NYS Census – Population

Exploring population patterns via the state census data.

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Town of Webb – Old Forge – Block Population Density

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Town wide population density is misleading. The Town of Webb, Herkimer County, NY is home to Old Forge. The resident population density is less 4 people per square mile. That seems very rural. But most of the town is forest preserve and timberland, most residents in the Town of Webb live in Old Forge/Thendra.
 
Only 7% of Town of Webb residents live in a tabulation block with a population density of 4 people per square mile or less. 93% of Town of Webb residents live on a block with more then 4 people per square mile.

 

Town of Webb - Old Forge - Block Population Density

Town Population Density

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This shows the town-wide population density for each town in New York State. Notice the log10 scale for population to emphasize differences in density in rural communities. Compare and contrast to percent of town population that resides in blocks with fewer then 100 people per square mile.

You can find the script that generates this on my GitHub under Town Population Density.R.

Town Population Density

Percent of Town Population Living in Blocks with a Density of Less then 100 People Per Square Mile

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A while back I was reading a book that was discussing rural populations. The book notes that there are many counties, especially out west, where it appears the county is most rural by a simple county population density calculation, but most of people actually live in a densely populated city or village - and the rest of land is state or federal forest preserve.
 
The author suggested a different methodology - calculating the percentage of census blocks with a population density less then 100 people per square mile, and then calculating the percentage of populated census blocks within the county that fit that criteria. I did a county map of this some time ago in New York, he it is with individual municipalities.

The towns have no blocks with a density of over 100 people per square mile:

  • West Almond town, Allegany County
  • Cattaraugus Reservation, Chautauqua County
  • Clare town, St. Lawrence County
  • DePeyster town, St. Lawrence County

You can find the code for generating this on my Github: Percent of Town Population Living in Blocks with a Density of Less then 100 per sq-mi.R

 

Percent of Town Population Living in Blocks with a Density of Less then 100 People Per Square Mile