New York City Census FactFinder (NYC CFF) is New York City’s online map portal for querying Census information. It was developed by the Department of City Planning and Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. The application provides up-to-date Census data for locations in New York City. To begin a search, choose the type of geographic area you want to profile (census tract or Neighborhood Tabulation Area). Then pick your location. You can search by address, intersection, place of interest, census tract, subway station, or neighborhood. Alternatively, you can simply use the select tool on the interactive map to choose a census tract or Neighborhood Tabulation Area to be profiled. Multiple census tracts can be selected using the buffer tool or by using the select tool and the control key together.
New York City Census FactFinder (NYC CFF) enables you to explore the map and view census related information. The web application page has three main parts:
Along the top, the Menu has links to Help (including this User Guide), and the disclaimer.
The Map tab includes the Toolbar for interacting with the map and the 2010 Census Profile tab displays the census profiles.
The Console, on the left side of the page, contains the following panels:
Geographic Data Source where users select the type of geography that they would like to profile
Search for a Location to search by address, intersection, place of interest, census tract, subway station, or Neighborhood Tabulation Area
Searched Locations allows users to review and return to location results from previous searches
Overview Map displays the location of the current view in the context of New York City geography
The Console contains two sections: on the top is the Geographic Data Source which allows users to select the type of geography that they want to view profiles for. Below it are three panels: Search for a Location, Searched Locations and Overview Map. These panels can be expanded and collapsed as needed. By default, “Search for a Location” is expanded. Click on any panel name to expand that panel. The content of the panel is hidden when collapsed, but not deleted.
The console will also display the legend information such as selected location indicated by a star on the map, selected geography, and buffer distance. You can resize the area used by the Console and the Map by clicking and dragging the divider between the two parts.
This section explains the different ways you can interact with the map. When you first access Census FactFinder, you will see a small scale map of the entire City and surrounding area. From here you can either search for a location in the Console or use tools in the Toolbar, in the upper-left corner of the map, to begin your search.
This section explains the toolbar.
The toolbar allows you to interact with the map. The table below shows each of the tools, with a brief description. Some of the tools perform an immediate action when clicked by the user. Others become the “active tool” after selection and require an interaction with the map with the mouse/cursor. Each tool is explained in more detail below.
By default the Zoom In tool is activated.
The tools available in CFF are:
Name
Icon
Description
Full extent
Immediately zooms map out to the full view of New York City and surrounding areas. The active tool does not change.
Zoom Bar
Click or drag the bar to zoom to a new zoom level. The active tool does not change.
Pan Bar
Click on any one of the four arrows to pan the map in small increments. The active tool does not change.
Pan
Click and hold the left mouse button on the map, and drag across the map. Pan becomes the active tool when selected.
Zoom In
Click and hold the left mouse button down on the map at one corner of the rectangle to zoom in to. Drag the mouse to the other corner of the rectangle, and release the mouse button. The map will zoom in to the area of the rectangle. Alternatively, one can just click on a point and view will zoom in to next closest zoom level, centered on the point which was “clicked”. Zoom In becomes the active tool when selected.
Select
Select a single or multiple features on the map. To select multiple hold ctrl-key or shift-key and click to select/deselect a census tract
Buffer
Buffers a selected location.
Save/Export
Save the current map in “gif” format, or save the current map and profile in “pdf” format. The active tool does not change.
Print
Click on the icon to print the current map and profile. The active tool does not change.
There are three different tools for changing the map scale.
Zoom In
Click on the “magnifying glass” icon in the center of the tool bar and the cursor will change to a small magnifying glass. You can then click anywhere on the map to zoom in one level of magnification and re-center the map on the spot you clicked. You can also click and drag the magnifying glass, thereby selecting an area of the map that you wish to zoom in to.
Zoom Bar
You can jump directly to a certain level of magnification by using the “Zoom” bar in the left portion of the tool bar. The white bar indicates the current level. Click on any other area of the bar to zoom to that level. The very right will zoom in all the way; the very left will zoom out all the way. If you move your mouse over the bar, you will also see some descriptions of the approximate zoom level you would get by clicking there, including “City View,” “Borough View,” “Neighborhood View,” “Block View,” and “Building View.”
