What’s New on PolicyMap; the Data Loader
Customer Spotlight: YOU!
With the release of our data loader earlier this year, you’ve been busy loading your own address level files to view on top of the data available in PolicyMap. While most of you choose to keep this data private or share it confidentially within your organization, some of you have chosen to load data and post it for the public to access. You’ll find these customer-shared datasets in the Add Sites menu to the left of the map.
The spreadsheet data loader is a very exciting and unique tool, created to give users the ability to easily upload and visualize a list of addresses on a map. We have created helpful tips on how to setup a file and a complete walk-through on how to use the data loader.
- Tips on setting up a file to upload (Setting Up a File)
- A complete walk-through of the data loader (Using the Data Loader)
Become a subscriber or sign up for a free trial today and start uploading your data.
Election Data for 2012
Visit PolicyMap to check out the latest presidential, senatorial, and congressional election data, as well as voter turnout statistics for 2012. You’ll find election data presented in a few interesting ways on PolicyMap. You’ll find Margin of Victory maps – using the traditional red and blue election colors – percentage of votes by party and voter turnout statistics.
Look for this new data under Elections in the Demographics menu.
USDA – Low Access Food Areas 2010
The latest USDA study of Low Access food areas from the USDA’s Food Access Research Atlas is now available. This data is useful to financial institutions applying for funds from the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI). You’ll find areas that have Low Access, as well as areas that have Low Access and are Low Income. You’ll also find maps showing the number of people who live at varying distances from these areas of need. For those of you needing the 2006 analysis from USDA, we’ve kept it up on PolicyMap as well. Read more on our blog.
Find this in the Federal Guidelines menu, in the USDA ERS Food Access section.
Additonal Data Updates
Home Sales for Q3 2012
Turn to PolicyMap for data on home sale trends – at the block group level, census tract, zip code and more – from 2006 through the third quarter of 2012. Create thematic maps or trend charts to better understand how both the median home sale price and sales volume are changing in the markets you care about. This proprietary data is available under the Real Estate menu.
Homeless Data 2011
Homelessness data, from HUD, is now updated to 2011 and includes annual estimates of homeless people, sheltered and unsheltered, by state. You can access it in the Demographics menu.
If you’ve used this data in the past, be aware that it’s been trimmed down a little, so that it now contains three indicators: total homeless, sheltered homeless, and unsheltered homeless. Other indicators were not updated by HUD.
CRA Small Business Lending 2011
Data regarding lending to businesses around the country has been updated through 2011. Use this census tract level data to find out how many business loans have been made in places all around the country, their average amount and info regarding the top lenders. Find this under the Lending Activity menu.
SBA HUBZones 2012
The Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) program helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. You can find census tracts that qualify as HUBZones as of 2012 under the Federal Guidelines menu in Federal Incentive Designations
Infectious Diseases from the CDC 2011
Check out county-level data from the CDC on a variety of infectious diseases. This data is made available for all years between 2000 and 2011 and allows you to track how the rates of different diseases have changed over the last 11 years. You’ll find this data in the Health menu.
Unemployment and Labor Force Data
Every month we update unemployment statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These statistics allow you to track how unemployment rates and numbers are changing in counties across the country. PolicyMap now houses unemployment data from January 2000 through March 2013. This data can be found in the Jobs & Economy menu.
Want to put these unemployment maps on your own website? You can and it’s FREE. Just embed the code found here.
We strive to keep the data on PolicyMap relevant to your work. If you need something we don’t have, just let us know. We keep a rolling pipeline of new datasets to incorporate and love your input!
Learn more by following our blog and and stay tuned!
Not a PolicyMap user and ready to give it a try? Just sign up for our 7-day trial and get started now.