Race and population data at the township or school district level (sub county level)

1

How do I extract race and population data at the township or school district (sub-county) level? I’m trying to see the changes in the racial makeup of school districts in Indy from 1980-present

2

Hi Craig,

You can access township and school district data through IPUMS NHGIS. We have township data going back to 1980, but our school district data only goes back to the 2005-2009 American Community Survey.

If you’ve never used NHGIS before, I recommend watching the tutorials on the product. These videos will familiarize you with data access interface.

Here are some basic instructions for accessing these data. If you want to find the township data, do the following:

  1. Open the GEOGRAPHIC LEVELS filter popup.
  2. Click the green plus icon next to County Subdivision - county subdivisions are essentially townships.
  3. Click the SUBMIT button to apply your selection.
  4. Click the YEARS filter popup.
  5. I recommend going year by year (1970, 1980, 1990…). So click the check box next to one year.
  6. Click the SUBMIT button to apply your selection.
  7. You will now see all data tables that are available for county subdivisions for that year. Click the plus icons next to the tables for which you want data.
  8. Repeat steps 5-7 for all other years you’re interested in.

If you want to find the school district data, do the following:

  1. Open the GEOGRAPHIC LEVELS filter popup.
  2. Scroll down the popup until you see the SCHOOL AREAS tab. Click on that tab.
  3. You will now see the school areas geographic levels we have data for.
  4. I don’t know what kind of school districts Indiana has, so you will have to click the plus icon next to the appropriate type of school district (elementary, secondary, unified).
  5. Click the SUBMIT button to apply your selection.
  6. Click the YEARS filter popup.
  7. I recommend going year by year (2010, 2005-2009, 2006-2010…2014-2018). So click the check box next to one year.
  8. Click the SUBMIT button to apply your selection.
  9. You will now see all data tables that are available for school districts for that year. Click the plus icons next to the tables for which you want data.
  10. Repeat steps 5-7 for all other years you’re interested in.

Sincerely,
Dave Van Riper