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Table of Contents

Finding and Downloading Census Data

These are directions for downloading Census data as tables that you can edit in Excel and upload into ArcMap.

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  1. Highlight the ID/Geo2 column
  2. In the Home Tab, navigate to Editing → Find and Select
  3. Choose the Replace Option.  The Find and Replace dialog box will open.
  4. Enter the value of the unwanted numbers and letters at the beginning of the string for ID/Geo2 into the Find what: field.  The value is usually 1000000US, but double check to see which portion of the ID/Geo2 field and the STFID field do not match.
  5. Leave the Replace with field blank.  This will simply delete the unwanted string of letters and numbers.
  6. Click Find Next.  When the program highlights a cell, click Replace.  Test this with a few cells to make sure that the program is only deleting the numbers and letters you want.
  7. If the first few test cells are successful, with only the ID/Geo2 column highlighted, click Replace All.  A dialog box will appear letting you know from how many cells it deleted the specified string.
  8. Click OK, then click Close.

Do the following to resolve the problem of Excel storing these numbers as scientific notations

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  1. Create a new, empty column next to the ID field (Geo 2 field for Census data before 2010).
  2. Format the new column as General.  Name it Geo 3
  3. Type in the formula =Left(cell# of cell in Geo 2 field, #of digits of number)  This will convert the number to a regular, General format.
  4. Copy/paste the formula into every cell adjacent to a Geo 2 cell you need to convert
  5. Copy the entire newly formatted set of fields in the new column
  6. In same column, with all fields still highlighted, right-click and choose Paste Special.  Choose Values from the available menu.
  7. Click OK.  This should paste the actual Value of the Geo 2 field in General format into the new column and display it normally, rather than as a Scientific format.
  8. Use the Geo 3 field in your Spatial Join.
  9. This procedure will save you the effort of having to copy/paste the value of hundreds of Geo 2 cells.

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