On December 28, 2000, the US Census Bureau released its preliminary results for the 2000 Census. According to the Bureau, "the nation's resident population on Census Day, April 1, 2000 was 281,421,906, a 13.2 percent rise over the 248,709,873 counted in the 1990 census" -- an increase that exceeded the Bureau's projections. Visitors to the site can examine tables and maps showing population data...

This Census 2000 Special Report, prepared by Cynthia A. Brewer (Pennsylvania State University) and Trudy A. Suchan (Census Bureau, Population Division), synthesizes the basic patterns and changes in the US racial population distribution in the last decade. Distribution maps depict White; Black or African American; American Indian and Alaska Native; Asian; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific...

Those interested in aerial photographs, satellite images, or maps as ways to conceptualize the world, will find this site interesting, entertaining, and educational. The US Dept. of Interior offers a National Atlas of the United States, an interactive resource that allows users to view part or all of the US and overlay layers of information including natural features, political boundaries, federal...

As part of their "Diversity in America" series, National Geographic has created this fascinating interactive map (viewable for free after entering an email address) depicting where America's different races live and at what concentration. Readers can search for any US city via the map's search box or use the zoom tools in the bottom right to see their area of interest, while a helpful legend...

Recently, the US Census Bureau posted new data from the 2000 census and from the 1996 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation. On April 2, the Bureau announced that the 2000 Census showed the largest increase ever in the US population over a ten-year period, 32.7 million. "The previous record increase between decennial censuses, the 28.0 million jump between 1950 and 1960, occurred...

While the name "Social Explorer" may conjure up images for some of a new and powerful social networking site, this site is actually a splendid way to learn more about your friends and neighbors. Created by a team of demographers and GIS experts at Queens College in New York, the Social Explorer website offers access to dozens of different interactive data maps including time series maps that chart...

Who knew the Census Bureau could be this cool? These two interactive Story Maps visually display population change across the country over the last decade. Start by clicking the first map. Color codes tell you what parts of the country saw increases or decreases in population, first in 2002 (left side) and then in 2012 (right side). Click a geographical area to zoom in. Stats are available by...

Created by Dustin Cable at the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, the Racial Dot Map provides "an accessible visualization of geographic distribution, population density, and racial diversity of the American people in every neighborhood in the entire country." As such, it displays over 308 million dots, color-coded by race, for each person residing in the United...