Starting on Wednesday, March 28, Social Explorer will be served from the Amazon Cloud through Amazon Web Services. We have run extensive testing and expect that most users will not even notice the change. If you experience any access or other issues, please let us know at support@socialexplorer.com immediately.

This move is necessary as we begin to add world wide data and attract world wide users. It will also support our soon-to-launch Social Explorer 2.0.

We say hello to Amazon Web Services, as we improve the way we bring you all of our resources and tools.

See you in the cloud!

In addition to new data for the New Year, we now have new maps for the New Year.  The five-year American Community Survey (2006-2010) data are now available on Social Explorer’s maps.  These data come from the American Community Survey (ACS), an extensive annual survey administered by the Census Bureau to a sample of about 3 million households nationwide.  This five-year file offers subscribers a new level of detailed demographic information.

You can drill down to the tract level with these data resources and enjoy all the interactivity of Social Explorer’s mapping tools.  For more on these data, how they compare with other ACS and Census data and more, read the recent data update.

Social Explorer is ringing in the New Year with new data!   The five-year American Community Survey (2006-2010) data are now available on Social Explorer.  These data come from the American Community Survey (ACS), an extensive annual survey administered by the Census Bureau to a sample of about 3 million households nationwide.  This five-year file offers subscribers a new level of detailed demographic information.  (Where the 2010 ACS shares information at the PUMA level–about 65,000 in population–and the 2008-10 ACS shares information at 20,000 in population, the five-year file shares data down to the Census Tract and Block Group.)  We also have available all of the 2010 Census Data, which is based upon seven questions, also down to the block group.

It is important to note that comparing the 2010 ACS data with earlier ACS years could lead to faulty comparisons.  Now that the Census Bureau has the official 2010 numbers, it readjusted the population base for the 2010 survey and all prior surveys in its data products.  This means that information presented in the last few years would be different because they were adjusted to the new base.  In short, comparing 2010 to say 2009, one cannot be sure if the change is real or based upon adjustment, so always check your numbers.

Also, for those concerned with the ending of the the “Legacy Version” of the Census Bureau’s American Factfinder on January 20th, we want to assure you that we do not plan any interface changes.  This means you can keep accessing data from 1790 through 2010 through Social Explorer using our familiar interface.

Subscribers can access this and the rest of our data through the maps and the reports tabs. The ACS 2006-2010 data are currently up as reports, and we are testing the maps for release in a few days. Click here to find out more about subscribing to all of Social Explorer’s tools and resources.

You can expect many new features in Social Explorer in the New Year, including updated data on religious congregations, new localized data on major cities in the United States, and a host of new features for mapping, visualizing and saving your research.

Social Explorer wishes demography fans everywhere a very Happy New Year!

The 2008-10 American Community Survey (ACS) maps and reports are now available on Social Explorer.  The data come from the American Community Survey (ACS), an extensive annual survey administered by the Census Bureau to a sample of about 3 million households nationwide.  This three-year file offers subscribers a new level of detail.  Where the 2010 ACS shares information at the PUMA level (about 65,000 in population), the 2008-10 ACS shares information at 20,000 in population.

Subscribers can access this and the rest of our data through the maps and the reports tabs.  Click here to find out more about subscribing for access to the latest data and all of Social Explorer’s tools and resources.

2010 Census and American Community Survey maps are now available on Social Explorer.  We already added the data to our reports section, giving users the most comprehensive and easy to use demographic resources all in one place.  Now you can access this wealth of data through using Social Explorer’s map tools.  Click here to explore more.

Fresh from the Census Bureau, this data set give users new levels of detailed demographic information on all census survey questions. The ACS has data on everything from education to employment to home heating fuel, and so much more. To understand the difference between the  ACS and the Census, please read Social Explorer’s Andrew Beveridge’s Gotham Gazette column on the two data sources.

The full version is available in the Premium edition, and population change data is available in the Free edition.  For more on subscriptions and trials to access all that Social Explorer has to offer, please click here.

Social Explorer announces today that the newly-released 2010 American Community Survey (ACS)  and 2010 Summary File 1 from the Census are available for all US states and territories, for all summary levels and all variables.

Fresh from the Census Bureau, this data set give users new levels of detailed demographic information on all census survey questions. The ACS has data on everything from education to employment to home heating fuel, and so much more. To understand the difference between the  ACS and the Census, please read Social Explorer’s Andrew Beveridge’s Gotham Gazette column on the two data sources.

You can access this wealth of data through the Social Explorer reports tab, where you can create customized demographic reports with just a few clicks.  (The data will also be available in our interactive maps soon.)  Our reports are available in the same American Fact Finder-like interface that we have used for several years.  We are committed to offering the user quick and easy access to demographic data as we continue to improve our system and add new tools.

The full version is available in the Premium edition, and population change data is available in the Free edition.  For more on subscriptions and trials to access all that Social Explorer has to offer, please click here.

In addition to offering nationwide census tract data for the 2010 census, Social Explorer now offers 2010 block group data.

Block groups are smaller than census tracts–with about three block groups per tract–enabling users to access a new level of detailed information.

As an example, here you can see 2010 vacancy rates in the West Village of Manhattan at the tract level:

And the block group level:

Check out Social Explorer’s mapping and reporting tools to explore these new data, or click here to learn more about subscribing.

Social Explorer is having an 80s party, specifically a data party.  This week, Social Explorer unveiled a new and improved reporting system for 1980 data.  This upgrade offers a more flexible interface for users that is more consistent with other decades.  We now include virtually all of the major data released for 1980, not just a selection.

Social Explorer also released a new map client with the ability to export a map image in a variety of resolutions (great for printing and sharing images).  Over the next few months we plan to add many new features, and the new client makes this possible.

Subscribers can access these new features through the maps and the reports tabs.  Click here to find out more about subscribing for access to the latest data and all of Social Explorer’s tools and resources.

Social Explorer announces today that the 2010 census data is now available for all US states and territories.  Fresh from the Census Bureau, this data set give users information about changes in population, race, ethnicity, and housing occupancy.

The full version is available in the Premium edition, and population change data is available in the Free edition.  Social Explorer’s Professional Edition is now distributed by Oxford University Press.  You can signup for an institutional trial or subscribe as an individual to access these latest data and all of Social Explorer’s features.

The New York Times featured Social Explorer’s content in its interactive map of the US.  Click it to explore.

It’s springtime and data are in bloom!

Social Explorer has been adding 2010 data as the Census Bureau rolls it out state by state.  The following states are already available to our users.

The following states and geographies will be released this week and available on Social Explorer by next week.

Stay tuned for new Social Explorer features, including congressional district maps,  year-to-year comparisons and more.