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Welcome to the CDXZipStream September 2012 Newsletter
7777
See how CDXZipStream can help you determine whether an
area is urban or rural, and watch our featured tutorials covering the
new data feed for getting census tract demographic data. We
also discuss the 32 and 64-bit compatibility issues for CDXZipStream,
MapPoint, and Office.
Here are our latest blog posts:
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Is It Rural or Is It Urban?
We've had
recent inquiries on how to use CDXZipStream or other methods to
determine whether an address or zip code is in a rural or urban area.
Here are three approaches:: 
1. CBSA
or non-CBSA: A fairly stringent determination of rural zip
codes, which can be done easily using CDXZipStream, is based on
whether the zip code is part of a Core Based Statistical Area, or
CBSA. CBSA's are defined by the Office of Management and Budget as
urban areas; a metropolitan area contains a core urban area of 50,000
or more population, and a micropolitan area contains an urban core of
at least 10,000 (but less than 50,000) population. Each metro or
micro area consists of one or more counties and includes the counties
containing the core urban area, as well as any adjacent counties that
have a high degree of social and economic integration (as measured by
commuting to work) with the urban core. Based on the 2010 Census,
approximately 95% of the U.S. population lives in either a
micropolitan or metropolitan CBSA. If a zip code is not
associated with a CBSA then, it is a good assumption that it is in a
non-urban, or rural area. Using the CDXZipCode premium feed
(available in CDXZipStream Demographic version and higher), request
the data field "CBSA"; if the returned value is
"N/A", then the zip code is not associated with any CBSA and
you can assume that it is rural.
2.
Census ZCTA Rural Definitions: Using an alternative U.S.
Census Bureau definition, rural areas comprise open country and
settlements with fewer than 2,500 residents. All other (urban)
areas are of two types-urbanized areas and urban clusters-identical
in the criteria used to delineate them but different in size. The
Census Bureau defines an urbanized area wherever it finds an urban
nucleus of 50,000 or more people. They may or may not contain any
individual cities of 50,000 or more. Urban clusters have a
population of at least 2,500 but less than 50,000 persons.
Using these criteria, about 16% of the U.S. population lives in
what is considered to be rural areas, based on the results of the
2010 Census. You can download from the Census website
relationship files showing which ZCTA's (the Census Bureau's
approximation of zip codes) correspond to urban and non-urban (rural)
areas.
3. Population Density: You may also want to consider
population density as a rough measurement of urban/rural
characteristics, Population density can be easily calculated by
dividing the total population of the zip code by the land area.
Again, using the CDXZipCode Premium feed, request the data
fields "Population" and "LandArea" and then use
Microsoft Excel to perform the calculation. Keep in mind,
however, that population density provides only a partial picture,
since there may be non-residential areas with low population counts
that exist in the middle of urban centers.
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Census
Tract Demographics Tutorials
Last month we
introduced a new data feed for CDXZipStream that provides extensive
census tract demographics from the 2010 Census and most recent
American Community Surveys. Census tracts are about half the
size of zip codes, and can provide a much more accurate picture of
the population around an address.
Getting census
tract demographics is a two-step process. First, the census
tract FIPS code for each address must be obtained. The FIPS
code is a unique 11-digit number assigned to each census tract by the
Census Bureau, and it allows us to search for its associated
demographic data. We offer a free Excel template, downloadable
from our website, that obtains FIPS codes automatically.
Then we use
the CDXZipStream data feed CDXTract to obtain the demographic data of
interest for each FIPS code. Demographic areas cover: age,
individual earnings, household size and income, housing value and
rent, population, race, marital status, school enrollment, and
educational attainment. You can click on the images below to
see Youtube tutorials showing the FIPS template and CDXTract data
feeds in action:
 
Please note
that census tract data is an additional purchase. For pricing
information and access to the CDXTract database, please contact us at
1-877-CDX-TEC1 (1-877-239-8321) or support@CDXTech.com.
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Delay
for 64-Bit Conversion
Since MapPoint
2013 was released this past summer without the option of a 64-bit
installation, we have indefinitely put on hold a 64-bit version of
CDXZipStream. MapPoint can be installed on 64-bit Windows
operating systems, but is only compatible with 32-bit Microsoft
Office (and Excel). As a result, any Excel add-ins that work
with MapPoint must also be 32-bit. This includes CDXZipStream
as well as the MapPoint Office com add-in that allows direct access
to MapPoint from within Office.
We apologize
for this unfortunate situation, but there are a couple of other
options. Since Microsoft provides both 32 and 64-bit versions
as part of the license for Office 2010, so you can pick and choose
the version you want to run, although you can't install both
versions on the same machine. Alternatively, you can also install an
older version of Excel (2007 or 2003) on the same computer with
Office 2010 64-bit and successfully run 32-bit MapPoint 2013 and
CDXZipStream.
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Latest
Data Updates
Canadian and
U.S. data feeds were updated as of September 8. There were 1484
changes made to the U.S. data feed. If you would like to update
your database to reflect these changes, click on the "License
Information and Software Updates" icon on the CDXZipStream
toolbar, and select "Data Updates" to login to your
account.
We hope you
find the information here helpful for you and your organization.
Please contact us with your feedback and suggestions by
replying to this email.
The
Team at CDX Technologies
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In This Issue
Is
It Rural or Is It Urban?
Census
Tract Demographics Tutorials
Delay
for 64-Bit Conversion
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