Boston College LibGuides @ BC - Community Analysis

Basic Mapping

American FactFinder (U.S. Census Bureau)

Maps demographics at state and county level.
U.S. Postal Service Zip Code Lookup web site.
Note zip codes can change over time when comparing earlier data.
MassStats - Internet Explorer recommended.

Interactive Maps and Statistical Views of Massachusetts at the City level with data for Education, Housing, Crime, Politics and Public Health. Click on "I" icon then click on city to view data table.
National Atlas of the United States

Agriculture, Climate, Crime, Demographics, Geology, History, Water Resources themes,Mortality by types of Cancer (1970-1994) and West Nile Virus Human Cases.
World Health Organization Global Health Atlas
Select from categories such as Communicable Diseases, Human Resources for Health, Noncommunicable Diseases and World Health Statistics. Additional sub-categories may be selected under each heading. Choose geographic area or country. Over 20 years of data.

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Additional Interactive Mapping Tools

Boston Redevelopment Authority Maps of Boston Neighborhoods (BRA)

Maps and aerial photos of Boston neighborhoods. Look for local agencies for other cities which might provide more in depth breakdowns of major cities with neighborhood breakdowns.
Cancer Mortality Maps & Graph Web Site

National Cancer Institute provides interactive maps, graphs (accessible to the blind and visually-impaired), text, tables and figures showing geographic patterns and time trends of cancer death rates for the time period 1950-1994 for more than 40 cancers.
Homes and Communities (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development)

The "Map your Community" feature allows mapping of Community Planning and Development Low income and elderly housing, environmental factors, flood hazards, census geographies, hydrography, transportation, landmarks.
School District Demographics (National Center for Education Statistics)

Census 2000 School District Profiles which includes census data along with number of students, teachers and schools and a Local Education Agency Finance Survey. Also offers Census 2000 School District Maps.
GIS and Public Health

National Center for Health Statistics uses Geographic Information Systems to map health statistics, geocode data, and develop analytic methods. This site includes an Atlas of United States Mortality with mortality rates for many causes of death.
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (CDC)
Tracks health risks in the United States over ten years, national and state data and includes mapping tool and GIS formatted data for download.
Nursing Home Info

A commercial web site that acts as a directory to nursing homes including addresses and mapping tools. Because it is a commercial site it cannot be considered comprehensive but the site will provide a sense of nursing home availability at the city level.
Assisted Living Info

A commercial web site that acts as a directory to assisted living facilities including addresses and mapping tools. Because it is a commercial site it cannot be considered comprehensive but the site will provide a sense of city assisted living facilities.
Assisted Senior Living: Nursing Homes, Independent And Assisted Living Facilities
Nursing homes, independent and assisted living facilities. Zip code search with Google maps. Privately maintained site.
GeoFred
Map economic data such as employment, unemployment, housing vacancy and health insurance coverage at the state, county and metropolitan statistical areas.
Tiger Maps (U.S. Census Bureau)

Map basic 1990 demographics by zip code. At the bottom of the page type in zip code. Click Search button. Under Map Census Statistics section select Level: Place.Under that, select a demographic feature you wish to display.
Finding Spatial Data For Mapping at Boston College

Boston College supports ArcView GIS software. This guide provides links to information about the B.C. data, who to contact for help and software.