ACS Data Now on PolicyMap

Website also offers free interactive map widget featuring new data

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Feb 23, 2011, 12:35 ET

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- PolicyMap is offering data from the 2005-2009 American Community Survey (ACS) for free on its website www.PolicyMap.com. Beginning with key indicators such as population, income and educational attainment, PolicyMap will roll out the full spectrum of ACS data over the next few months.

All PolicyMap users previously had free access to 2000 U.S. Census demographic data, while subscribers could also view Nielsen estimates and projections. The release of the 2005-2009 ACS by the Census Bureau makes it possible for PolicyMap to update this demographic information, making PolicyMap even more relevant for users. The ACS data provides demographic, social, economic and housing data from a sample of the U.S. population.

Besides providing data analysis via its website, PolicyMap offers widgets – embeddable versions of the site – to organizations interested in tracking a particular issue. To accompany their release of ACS data, PolicyMap is offering a free widget. Anyone can simply add the code for the ACS widget to their website, allowing visitors to view and interact with this data. Upon request, PolicyMap will provide instructions for tailoring the widget to show a specific geographic location. The widget automatically updates when the data is updated on PolicyMap.

A service of The Reinvestment Fund, PolicyMap is an online data analyses and interactive map tool which allows users to generate maps, tables and reports based on over 10,000 key social and economic data indicators. PolicyMap uses Geographic Information Systems technology to display these indicators for U.S. communities down to a neighborhood level. PolicyMap has become an important tool for government officials, financial institutions and private investors to generate analyses specific to their mission. Local governments can use PolicyMap to view city crime rates or view crime statistics for the entire U.S., comparing between regions.

In addition to the ACS, PolicyMap will roll out preliminary results from the 2010 Census as it becomes available in the coming months.

About TRF and PolicyMap

PolicyMap is a fully web-based interactive map tool that makes it quick and easy to gather and analyze geocentric information. A service of The Reinvestment Fund, a not-for-profit leader in the financing of neighborhood revitalization, PolicyMap empowers decision makers with better access to credible market and demographic data in an easy-to-use geographic information system. Visit www.policymap.com or call 1-866-923-MAPS for more information.

SOURCE PolicyMap