Quick Start + User Guide
Quick Start Guide
Welcome to Census Galaxy — a fast, clean, and powerful way to explore U.S. Census geography and demographics.
Choose your geography level
- Block Group or Tract: high-resolution analysis like local targeting or equity metrics.
- ZIP Code or County: for regional summaries or matching to marketing/consumer datasets.
Use percentages and percentiles appropriately
- Percentages (e.g., % Black, % College Degree): describe characteristics within a population.
- Percentiles (e.g., income percentile = 0.92): rank a geography relative to others (nationally or within state).
Visualize polygons easily
Every row includes GeoJSON fields for polygons and centroids, usable with:
- Mapbox, Kepler.gl, GIS tools
- Custom dashboards (Deck.gl, Leaflet)
- Analytics workflows in Python, R, Tableau, Power BI
Data is updated annually
- Uses latest ACS 5-Year Estimates and boundaries.
- Each release is timestamped and versioned.
Integrate into knowledge workflows
- Upload datasets into a vector database or GPT knowledge base for search, summarization, and Q&A.
User Guide
Annual Refresh & Versioning
- Synced with ACS 5-Year Estimates.
- ZIP Codes use USPS definitions via HUD crosswalk (40k valid ZIPs).
Using Polygons and Coordinates
- Includes GeoJSON polygon and centroid point.
- Separate latitude/longitude for fast mapping.
- Compatible with GIS, dashboards, geofencing, and spatial joins.
Percentages vs Percentiles
| Metric Type | Example | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Percentage | 22.5% with Bachelor's degree | Understanding composition |
| Percentile | Income percentile = 0.91 | Comparing rankings |
- Use percentages for internal composition.
- Use percentiles for comparisons.
Uploading to Knowledge Base
- Data is standardized for AI tools.
- Upload to Pinecone, Weaviate, or Supabase pgvector.
- Enable GPT-powered Q&A, semantic search, and dashboards.