This repo contains code used in the production of a policy update, which analyzes current self-response rates to the U.S. Census in northeastern Illinois.
The script was developed and run in the open-source programming language R. CMAP analyzed tract-level, self-response data for both the 2010 and 2020 census, and relied on the following sources:
- 2020 self-response rates from the U.S. Census Bureau, which were pulled directly via the Census Bureau's API (note that this data does not include any responses gathered by the Census Bureau’ enumerators: the staff who visit households that have not yet responded online or by mail). For reference, current self-response data is also presented in visual form by the Census Bureau, here.
- Demographic information from the 2006-2010 5-year American Community Survey (ACS), which was used to establish the racial composition of each tract in 2010. CMAP leveraged 2014-2018 ACS data (the most recent available at the tract level) to establish the racial composition of each tract in 2020.
- Planned shapefiles for the 2020 census, here. The Census Bureau has reported self-response data for both 2010 and 2020 using these new tract definitions, and so CMAP also relied on the Bureau's "crosswalk" file to assign demographics based on 2010 tracts into these new geographies.
- A list of counties included in each of the U.S.'s Metropolitan Statistical Areas, which was obtained from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, here.
Average response rates by group were determined by performing a weighted average of response rates on the relevant tracts, weighted by the number of housing units in a given tract. Averages based on tract-level data are similar but not identical to averages obtained using higher-level geographies (such as counties), which may be due to discrepancies introduced when relating data between 2010 and 2020 tract geographies. For reference, average self-responses for the Chicago region using county-level figures were 69.8 percent in 2010 and 68.9 percent as of August 19, 2020.
This repo also includes supplemental scripts used in the development of the piece that may be of interest to CMAP partners and regional stakeholders. These include consistency checks and a script that allows a more targeted data pull for the Chicago region at the tract- and municipality-level.
In addition to the visualizations included in the published policy update, the full outputs and results of our analysis are available for those interested in leveraging or extending upon them. These tables, including response rates and demographic information, are provided at both the Census Tract and Incoporated Place level. All outputs are available for download here.