You can zoom in and out one level at a time, without re-centering the map, by clicking on the “Plus” (zoom in) and “Minus” (zoom out) buttons directly to the right and left of the “Zoom” bar. Scrolling your mouse wheel, if you have one, will also zoom in and out.
Full Extent
At any time, you can see the full City coverage map by clicking the “Zoom Out to Full City View” icon at the left corner of the tool bar.
The map can be panned in all directions. To pan the map, select the “Pan” tool by clicking on the hand icon at the top of the map. After you do so, the cursor will change to a small image of that hand. You can then click anywhere on the map and drag it in any direction. Once you release the mouse button, the map will shift to where you dragged it.
You can also pan the map in small increments by clicking on one of the four arrow buttons located to the right of the Zoom Bar.
In NYC CFF, there is a single tool to either select or deselect a single or multiple features on the map based on the active geography. In the “Geographic data source” section in the console if Neighborhood Tabulation Area is active, then only a single selection is allowed. If the census tract radio button is active, then the select tool permits single or multiple selections. To select multiple census tracts hold ctrl-key to select/deselect the census tracts.
The buffer tool allows you to buffer your selected (point) location with a predefined distance. This tool is activated only when the active geography is set to census tract in the “Geographic Data Source” section and the selected location is a point based search such as address, intersection, place of interest, or subway stations.
Click on the buffer tool to activate a dropdown box that gives you a list of distances to buffer.
By selecting one of the choices the tool will create a buffer on the selected location and display all census tracts that intersect the buffer area as shown below.
You can also clear the buffer from the map by clicking on the “x” button beside the buffer information in the console panel.
You can export a map and save it as either an Adobe® PDF file or as a GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) file by clicking on the “Save/Export” icon on the right side of the toolbar. If the map has an active selected location, the PDF version of the “Save/Export “will save both the map and selected profile table. By default the demographic profile is saved. To change the profile type to be printed, see the “2010 Census Profile” section.
Select the desired file type; name the map and click “Save.” Click “Cancel” to return to the map without saving.
To print your current display map, click on the “Printer” icon on the right side of the toolbar. Enter the title of the map to get a version of the page that can be easily printed. If the map has an active selected location, the “Print “tool will print both the map and selected profile table. By default the demographic profile is saved. To change the profile type to be printed, see the “2010 Census Profile” section.
Troubleshooting Printing Issues
In order to print maps from the NYC CFF application, please verify that you have the Java 5 Plugin (or later). This is available for download from: http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp.
Then, please verify that Java is enabled through your Web browser using the following steps, depending on which browser you use:
Internet Explorer 7 and Up
Go to Tools > Internet Options
Select the Advanced tab, and scroll down to "Java (Sun)"
Check the box next to the Java version
Next, select the Security tab, and select the "Custom Level" button
NYC CFF allows you to show data based on Census Tract or Neighborhood Tabulation Area (NTA). You can make a geographic data source active by clicking on the radio button. This will automatically change the map geography and census profiles. If there is an active selected location, the map view and census profiles will be based on the selected location. By default the NTA geography is activated.
The census tract feature is visible only at a scale below 1:128,000 and if you are above this scale a “Zoom to Layer” hyperlink appears beside the census tract radio button. By clicking this link the user is zoomed to the visible scale of the census tract.
You can search for a specific location by using the “Search for a Location” panel in the console to the left of the map. By default the “Search for a Location” panel is open. You can search by address, intersection, place of interest, census tract, subway station, or Neighborhood Tabulation Area.
In CFF “Searching for a Location” is a two step process
Select “Address” in the “SEARCH TYPE” drop-down menu. Enter the building number in the “ADDRESS NUMBER” field, the street name in the “STREET NAME” field, and select the borough from the “BOROUGH” drop-down menu. Then click the “Find” button in the lower-left of the module, or press the “Enter” key. The map will automatically center and zoom in to the selected geography.
