The data on place of work were derived from answers to questionnaire item 22, which was asked of persons who indicated in question 21 that they worked at some time during the reference week. (For more information, see discussion under "Reference Week.")
Data were tabulated for workers 16 years and over; that is, members of the Armed Forces and civilians who were at work during the reference week. Data on place of work refer to the geographic location at which workers carried out their occupational activities during the reference week. The exact address (number and street) of the place of work was asked, as well as the place (city, town, or post office); whether or not the place of work was inside or outside the limits of that city or town; and the county, State, and ZIP Code. If the person's employer operated in more than one location, the exact address of the location or branch where the respondent worked was requested. When the number and street name were unknown, a description of the location, such as the building name or nearest street or intersection, was to be entered.
Persons who worked at more than one location during the reference week were asked to report the one at which they worked the greatest number of hours. Persons who regularly worked in several locations each day during the reference week were requested to give the address at which they began work each day. For cases in which daily work did not begin at a central place each day, the person was asked to provide as much information as possible to describe the area in which he or she worked most during the reference week.
In some tabulations, place-of-work locations may be defined as "in area of residence" and "outside area of residence." The area of residence may vary from table to table or even within a table, and refers to the particular area or areas shown. For example, in a table that provides data for counties, "in area of residence" refers to persons who worked in the same county in which they lived, while "outside area of residence" refers to persons whose workplace was located in a county different from the one in which they lived. Similarly, in a table that provides data for several types of areas, such as the State and its individual metropolitan areas (MA's), counties, and places, the place-of-work data will be variable and is determined by the geographic level (State, MA, county, or place) shown in each section of the tabulation.
In tabulations that present data for States, workplaces for the residents of the State may include, in addition to the State itself, each contiguous State. The category, "in noncontiguous State or abroad," includes persons who worked in a State that did not border their State of residence as well as persons who worked outside the United States.
In tabulations that present data for an MSA/PMSA, place-of-work locations are specified to show the main destinations of workers living in the MSA/PMSA. (For more information on metropolitan areas (MA's), see Appendix A, Area Classifications.) All place-of-work locations are identified with respect to the boundaries of the MSA/PMSA as "inside MSA/PMSA" or "outside MSA/PMSA." Locations within the MSA/PMSA are further divided into each central city, and each county or county balance. Selected large incorporated places also may be specified as places of work.
Within New England MSA/PMSA's, the places of work presented generally are cities and towns. Locations outside the MSA/PMSA are specified if they are important commuting destinations for residents of the MSA/PMSA, and may include adjoining MSA/PMSA's and their central cities, their component counties, large incorporated places, or counties, cities, or other geographic areas outside any MA. In tabulations for MSA/PMSA's in New England; Honolulu, Hawaii; and certain other MA's, some place-of-work locations are identified as "areas" (e.g., Area 1, Area 5, Area 12, etc.). Such areas consist of groups of towns, cities, census designated places (Honolulu MSA only), or counties that have been identified as unique place-of-work destinations. When an adjoining MSA/PMSA or MSA/PMSA remainder is specified as a place-of-work location, its components are not defined. However, the components are presented in the 1990 CP-1, General Population Characteristics for Metropolitan Areas and the 1990 CH-1, General Housing Characteristics for Metropolitan Areas reports. In tabulations that present data for census tracts outside MA's, place-of-work locations are defined as "in county of residence" and "outside county of residence."
In areas where the workplace address was coded to the block level, persons were tabulated as working inside or outside a specific place based on the location of that address, regardless of the response to question 22c concerning city/town limits. In areas where it was impossible to code the workplace address to the block level, persons were tabulated as working in a place if a place name was reported in question 22b and the response to question 22c was either "Yes" or the item was left blank. In selected areas, census designated places (CDP's) may appear in the tabulations as places of work. The accuracy of place-of-work data for CDP's may be affected by the extent to which their census names were familiar to respondents, and by coding problems caused by similarities between the CDP name and the names of other geographic jurisdictions in the same vicinity.
Place-of-work data are given for selected minor civil divisions (generally, cities, towns, and townships) in the nine Northeastern States, based on the responses to the place-of-work question. Many towns and townships are regarded locally as equivalent to a place and therefore, were reported as the place of work. When a respondent reported a locality or incorporated place that formed a part of a township or town, the coding and tabulating procedure was designed to include the response in the total for the township or town. The accuracy of the place-of-work data for minor civil divisions is greatest for the New England States. However, the data for some New England towns, for towns in New York, and for townships in New Jersey and Pennsylvania may be affected by coding problems that resulted from the unfamiliarity of the respondent with the minor civil division in which the workplace was located or when a township and a city or borough of the same or similar name are located close together.
Place-of-work data may show a few workers who made unlikely daily work trips (e.g., workers who lived in New York and worked in California). This result is attributable to persons who worked during the reference week at a location that was different from their usual place of work, such as persons away from home on business.
