Our data
The Data
The population, demographics, and other public data behind every CensusFlow city — in plain English — and how we turn it into a page.
Four public sources
American Community Survey (5-Year) — the lived-in numbers
The ACS gives the texture of a place: population, median age, household income, home value and rent; the race & ethnicity breakdown (Table B03002); education and poverty; the mean commute time behind our Commute Score; and the work-from-home share.
2020 Census (P.L. 94-171) — race, block by block
The interactive racial dot map on each city page comes from the 2020 Census redistricting file (Table P2) — a full count of race & ethnicity down to the individual Census block, the finest geography the Bureau publishes.
U.S. Census LODES — who commutes where
The Census Bureau’s LEHD Origin–Destination data links the Census block where each worker lives to the block where they work. It powers our commute-flow maps, workforce counts, and home–work distances.
FCC National Broadband Map — internet options
The FCC’s address-level serviceability data tells us which providers actually serve each city — the basis for the top internet options on every city page.
How we turn it into city pages
- Block → city. We roll millions of block-level job flows up to Census places (the city proper, not the metro).
- Population & demographics first. Each city leads with its ACS population, age, income, housing, education and poverty — the numbers people actually search for.
- Race & ethnicity. ACS Table B03002 powers the breakdown bars; 2020 Census block counts power the racial dot map — one dot for a set number of residents, colored by group.
- Cross-state commuters counted. People who live in one state and work in another (NJ→NYC, MD/VA→DC) are counted in the city they live in — not dropped.
- Honest distances. Straight-line home–work distance, excluding work-in-the-same-city (~0 mi) and 200-mile data artifacts (a 60-mile cap).
- Commute Score. Each city’s real ACS mean commute time mapped to an absolute 0–100 — so congested metros score low and quick-commute towns score high.
- Work from home. The ACS share of a city’s residents who work from home.
- Internet. Residence-weighted FCC coverage, ranked to each city’s real top providers.
Want the exact formulas and caveats? See the Methodology. Or see the data in action in our data studies.