The address will either be marked with a red star or by highlighting the building footprint associated with that address and the selected geography is highlighted in a light blue color. The selected location information is displayed below the find button on the “Search for a Location” panel.
Select “Intersection” in the “SEARCH TYPE” drop-down menu. Enter the cross streets in the “CROSS STREET ONE” and “CROSS STREET TWO” fields, and select the borough from the “BOROUGH” drop-down menu. Then click the “Find” button in the lower-left of the module, or press the “Enter” key. The map will automatically center and zoom in on that intersection. The selected intersection will also be marked with a star icon.
Select “Place of Interest” in the “SEARCH TYPE” drop-down menu. Enter the name of the place in the “PLACE NAME” field and select the borough from the “BOROUGH” drop-down menu. Then click the “Find” button in the lower-left of the module, or press the “Enter” key. The map will automatically center and zoom in on that place. The selected location will also be marked with a star icon. This feature allows you to search a wide variety of City landmarks and notable destinations.
Select “Census Tract” in the “SEARCH TYPE” drop-down menu. Select the borough from the “BOROUGH” drop-down menu and choose the census tract number by either typing the value or selecting it from the “CENSUS TRACT” drop down menu. Then click the “Find” button in the lower-left of the module, or press the “Enter” key. The map will automatically center and zoom in on the selected geography. The census tract of the search will be marked with a red boundary and the selected profile area will be highlighted in blue.
Select “Subway Station” in the “SEARCH TYPE” drop-down menu. Choose the subway line and the station from the “SUBWAY LINE” and “SUBWAY STATION” drop-down menus. Then click the “Find” button in the lower-left of the module, or press the “Enter” key. The map will automatically center and zoom in on that station. The selected subway station is marked with a red star and the selected profile area is highlighted in blue.
Select “Neighborhood” in the “SEARCH TYPE” drop-down menu (Note, these “Neighborhoods” are the Neighborhood Tabulation Areas.) Next, select the borough from the “BOROUGH” drop-down menu and neighborhood (Neighborhood Tabulation Area) from the “NEIGHBORHOOD” drop down menu. Then click the “Find” button in the lower-left of the module, or press the “Enter” key. The map will automatically center and zoom in on that neighborhood. The selected neighborhood is marked with a red boundary and the selected profile area is highlighted in blue.
The user can view the Map and 2010 Census Profiles by clicking on the tabs. By default the Map tab is active.
If there is no searched location, or if no census tract or Neighborhood Tabulation Area has been selected, then no profile will be visible under the 2010 Census Profile tab, and the user will receive a message to “Select a location or geography to display profile information.
2010 Census Profile Tab
When you have selected a location, by clicking on the “2010 Census Profile” tab both the “Demographics” and the “Demographic Change” Profile tabs become visible. By default the Demographics tab is selected.
In the Demographics Profile tab users are given a profile from the 2010 Census of their selected area, as well as the profile for New York City. The profiled topics from the 2010 Census include race, sex, age, Asian and Hispanic subgroups, relationship to head of household, household type, housing occupancy, housing tenure, and household size. Users may change the default contrast geography from New York City to any of the five boroughs by clicking on the drop down menu to the right of the “New York City” heading.
By clicking on the Demographic Change tab users can view the same 2010 Census variables shown in the Demographics tab, along with statistics from the 2000 Census. The numeric change and percent change are also provided.
In order to view a contrasting geography in the Demographic Change tab, users can select New York City or any of the boroughs from the drop down menu to the right of the selected area heading.
At any time users can return to the map view by clicking the map tab, or operate any of the elements in the console section.
Census FactFinder is built upon two major data components: the two geographic layers of census tracts and Neighborhood Tabulation Areas, along with population data from the United States Census Bureau. The following sections provide background on these two subject areas.
You can search for a specific location by using the "Search for a Location" panel in the console to the right of the map. Click "Search for a Location" to open the panel. You can search by address, borough block lot, intersection, or place of interest.
If you wish to do additional searches without erasing the results of previous ones, you can click the ">>" icon below the search fields to reveal the "Append Search to Map" checkbox. Check this box before doing a search and the results of that search will be shown on the map in addition to previous searches.
