Readme File for Detailed Tables (DTs)

1. dt_readme.txt
This readme file is provided to explain the file naming conventions and general
content of the downloaded files.
When applicable, a second data set specific readme file also is provided to expl
ain potential gaps in the data for the selected geographic areas. In many data s
ets in American FactFinder (AFF), not all data are available for all geographic
areas. The specific reason varies with each data set but in general is due to on
e of the following reasons:
- sampling sizes
- population thresholds
- geographic thresholds for selected tables
Be sure to consult the data set specific readme file when it is provided.
2. Detailed Table data files and what they contain.
a) File type extensions:
The data files are either comma delimited text files or Microsoft Excel (.xls) f
iles. Two types of data files are created:
dt_<dataset>_data1.<ext> = dynamically produced file with data values
dt_<dataset>_geo.<ext>= dynamically produced file with the geocode value
s
<dataset> = the unique data set name
<ext> = the chosen file extension (.txt or .xls)
b) Non-iterated Data Files: <dataset>_data1.<ext>
A download may contain one or more dynamically produced file(s) with data values
. These will be named as dt_<dataset>_data1.<ext>,dt_<dataset>_data2.<ext> etc.
Each data file includes primary keys to link to other data files:
GEO_ID: the Geographic Identifier
GEO_ID2: the GIS-compatible Geographic Identifier
SUM_LEVEL: the Summary Level Code
Each data file has a maximum of 250 data columns. When that is exceeded, a new d
ata file is created. Large downloads of many tables will result in multiple data
files.
c) Iterated Data Files: dt_<dataset>_data001_1.<ext>
These data sets contain tables that are repeated for Race and Ethnic Groups (REG
s) and/or Ancestries, for example, Summary Files 2 and 4 from the Census 2000.
Downloads from these data sets will be named as:
dt_<dataset>_data001_1.<ext>
dt_<dataset>_data001_2.<ext>
dt_<dataset>_data002_1.<ext>

dt_<dataset>_data003_1.<ext>

etc.

Each file will contain data for one Race or Ethnic Group (REG); the REG is ident
ified by the 3 digit code in the file name *data001*.<ext>. Each file will conta
in no more than 250 columns of data including the keys, therefore, multiple data
files may be created for each REG. However, each file will contain data for onl
y one REG. Iterated data files contain 3 primary keys to link to other data file
s:
GEO_ID: the Geographic Identifier
GEO_ID2: the GIS-compatible Geographic Identifier
CHARITER: the 3 digit code that corresponds to the Race and/or Ethnic Gr
oup(s)
SUM_LEVEL: the Summary Level Code
d) Geographic Content File: dt_<dataset>_geo.<ext>
This file is dynamically produced and contains the geocode values for all of the
selected geographic areas. This file can be linked to the various data files by
the primary keys of:
GEO_ID: the Geographic Identifier
GEO_ID2: the GIS-compatible Geographic Identifier
SUMLEV: the Summary Level Code
The GEO_ID is used in the American FactFinder application to uniquely identify e
ach geography. A GEO_ID is formed by appending a series of text strings: 3-digi
t summary level code + '00US' + applicable geocodes. For example, the GEO_ID fo
r Autauga County, Alabama would be formed by appending: '050' + '00US' + '01' (S
tate FIPS) + '001' (County FIPS) to produce: '05000US01001'.
The GEO_ID2 can be used by GIS software users who use Census data and need acomm
on key to link AFF tabular data to TIGER spatial data. GEO_ID2 is a field that
contains the applicable geocodes without the 3-digit summary level code and the
'00US'.
TIP: The file names for *data*.txt and *geo.txt do not uniquely reflect the cont
ents of the file. The same file names will be reused on subsequent downloads wit
h different content. Be sure to modify your files names when downloading multipl
e times.
3) Refer to the Readme_<dataset>.txt for more information
The geographic selections in the *geo.txt file may not have matching data values
in the data.txt files. The reasons for this vary by data set. Refer to individu
al readme files for each data set for further explanation.
4) Data Set Technical Documentation
The technical documentation is available from the data sets page. Click on the d
ata set radio button and then click on the Technical Documentation link. The dat
a set page can be bookmarked:
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DatasetMainPageServlet?_lang=en