Perhaps the most important first step in "benchmarking" your community is to know who you are. One of the easiest ways to do this is to look at readily available information about your community, such as demographic data available through various sources. The most widely known of these sources is the U.S. Census Bureau.

Data on People and Communities

For county level information from the 1990 census, try the U.S. Bureau of the Census web site. For any county in the nation, try U.S. counties; or for New York State counties, New York counties. This site has full information from the 2000 and 1990 census demographic, workforce, family, and housing, as well as economic information.

Most social and demographic data available on the Internet are aggregated to the state and county levels. However, data on smaller units, such as towns and cities, are useful for analyzing community structure, and for targeting social programs.

Immediately below, are links to several useful data files on smaller units. The data descriptions are text files, and the data files are Microsoft Excel spreadsheets that can be downloaded. Each file contains information for all New York State Minor Civil Divisions (over 1,000 units), so interested persons can download the entire file and create small subsets for the areas in which they are interested.

Age, race, sex and household composition is important for understanding the needs and aspirations of a community. Younger communities require more educational services, older communities require more medical services, and so on. To view the information available in this file, click on Race, Age, Sex and Household. To download the data file, click on Race, Age, Sex and Household Data.

Over the last 25 years, the fortune of American families with children have diverged. Some families have fared well while others have fallen into poverty, especially families headed by a single parent. To view the variables in this file, click on Child and Family Poverty. To download the data file, click on Child and Family Poverty Data.

Time spent commuting to work is an important dimension of community organization. It influences time spent in voluntary activity and indicates the degree that place of work is separate from place of residence. To view the variables in this file, click on Journey to Work. To download the data file, click on Journey to Work Data.

Information Links

If you want to know about agriculture in your county, try the Census of Agriculture-New York,or for the entire U.S. Census of Agriculture-entire U.S. This information site, made available by Oregon State University, contains full data from the 1987, 1992, and 1997 censuses of agriculture.

Research from Rural Sociology Faculty

This list features recent research from faculty in the Department of Rural Sociology, including information links and data, about people and their communities in New York State.

"Underemployment in New York State," by Thomas A. Hirschl. This paper describes the labor market conditions in New York State, and the extent to which the unemployment rate understates the difficulty in finding work that pays adequately.

"Influences on High Risk Teen Sex in Broome County: An Analysis of the Broome County Teen Assessment Program," by Rachel M. Goodman and Thomas A. Hirschl. This paper analyses a recent survey of high risk behavior among youth in Broom County, New York.

"The Changing Composition of Services in a Rural Cross-Roads: Commercial and
Public-Professional-Financial Services in Cayuga and Oswego Counties, New York, 1996." by Paul R. Eberts, Thomas A. Lyson and Amanda Hart. This paper looks at the economies of two upstate New York areas, and shows they are changing, and what this means.

"Does Demographic Knowledge Matter? Results of a Poll in the New York City Watershed." by J. Mayone Stycos and Max J. Pfeffer. This paper uses a novel approach to assess the environmental knowledge of residents in the New York City watershed.

For additional information, contact:
Tom Hirschl, Professor, Dept. of Rural Sociology, Cornell University

Prof. Hirschl's Social Science Update web page.