These are census tracts developed for the 2010 US Census. The boundary files are derived from the US Census Bureau's TIGER project and have been geographically modified to fit the New York City base map. In New York City, there are 2,168 census tracts, which typically have a population of about 3,000-4,000 and an average land area of 90 acres
Neighborhood Tabulation Areas, or NTAs, are aggregations of census tracts from the 2010 Census that are subsets of New York City's 55 Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs), which roughly represent the city’s Community Districts. NTA boundaries and their associated names do not definitively represent neighborhoods. NTAs were created to project populations at a small area level, from 2000 to 2030 for PlaNYC, the long-term sustainability plan for New York City. Since population size affects the error associated with population projections, these geographic units needed to have a minimum population, which was determined to be 15,000. This criterion resulted in combinations of neighborhoods into NTAs.
NTAs are a valuable summaries of data for both the 2010 Census and the American Community Survey (ACS). Regarding the decennial census, these geographic areas offer a good compromise between the very detailed data for census tracts (2,168) and the broad strokes provided by PUMAs (55 ). For the ACS, NTAs offer a statistically reliable alternative to the high sampling error that renders data for most individual census tracts unusable.
Data for the 2010 Census Profile shown on NYC Census FactFinder are derived from two Census Bureau sources: Summary File 1 (SF1) of the 2000 Census and Summary File 1 of the 2010 Census. The following is a description of the data compiled from these two datasets, important facts to be aware of, and the processing that was involved in preparing the data for use in NYC CFF.
The 2010 census provides a demographic portrait of New York City’s population. This includes data on age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, household size and type, living arrangements and relationships of household members, and housing units by occupancy status (occupied, vacant) and tenure (owner, renter); all included in NYC CFF. All 2010 data in NYC CFF originate from Summary File 1 (SF1) of the 2010 decennial census. When aggregating data from individual census tracts NYC CFF typically sums up component variables. However, there are certain statistics that require more complex formulas than basic summations including the calculations of rates, averages, and medians.
When calculating homeowner and rental vacancy rates, average household size, average family size, average household size of owner-occupied units, average household size of renter-occupied units, and median age NTA and tract aggregation values are calculated using specialized formulas. In order to calculate homeowner vacancy rates the number of vacant units for sale only is divided by the sum of owner-occupied units and vacant units that are for sale only, and then multiplying by 100. In order to calculate rental vacancy rates the number of vacant units for rent is divided by the sum of the renter-occupied units and the number of vacant units for rent, and then multiplying by 100. Average household size is obtained by dividing the number of people in households by the total number of households (or householders). Average family size is obtained by dividing the number of members of families by the total number of families (or family householders). Average household size of owner-occupied units is obtained by dividing the number of people living in owner-occupied housing units by the number of owner-occupied housing units. Average household size of renter-occupied units is obtained by dividing the number of people living in renter-occupied housing units by the number of renter-occupied housing units. Finally, the median age divides the age distribution in a stated area into two equal parts: one-half of the population falling below the median value and one-half above the median value. To calculate this statistic first the median instance is obtained by dividing the total population into halves. Then, the single year age group that includes the median instance is identified by examining a cumulative frequency distribution. Then a median age is calculated by inflating the year of single year age group (for example age 62) in the same proportion that the median instance falls in the frequency distribution for that age group. (For example 62 could be inflated to 62.25 if the median instance is one quarter the way through the frequency distribution of 62 year olds.)
