If there was not a name available, we named the census tract by the largest street intersection in the census tract (e.g., Worcester, MA (Lincoln St/Plantation St) Then we named each census tract to the local colloquially recognized neighborhood name for that spot (e.g., Boston, MA (Dorchester). Since census tracts are subdivisions of a county, we did a spatial overlay of the census tracts onto city and town boundaries using a geographic information system to properly assign each census tract to its appropriate city or town. In urban areas, they are small, and in rural areas they can cover an entire small town or even a few small towns in very rural areas. Because census tracts are based on population, they vary in size depending on the density of settlement. This is the most fine-grained area for which detailed information is made available from the government, to protect the individual privacy of each of us.

Census tracts usually have 4,000 persons, but can range between 1,500 and 8,000 persons. Census Bureau in conjunction with local authorities all across the country to define real neighborhoods that are bounded to contain areas with homogeneous population characteristics (including economic status, lifestyle, and living conditions).

NeighborhoodScout® uses the official government designation for neighborhoods - the census tract.Ĭensus tracts are small, relatively permanent subdivisions of a county that are defined by the U.S.

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