.. tools and analytics to examine all urban areas with particular focus on Urbanized Areas and demographic change between 2010 and 2015 .. examining urban areas in context of metropolitan areas .. the four fastest growing Urbanized Areas (UAs) from 2010 to 2015 were in Texas. McKinney, TX UA led the nation with an increase of 27.5% in total population. View, rank, compare 2010 and 2015 demographic characteristics for UAs using the interactive table in this related section. Urban areas (Urbanized Areas and Urban Clusters) are important for many reasons. More than metros and cities, urban area geography better reflects how the urban and rural population is changing. Both metros and cities can change geographic boundary over the years. Urban areas are based on Census 2010 and unchanging between 2010 and 2020. Annual demographic updates are available from the American Community Survey (ACS 2015).
This section is focused on tools and analytics to examine all urban areas with particular focus on Urbanized Areas and demographic change between 2010 and 2015. Use the interactive table >in the related section to view, rank, query urban areas and demographic change for larger urban areas. Use the related GIS tools and data to develop related thematic and relationship maps. Perform geospatial analysis of geographic and demographic-economic characteristics using the resources we have developed. Gain insights into patterns that might affect you. Use these resources to collaborate on how, where, what, when and why of change.
McKinney TX Urbanized Area in Context of City
The McKinney, TX UA (bold orange pattern) is shown in context of McKinney city (cross-hatched area) and other urban areas (lighter orange pattern). It is easy to see that some parts of the city are rural and that the UA extends beyond the city in many areas. See more about the McKinney UA and in comparison to other urban areas using the interactive table.
Most Urbanized Areas (UAs, 435 of 487) have population 65,000 population or more resulting in the availability of annual demographic-economic estimates. Data are fresher than available for smaller urban areas (ACS 5-year estimates for areas under 65,000). This means more current data to assess more recent characteristics. As annual data are available UAs enabling analysis of change over time. The “2010s” marks the first time these refreshed, time series-like data have been available for urban areas. Businesses and those examining change performing market analysis benefit from the ability to examine characteristics or urban areas in combination with counties and metros.
Houston Urbanized Area in Context of Houston Metro
The Houston metro has a bold brown boundary. It is easy to see how the Houston UA (darker orange fill pattern) geographically relates to the metro. Other urban areas (all) are shown with a lighter orange fill pattern. It is easy to see the urban/pattern character of the general region. While the Houston UA is the largest, there are four UAs that intersect with Houston metro. Use the interactive table below to view their names and characteristics.
Urbanized Areas tend to be associated with metropolitan areas having a similar name. But very often there are multiple UAs within a metro; sometimes one is not dominant. Often there are several UAs in a metro having similar size. Use the interactive table below to view the relationship of UAs and metros (CBSAs).
Using Interactive Table
Use the interactive table to view, rank, compare, query urban areas based on a selection of demographic measures. The following graphic illustrates how the table can be used. Click graphic for larger view.
The graphic shows the urbanized areas ranked in descending order based on 2010-2015 population. The rightmost column shows the area percent change in population over the period.
Try it yourself. Use the table to examine urban area patterns and characteristics based on your selected criteria.
Join me in a Data Analytics Lab session to discuss more details about accessing and using wide-ranging demographic-economic data and data analytics. Learn more about using these data for areas and applications of interest.
About the Author
— Warren Glimpse is former senior Census Bureau statistician responsible for innovative data access and use operations. He is also the former associate director of the U.S. Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards for data access and use. He has more than 20 years of experience in the private sector developing data resources and tools for integration and analysis of geographic, demographic, economic and business data. Contact Warren. Join Warren on LinkedIn.