. It only takes a few minutes, so please encourage everyone you know to mail it in!

New Kentucky County 2009 Population Estimates Released Today

The United States Census Bureau has released 2009 County population estimates. The new estimates reveal that Spencer County has outpaced all other counties with a population growth of 50.7% since 2000.  Kentucky added 271,825 people in that period for a 6.7% gain.  There were 28 counties that had their populations increase at greater rates than the state, and 37 counties lost population in this period.

Kentucky's westernmost counties fared among the worst for population decline. Of the four counties that border the Mississippi River, Fulton (-12.1%) and Hickman (-7.8%) had the greatest percentage declines, ranking last and next-to-last among all 120 counties, with Carlisle (-2.7%) and Ballard (-1.5%) also seeing population declines.

You can see the Kentucky population estimates for each year from 2000 to 2009 here at the KSDC web site or visit the Census Bureau estimates page to see estimates for all available geographies in the United States.

% Change		July	April	Number	Percent
Rank		2009	2000	Change	Change
	Kentucky	4,314,113	4,042,288	271,825	6.7%
1	Spencer County	17,737	11,766	5,971	50.7%
2	Scott County	45,841	33,061	12,780	38.7%
3	Boone County	118,576	85,991	32,585	37.9%
4	Elliott County	9,083	6,756	2,327	34.4%
5	Shelby County	42,078	33,337	8,741	26.2%
6	Oldham County	58,095	46,618	11,477	24.6%
7	Bullitt County	75,653	61,236	14,417	23.5%
8	Jessamine County	47,589	39,041	8,548	21.9%
9	Madison County	83,258	70,872	12,386	17.5%
10	Warren County	108,669	92,522	16,147	17.5%
11	Nelson County	43,550	37,477	6,073	16.2%
12	Garrard County	17,085	14,792	2,293	15.5%
13	Montgomery County	25,835	22,554	3,281	14.5%
14	Grant County	25,542	22,384	3,158	14.1%
15	Anderson County	21,790	19,111	2,679	14.0%
16	Fayette County	296,545	260,512	36,033	13.8%
17	Christian County	80,938	72,308	8,630	11.9%
18	Trimble County	8,958	8,125	833	10.3%
19	Barren County	41,747	38,033	3,714	9.8%
20	Laurel County	57,749	52,715	5,034	9.5%
21	Clark County	36,159	33,144	3,015	9.1%
22	Pulaski County	60,853	56,217	4,636	8.2%
23	Whitley County	38,813	35,870	2,943	8.2%
24	Owen County	11,380	10,547	833	7.9%
25	Lincoln County	25,172	23,361	1,811	7.8%
26	Woodford County	24,986	23,208	1,778	7.7%
27	Marion County	19,486	18,215	1,271	7.0%
28	Casey County	16,498	15,447	1,051	6.8%
29	Allen County	18,982	17,797	1,185	6.7%
30	Henry County	16,060	15,060	1,000	6.6%
31	Taylor County	24,420	22,924	1,496	6.5%
32	Russell County	17,377	16,315	1,062	6.5%
33	Lawrence County	16,573	15,569	1,004	6.4%
34	Calloway County	36,348	34,177	2,171	6.4%
35	Fleming County	14,667	13,792	875	6.3%
36	Grayson County	25,581	24,055	1,526	6.3%
37	Hardin County	99,770	94,174	5,596	5.9%
38	Boyle County	29,263	27,697	1,566	5.7%
39	Trigg County	13,290	12,597	693	5.5%
40	Hart County	18,396	17,445	951	5.5%
41	Carroll County	10,703	10,155	548	5.4%
42	Mercer County	21,920	20,817	1,103	5.3%
43	Kenton County	158,729	151,464	7,265	4.8%
44	Bath County	11,618	11,094	524	4.7%
45	Adair County	18,029	17,244	785	4.6%
46	Bracken County	8,653	8,279	374	4.5%
47	Harrison County	18,794	17,983	811	4.5%
48	Gallatin County	8,202	7,870	332	4.2%
49	Daviess County	95,394	91,549	3,845	4.2%
50	McCreary County	17,795	17,080	715	4.2%
51	Wayne County	20,748	19,923	825	4.1%
52	Jefferson County	721,594	693,607	27,987	4.0%
53	Martin County	13,070	12,578	492	3.9%
54	Simpson County	17,019	16,405	614	3.7%
55	Marshall County	31,200	30,125	1,075	3.6%
56	Rowan County	22,872	22,094	778	3.5%
57	Pendleton County	14,887	14,390	497	3.5%
58	Mason County	17,378	16,803	575	3.4%
59	Washington County	11,257	10,916	341	3.1%
60	Greenup County	38,020	36,888	1,132	3.1%
61	Knox County	32,710	31,783	927	2.9%
62	Hancock County	8,635	8,393	242	2.9%
63	Ohio County	23,534	22,916	618	2.7%
64	Franklin County	48,968	47,687	1,281	2.7%
65	Lyon County	8,291	8,080	211	2.6%
66	Powell County	13,566	13,237	329	2.5%
67	Butler County	13,329	13,009	320	2.5%
68	Edmonson County	11,926	11,646	280	2.4%
69	Todd County	12,253	11,972	281	2.3%
70	Logan County	27,174	26,573	601	2.3%
71	Breckinridge County	19,057	18,648	409	2.2%
72	Larue County	13,663	13,376	287	2.1%
73	Bourbon County	19,729	19,360	369	1.9%
74	Graves County	37,719	37,028	691	1.9%
75	Johnson County	23,827	23,446	381	1.6%
76	Henderson County	45,496	44,829	667	1.5%
77	Morgan County	14,092	13,948	144	1.0%
78	Nicholas County	6,874	6,813	61	0.9%
79	Meade County	26,501	26,349	152	0.6%
80	Menifee County	6,593	6,556	37	0.6%
81	McCracken County	65,880	65,514	366	0.6%
82	Wolfe County	7,099	7,065	34	0.5%
83	Metcalfe County	10,063	10,037	26	0.3%
84	Green County	11,510	11,515	-5	0.0%
85	Campbell County	88,423	88,616	-193	-0.2%
86	Carter County	26,771	26,880	-109	-0.4%
87	Rockcastle County	16,504	16,582	-78	-0.5%
88	Hopkins County	46,167	46,517	-350	-0.8%
89	Perry County	29,136	29,422	-286	-1.0%
90	Robertson County	2,237	2,263	-26	-1.1%
91	Magoffin County	13,166	13,332	-166	-1.2%
92	Floyd County	41,899	42,443	-544	-1.3%
93	Caldwell County	12,870	13,062	-192	-1.5%
94	Ballard County	8,161	8,286	-125	-1.5%
95	Monroe County	11,569	11,756	-187	-1.6%
96	Muhlenberg County	31,274	31,839	-565	-1.8%
97	Jackson County	13,243	13,495	-252	-1.9%
98	Livingston County	9,598	9,804	-206	-2.1%
99	Clinton County	9,403	9,634	-231	-2.4%
100	Lewis County	13,752	14,092	-340	-2.4%
101	Boyd County	48,527	49,752	-1,225	-2.5%
102	Carlisle County	5,209	5,351	-142	-2.7%
103	Crittenden County	9,110	9,384	-274	-2.9%
104	Estill County	14,859	15,307	-448	-2.9%
105	Webster County	13,706	14,120	-414	-2.9%
106	Knott County	17,126	17,649	-523	-3.0%
107	Breathitt County	15,575	16,100	-525	-3.3%
108	McLean County	9,607	9,934	-327	-3.3%
109	Bell County	28,972	30,060	-1,088	-3.6%
110	Clay County	23,629	24,556	-927	-3.8%
111	Union County	14,990	15,637	-647	-4.1%
112	Pike County	65,446	68,734	-3,288	-4.8%
113	Owsley County	4,619	4,858	-239	-4.9%
114	Cumberland County	6,706	7,147	-441	-6.2%
115	Letcher County	23,633	25,277	-1,644	-6.5%
116	Harlan County	30,956	33,202	-2,246	-6.8%
117	Leslie County	11,503	12,401	-898	-7.2%
118	Lee County	7,339	7,916	-577	-7.3%
119	Hickman County	4,851	5,262	-411	-7.8%
120	Fulton County	6,814	7,752	-938	-12.1%

