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1. Click BringingCensusData.zip above to download the tutorial data.
2. Open the Downloads folder.
3. Right-click BringingCensusData.zip and select Extract All....
4. In the 'Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders' window, accept the default location into the Downloads folder and click Extract.
5. Drag the unzipped BringingCensusData folder onto your Desktop.
6. Close all windows.

Tabular Data

Explore Data

The folder you downloaded contains an unprocessed data table that appear as it would if you downloaded it directly from the web site.

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1. Select Columns A though AB in the SocialExplorerDownload. csv table by clicking on the gray area in the top-left hand corner of the table. Double-click on the line between any two columns to resize the column widths. All cell contents should be visible.
2. Delete unneeded columns:
   1. The identifying fields repeat information that we don’t need. Delete Delete Area Name-Legal/Statistical Area Description, Qualifying Name, Summary Level, Geographic Component, State (FIPS), County, County Size Code, County Subdivision, and Census Tract. Be sure to keep FIPS.
   2. Delete the copy of Total Population.
   3. Delete all columns after Total Population: Hispanic or Latino.
   4. Rename the field names with the following criteria: Remove all spaces and special characters, must begin with a letter, fewer than 64 characters. Keeps FIPS as it is. TotalPop. NonHispanic. White.etc
3. Delete Row 2 with “SE_T055_001”
   
   
   
4. Click Click File > Save As.Select the BringingCensusData folder.
5. Under ‘Save as type:’ select the top option, ‘Excel Workbook (*.xlsx)’. ClickSave.
   

Geographic Features

A Shapefile is a digital vector storage format for storing geometric location and associated attribute information.

Downloading TIGER/Line

We will obtain our geography from the Census Bureau.

1. Open a web browser. Search for “TIGER/Line.”
2. Select the first option for Census.gov.
3. Navigate to the 2010 TIGER/Line Shapefiles.
   Image Added
4. Click on the Download tray to expand it.
5. Under Download by File Type, select Web Interface.
6. For ‘Select year’, choose 2010.
7. For ‘Select a layer type’, choose Census Tracts.
   

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1. Click Submit.
2. Under Census Tract (2010) ‘Select a State’, select Texas.
3. Under ‘Select a County’, select Harris County. Click Download. tl_2010_48201_tract10.zip will begin to download.