Digital Spatial Data

US Census

Census 1980

1980 census summary file structure resembles those of the 1990 census data files. Data are also based on the two different types of questionnaires, 100% count (short form) and sample count (long form). Short form questionnaire asks a limited number of questions of every person and housing unit in the US, and long form questionnaire asks additional questions of a sample of persons and housing units. Followings are the major data files resulted from the Census 1980 questionnaires.

Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)
Redistricting data are based on the the 1980 census short-form questionnaire (100% count), and provided down to the block level.

Summary Tape File 1, A, B, C & D (STF 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D)
Summary Tape File 1 (STF1) data are based on the 1980 Census short-form questionnaire (100 % count). Population items tabulated include age, race, sex, marital status, Spanish origin, household type, and household relationship. Housing items tabulated include occupancy/vacancy status, tenure, contract rent, value, condominium status, number of rooms, and plumbing facilities. Selected aggregates, means, and medians are also provided. STF 1 is compatible to the Summary File 1 (SF1) of the Census 2000. STF 1 data are available at the different levels of geography: 

• 1A: (Down to the block group level) states, the state portion of American Indian and Alaska Native areas, whole places, whole tracts/BNA's, whole county subdivisions in selected States and whole block groups
• 1B: (Down to the block level) state, county, county subdivision, metropolitan areas, urbanzed areas, AIAN areas, place, census tract/block numbering area, block group and block 
• 1C: (Down to the county level) Nation, states, regions, divisions, large places, metropolitan areas, urbanzed areas, AIAN areas and counties.
• 1D: Congressional districts

Summary Tape File 2, A & B (STF 2A & 2B)
Similar to STF 1, summary Tape File 2 (STF2) data are based on the 1990 Census short-form questionnaire (100 % count), but tables are repeated for each race and Hispanic origin. STF 1 is compatible to the Summary File 2 (SF2) of the Census 2000. STF 2 data are available at the different levels of geography: 

• 2A: (Down to the tract level) metropolitan areas, counties, places of 10,000 or more population and tract
• 2B: (Down to the place level) state, counties, metropolitan areas, urbanzed areas, AIAN areas, and place of 10,000 or more population.

Summary Tape File 3, A, B, C & D (STF 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D)
Summary Tape File 3 (STF3)  contains sample data weighted to represent the total population. In addition, the file contains 100-percent counts and unweighted sample counts for total persons and total housing units. STF 3 is compatible to the Summary File 3 (SF3) of the Census 2000. STF 3 data are available at the different levels of geography: 

• 3A: (Down to the block group level) states, the state portion of American Indian and Alaska Native areas, whole places, whole tracts/BNA's, whole county subdivisions in selected States and whole block groups
• 3B: 5-digit zipcode 
• 3C: (Down to the county level) Nation, states, regions, divisions, large places, metropolitan areas, urbanzed areas, AIAN areas and counties.
• 3D: Congressional districts

Summary Tape File 4 (STF 4)
Summary Tape File 4 (STF4) contains the sample data, similar to the STF 3,  which is the information compiled from the questions asked of a sample of all people and housing units. Data are provided down to the census block group level. These tables are repeated for each race and Hispanic origin.

1980 Data Sources 

Census Bureau (web)
http://www2.census.gov/census_1980/
1980 STF1 and STF3 table files are now available for downloading from the Census Bureau's HTTP and FTP sites.

Inter-University Consortium For Political and Social Research (ICPSR) (web)
http://www.icpsr.org/
Data are available for downloading for the UWM students and faculty for education use. Search for the data using keyword "census and 1980", for example. Data files are in the ascii format, thus require basic database knowledge.

Census 1980 Electronic Resources at the UW-Milwaukee Libraries (CD) (UWM Libraries)
A variety of electronic resources, which were obtained from the Census Bureau, are available for the in-house use at the UWM Libraries' reference information counter located on the 1st floor. ID card is required to use the CDs. Use PantherCat to identify call number of the data files you need.

GeoLytics, Inc. CensusCD 1980 (AGS Library)
Created by a private company, GeoLytics, Inc., easy-to-use 1980 Census data CD is available at the AGSL for in-house use & the UW-Milwaukee educational use only. It is easy to extract selected Census data, and data can be exported as shapefiles or MapInfo data format. More information about GeoLytics products can be found at www.geolytics.com/. The AGSL has the following CD for 1980 data.

• CensusCD 1980: Available geography: nation, state, county, tract, block group, MCD/CCD, place,  congressional district, state legislative districts), MSA/CMSA, PMSA, AIANHH, Zipcode (ZCTA) - radius search/extraction is also available.

1980 Boundary Data Sources 

CIESIN Archive of Census Related Products (ACRP) (web)
http://sedac.ciesin.org/plue/cenguide.html#tiger
1980 boundary files, which were translated from the TIGER/Line 1992 file, are available as the BNA (Boundary ASCII) format from the CIESIN's ACRP website. This site also provides BNA-to-MIF conversion excutable (bna2mif.exe) for more conventional GIS users. (After converting to MIF, files can be further translated to shapefiles.) Send email to gisdata@uwm.edu to obtain further assistance.

1980 Census Geography 

Maps and More: Your Guide to Census Bureau Geography.
United States. Bureau of the Census. 1994. Maps and More: Your Guide to Census Bureau Geography. Washington, D.C. : U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. is also available at the UWM Libraries. 

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