Someone's Knocking At The Door . . .

. . . or at least they will be if you do not mail back your Census form!

Most households should receive the Census questionnaire in this week's mail, and if you wait too long to return it an enumerator will likely be knocking on your door in the next few weeks.  So, if you want to avoid that, please do not delay and mail it back as quickly as possible. It takes only a few minutes.

The following information about missing or erroneously addressed Census forms is taken from the Census Blog. You may find this helpful if you or someone you know has this problem:


"One question keeps popping up: What should I do if my census form has an incorrect address or if I don’t receive a form at all?

If your form has the wrong city name or zip code, please note the following:
 * The actual location of your address has been verified for accuracy. Contained in the barcodes on your form is information about the correct geographic location to which your housing unit belongs. This geographic information was verified last year by census workers who physically located each housing unit on the ground and assigned the housing units a “geocode” using special census maps and GPS coordinates.

* The address on your census form or advance letter may not list the city name you identify with or are used to seeing on your mail. This is a result of a cost-saving measure that streamlines how the forms are sorted and delivered to you by the U.S. Postal Service. It will NOT affect which city, town or block your household’s responses will be assigned to. If your city or area did not receive census forms, please be patient. The forms are either on their way, or census workers will come in May through July to conduct the census in person.
If you don’t receive a form at all, please take the following steps:
1) Wait: If you haven’t received a form, wait until April 12 to allow time for it to arrive. Millions of census forms are on their way to households across the country.
2) Contact Us: If you still have not received your form by April 12, then you may contact one of our 2010 Census Toll-free help lines.
* English: 1-866-872-6868

* Chinese: 1-866-935-2010

* Korean: 1-866-955-2010

* Russian: 1-866-965-2010

* Spanish: 1-866-928-2010

* Vietnamese: 1-866-945-2010

* TDD (Telephone Display Device for the hearing impaired): 1-866-783-2010

* Puerto Rico (in English): 1-866-939-2010

* Puerto Rico (in Spanish): 1-866-929-2010"

Count Every Kentuckian-- Babies and small children too!

