The State Data Center (SDC) of the Maryland Department of Planning has posted to its web site new social, economic and housing information for Maryland’s Senate and House Legislative Districts. The source of this information is the 2005-2009 American Community Survey (ACS), a monthly nationwide survey designed to collect demographic, social, economic and housing data every year. It represents the first new information for these districts since the 2000 Census. The ACS data — including estimates of median household income, poverty, educational attainment, number of foreign born, travel time to work, etc. — is for the State’s Senate and House Legislative Districts as they currently exist. These districts will be redrawn later this year after the 2010 redistricting data is released.

Included at the SDC web site is a summary profile which has a selected number of data items for each district, as well as four-page profiles for each district which can be accessed via a clickable map or a dropdown menu. The data was collected from individual households over the 2005-2009 period, and are considered five-year period estimates. Five-year period estimates are used so that a sufficient number of household surveys can be pooled to yield reliable estimates for areas as small as legislative districts. The demographic data included in the profiles – total population by age, race, gender, Hispanic origin, as well as housing units (occupied and vacant), households, and owner/renters — will be updated in the upcoming 2010 Census data releases, the first of which will be in February 2010.  It is important to note: the 2010 demographic Census data will be used for redistricting, not the 2005-2009 ACS data.

Article written by Mark Goldstein, economist and statistician for the Maryland Department of Planning’s Planning Data Services unit.