Allen County Census Profile

Overview of the project

In late 2010, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Fund awarded a grant to the Community Research Institute at IPFW (CRI) to review, analyze and make available to community the demographic and socio-economic data on Allen County being released by the U.S. Bureau of the Census through both the American Community Survey (ACS) program and the 2010 Decennial Census. There have been numerous changes in the population composition and economic condition of our community over the past ten years, and those changes can be assessed by reviewing this Census information. The population continues to become more racially and ethnically diverse and the impact of slower economic growth has impacted our residents.

Two of the key focus areas of the Knight Foundation Fund are to improve community leadership and engagement. Access to reliable and current indicators of community trends can be a significant foundation for good organizational decision-making. It should also be a foundation for further meaningful community engagement in addressing issues highlighted by this statistical profile.

2010 and 2011 is also a watershed mark in the process used by the Bureau of the Census for collecting and presenting traditional “census” data. Considerable information is now currently available more frequently than once every ten years through the annual American Community Survey. Concurrently, substantial less information will come from the traditional decennial census that we have become accustomed to as the primary source of data regarding the demographic, social and economic characteristics of our residents. The annual American Community Survey data certainly offers a more timely perspective of the community than waiting for the Census information every ten years. A more detailed explanation of these changes is presented in the “Reengineering the Census” component of this project. Users of the data are strongly encouraged to read that section first in order to better understand the important difference between the information gathered through the American Community Survey and the decennial Census.

Report

Each section of the report is available below individually as a PDF file. Users of the data are strongly encouraged to read “Reengineering the Census” first in order to better understand the important difference between the information gathered through the American Community Survey and the decennial Census.

• Executive Summary
• Reengineering the Census
• Population
• Households
• Educational Attainment
• Income
• Poverty
• Housing
• Economic Well-Being and Other Census Data
• Appendices