Census 2000

These three maps were creating using data from the US Census (2000). The maps show the distribution of population in the continental United States in terms of race – Black, Asian and “Other.” The projection used for all three maps is the US Albers Equal Area Conic USGS, with standard parallels at 29.5° and 45.5°, appropriate for representing the conterminous 48 States. While neither shape nor scale are truly correct, distortion is minimized between the parallels. This projection was chosen because all areas are proportional to the same areas on the Earth, thus making it suitable for thematic maps since equal-area representation is maintained.

The data for percent of population of the selected race in each county is categorized into four groups using Jenks’ Natural Breaks. The Jenks’ Natural Breaks classification scheme identifies the best arrangement of values into classes, based on the inherent natural groupings in the data. Also known as the Goodness of Variance Fit, the function divides the classes where there are significant jumps in the data values, grouping similar values and maximizing the differences between classes. Jenks’ Natural Break was chosen for these maps because data distribution is explicitly considered in the method and thus appropriate for thematic maps.


Looking at the Distribution of Black Population by County in the Continental United States, the map shows that Blacks are heavily concentrated in the South, particularly the Mississippi States. In addition, Blacks are also well represented in the Mid-Atlantic, mostly in Virginia and Maryland. This region is sometimes termed the “Black Belt,” characterized by the slave plantation agriculture in U.S. history. In the Great Migration of the early 20th century, many blacks moved out of the South and into other regions of the U.S., thus, as seen in this map, blacks are also present in urban centers including Los Angeles and Oakland on the West Coast, Chicago, Detroit and New York.



According to the map of the Distribution of Asian Populations in the United States, Asian are predominantly located in on the Pacific Coast, with the majority in California and urban areas including Los Angels and San Francisco, Portland and Seattle. This can be explained by the history of Asian immigration to the U.S. since the 1800s, locating mostly in California as a result of the Gold Rush and the construction of the transcontinental railroad. There is a smaller concentration of Asians in the New England area, specifically the Washington D.C. metro area, New York and the Boston area. Additionally, Asians populations are also present in individual counties throughout the Midwest and the South, although broadly distributed.

For the Distribution of Population of “Other” Races, the map shows that the majority is heavily concentrated in the South West, including California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Colorado. Other areas of concentration are in the Pacific North West – Washington State and Idaho – and in Florida, with smaller urban concentrations in the East in Chicago and New York. The U.S. Census presents race in seven categories, including White alone, Black or African American alone, American Indian and Alaska Native alone, Asian alone, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, Two or more races, and Some other race alone. According to this categorization, is can be inferred that “other” races is composed of primarily Hispanic and Latino Americans, thus explaining the large concentration in the South West U.S. as historically, the area has a significant population with Hispanic/Spanish and Mexican ancestry.