A few more notes about the 2010 data. The count for Chinese, under Asian subgroups, includes individuals that identified themselves as Taiwanese. Also, the 2010 Census enumerated New York City’s population at 8,175,133. The Census Bureau, in cooperation with the Department of City Planning, had estimated the city’s population to be around 8.4 million as of July 2010. It is the City of New York’s belief that there was a significant undercount of the population. This was partly due to the 2010 census finding an increase of 82,000 vacant units in New York City, or a 46 percent rise since 2000. A disproportionate share of this increase was found in two local census offices covering southern Brooklyn and northwest Queens, two vibrant sections of the city. The huge concentration of vacant units in these two areas cannot be explained by new construction or foreclosures; nor is it consistent with other survey and administrative data. Although New York City formally challenged the 2010 Census count, this challenge was rejected by the Census Bureau on the grounds that no errors were identified that were permissible under the Bureau’s Count Question Resolution process. While there is now no formal mechanism to correct any undercount, users should still be cognizant of reliability issues when examining data in southern Brooklyn and northwest Queens. While percent distributions in these areas may be accurate, overall counts may be lower than in reality. For more information on this topic visit the section of the Department of City Planning’s website that addresses the challenge of the 2010 Census.
Data from the 2000 Census were included in the NYC CFF application in order to show change between 2000 and 2010, on the Demographic Change tab. The 2000 census provided a demographic portrait of New York City’s population at the turn of the last century. This includes data on age, sex, race and Hispanic origin, household size and type, living arrangements and relationships of household members, and housing units by occupancy status (occupied, vacant) and tenure (owner, renter); all included in NYC CFF. All 2000 data in NYC CFF originate from Summary File 1 (SF1) of the 2000 decennial census.
All 2000 Census data used in NYC CFF were put in contrast to 2010 data in order to show change between 2000 and 2010. Because of this, and because all geographic data used in NYC CFF mapping were from the 2010 Census, it was necessary to put all 2000 Census data into 2010 geographic terms. This conversion was done, for the most part, by taking 2000 Census data at a census block level and aggregating the data up to 2010 census tracts. This method of putting 2000 Census data into 2010 geographies yielded very little error, save for a few blocks in 2000 that were split by 2010 census tract boundaries. Many of these split blocks did not involve areas with any population in 2000. However, when split census blocks did involve population, the whole block was allocated to one individual 2010 census tract, based on housing unit counts in either side of the split, using the PLUTO database. A select number of variables from the 2000 Census were not available at a census block level for use with NYC CFF, including: single year age groups used in median age calculations, all Asian and Hispanic subgroup data, and all information on unmarried partners. These variables were converted into 2010 census tracts, from 2000 census tracts, by splitting the variables in the same proportions that the overall population in 2000 was split, based on block level analysis. Because of two different methods of converting 2000 data into 2010 census tracts were necessary, it is possible that certain data incongruencies will arise. For example, if one were to compare the Hispanic total represented in the Hispanic subgroup section (which was derived by converting 2000 census tract data into 2010 census tract geographies) of the 2000 data with the Hispanic total under the Race and Hispanic Origin section (which was derived by converting 2000 census block data into 2010 census tract geographies) there are times that the numbers will not match due to the different conversion methods.
When aggregating data from individual census tracts NYC CFF typically sums up component variables from the 2000 Census. However, as with the 2010 data, there are certain statistics that require more complex formulas than basic summations including the calculations of rates, averages, and medians. Specifically, when calculating homeowner and rental vacancy rates, average household size, average family size, average household size of owner-occupied units, average household size of renter-occupied units, and median age NTA and tract aggregation values are calculated using specialized formulas. For a detailed explanation of how these specialized statistics are calculated, see section on Data from 2010.
A few more notes about the 2000 data:
As with the 2010 data, the count for Chinese, under Asian subgroups, includes individuals that identified themselves as Taiwanese.
Users should also be cognizant of the limitations of the Hispanic subgroup data from 2000. Although the number of most specific Hispanic groups increased from 1990 to 2000, the percent of the total Hispanic population for these groups decreased. It is widely believed that a change in the wording of the Census questionnaire in 2000 resulted in an inflated number of Hispanics reporting their Hispanic subgroup as “Other”, thus reducing the percent share of Hispanics in specific subgroup categories. This may result in certain Hispanic subgroup counts to be understated in 2000 (noteably in New York City, Dominicans). To correct this, the Census Bureau released the Simulated Hispanic File to show users a more likely count of Hispanic subgroups in 2000.
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on the interactive map to choose a census tract or Neighborhood Tabulation Area to be profiled. Multiple census tracts can be selected using the 
or by using the select tool and the control key together.
