More Data, Better Tools – Update for August 2012

New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) 2012 Eligibility Data

The NMTC application eligibility data for 2012 is now up on PolicyMap. That means you can use PolicyMap to look up eligibility status and all sorts of severe distress criteria for your NMTC application. You can find this new data under the Federal Guidelines tab. Note: Not only is the data new, but the Census tract boundaries at which the data is displayed are new as well. The old data was displayed at 2000 Census boundaries; the new data is at 2010 boundaries. This means that the Census tract your project is in could be different today than it was last year. We’ve seen many tracts that were eligible in previous years no longer eligible, and vice versa. All CDEs applying for NMTC allocation in 2012 must use these new criteria data and boundaries. Learn more here.

Election Data for Your Website or Blog

Need historical election data mapped for your website or blog? Create a map of any of this data. Your readers will be able to pan and zoom the map to see how their county voted in last presidential election. You can check out these maps by going to the Demographics tab on PolicyMap and scrolling down to Elections.


Go Beyond the Purple: More Color Ramps for Maps

Customize your maps by choosing from one of our new color ramps. We still love our signature purple and orange maps, but now you can select from another eight color ramps to personalize your work. Once you create a thematic map, just select “Change Color Ramp” in the legend. See the new colors on our blog.

Data Updates
A number of updated datasets are now available for your use in PolicyMap. They include:

• Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Eligible Tracts for 2012 – CRA eligible tracts have been updated for 2012 and are now available on PolicyMap using the latest 2010 census tract boundaries. These tracts are defined as low or moderate income for the purpose of the CRA. Look for this under the Federal Guidelines tab. Learn more.
• Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Small Business and Small Farm Lending for 2010 – The Census tract and county level CRA Small Business and Farm Lending is now updated for 2010. Find it under the Lending Activity tab.
• Owner and Renter Affordability – PolicyMap provides you with the percentage of homeowner and rental units that are likely affordable to a median income household in 2012. These affordability calculations have been updated using HUD’s FY2012 Area Median Income (AMI) data in combination with housing and rental unit counts from the Census’s 2005-2009 ACS. Look for it under the Owners & Renters tab.
• Low/Moderate Income – Find out how the income in a particular census tract or block group relates to the income in its metro area, by checking out Low/Mod under the Money & Income tab. This data has been updated using ACS data for 2005-2009.

Data Updates Continued
As always, unemployment data is updated monthly and can be found under the Jobs & Economy tab. And building permit data is updated quarterly and is now available for June 2012. Find it under the Real Estate tab.

• Immigration – The Department of Homeland Security’s Legal Permanent Resident (or Green Card) data has been updated for FY 2011. Find out how many immigrants were granted Green Cards in your state under the Demographics tab.
• Infant Births – This county level data has been updated with the most recent release from the CDC allowing you to find annual counts of infant births from 2004 through 2009 in PolicyMap. You’ll find it under the Health tab.
• Bankruptcy Filings – The latest state level bankruptcy data for 2011 is now available. You can use PolicyMap to get this bankruptcy data on annual basis starting in 2000. Look for it under the Money & Income tab.
• Supplemental Security Income (SSI) – County and state level data on the number of people with disabilities receiving SSI is now updated through 2011. This data, which can be found under the Demographics tab, also shows a breakdown of SSI recipients by age

We are working to bring additional health datasets such as mortality rates of cancer and heart disease to you, as well as HIV prevalence and other STD incidents. We’re also updating County Business Pattern data, home sale statistics, school finance data and more! To learn more about any of the datasets available in PolicyMap, visit our Data Directory or stay connected through our blog. Need something you don’t see? Just let us know!