In our efforts to count every Kentuckian for the 2010 Census, please spread the word--  babies count too!

Children have been undercounted in every census since the first one in 1790. Local communities rely on census information in planning for schools, child care, health and other critical services. Babies need to be counted today, so they can benefit tomorrow from community services.

What do Irish Heritage and Women's History Month have to do with the Census?

Did you know that in 1987 the U.S. Congress first proclaimed March as Women's History Month?  And in 1995 Congress first proclaimed March as Irish-American Heritage Month?

And you may be wondering what does this have to do with Census Data?

The answer is that the Census Bureau releases "Facts for Features" and "Special Editions" that consist of collections of statistics from the Census Bureau's demographic and economic subject areas intended to commemorate anniversaries or observances or to provide background information for topics in the news.

These special releases are collected and made available on the Facts for Features web page.

So why was March chosen for Irish-American Heritage and Women's History? Well, you can probably guess that the St. Patrick's Day celebration on March 17 led to the month of March being chosen for the Irish heritage designation.  But the Women's History Month designation finds it's roots in a March 8, 1857 protest of working conditions by women factory workers in New York City . This led to an International Women's Day observation that eventually was expanded to Women's History Month.

The Facts for Features release states that 12% of Americans who designate an ancestry claim Irish ancestry and using American Fact Finder we find that 14% of Kentuckians claim Irish ancestry.

The Facts for Features article on Women's History Month states that there were 155.8 million females in the USA and 151.8 million males as of October 1, 2009 and 82.8 million of the females were also mothers.  No wonder so many flowers are sold for Mothers Day!

Population Declines in 35 Kentucky Counties

Recent county estimates from the Census Bureau show that 35 of Kentucky's 120 counties lost population between 2000 and 2008. This is despite the state total having increased by 5.2% over this period. Population loss can have tremendous consequences on labor force and other social and economic factors, such as the ability to attract businesses or provide an adequate tax base to fund services.

In Kentucky, as in most other states, population growth is occurring in counties around larger metropolitan areas and declining in rural counties distant from the metro economic engines. Below is a table showing the 35 counties and their population loss totals and percent. Kentucky's westernmost county, Fulton, has by far suffered the greatest percentage loss since 2000 at -12.3%. The next three highest declines occurred in eastern Kentucky counties Martin (-8.3%), Harlan (-7.2%) and Lee (-6.8%).

As the table shows, many of Kentucky's rural counties face great challenges dealing with their declining populations.

County	Census 2000	July 2000	July 2008	Change
Fulton	7,752	7,697	6,855	-12.3%
Martin	12,578	12,560	11,602	-8.3%
Harlan	33,202	33,000	30,783	-7.2%
Lee	7,916	7,919	7,414	-6.8%
Hickman	5,262	5,248	4,936	-6.3%
Leslie	12,401	12,370	11,639	-6.3%
Letcher	25,277	25,217	23,890	-5.6%
Cumberland	7,147	7,163	6,817	-5.1%
Owsley	4,858	4,863	4,634	-4.9%
Pike	68,736	68,489	65,331	-4.8%
Union	15,637	15,601	15,024	-3.8%
Carlisle	5,351	5,342	5,162	-3.5%
Bell	30,060	30,043	29,055	-3.4%
Webster	14,120	14,112	13,669	-3.2%
McLean	9,938	9,977	9,681	-3.1%
Robertson	2,266	2,264	2,202	-2.8%
Estill	15,307	15,309	14,948	-2.4%
Clay	24,556	24,503	23,930	-2.4%
Livingston	9,804	9,814	9,591	-2.3%
Lewis	14,092	14,124	13,807	-2.3%
Boyd	49,752	49,663	48,560	-2.3%
Muhlenberg	31,839	31,796	31,187	-2.0%
Campbell	88,616	88,656	87,038	-1.9%
Crittenden	9,384	9,404	9,244	-1.7%
Monroe	11,756	11,738	11,547	-1.7%
Breathitt	16,100	16,061	15,813	-1.6%
Wolfe	7,065	7,095	6,989	-1.5%
Caldwell	13,060	13,039	12,866	-1.3%
Knott	17,649	17,613	17,385	-1.3%
Magoffin	13,332	13,317	13,151	-1.3%
Floyd	42,441	42,379	42,094	-0.7%
Clinton	9,634	9,631	9,568	-0.7%
McCracken	65,514	65,440	65,109	-0.5%
Hopkins	46,519	46,458	46,338	-0.3%
Perry	29,390	29,289	29,241	-0.2%

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.