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Photo of map tool zoomed in on the City of Saint Paul

Census 2020 Map Tool (block level)

We have created a web-based application for Minnesota blocks, populated with data from the 2020 Census Redistricting Data publication (PL 94-171).

Please click the link below to access the web mapping application for the geographically-located, block-level data for the state of Minnesota. The link will open a web-based application created for Minnesota localities populated with the data from the 2020 Census Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) publication.

https://minnesota.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=cf55e729bf2a4a709dac8a97690faf62

Please review the following instructions and cautions prior to using the data product.

Instructions:

  1. Opening the application will display a view of the State of Minnesota. Using the search box allows the user to quickly zoom to an area of interest. The web application draws from a national dataset for place names, so areas having a common name will benefit from adding the state to the search. For example, typing in “Austin” as a search will zoom the user to Austin, Texas; however, searching for “Austin, MN” will zoom to the correct location. Similarly, adding the word “township” will help locate townships that share names with cities locally. Locations sharing a name with another type of geographic feature, e.g. a lake or river, will need to use care to select the correct name from the list. Using the Filter Button (funnel icon) with the query tool (magnifying glass icon) provides another option for locating areas that users have found useful. Once the desired area is selected, the map will zoom to a central point in the location. Clicking the “X” on the selection box will allow the user to remain in the selected area and pan the map easily.
  2. All labels are active by default; however, the user will have to zoom in to a relatively small area before they become visible on the map. Users should zoom in until the labels are visible and then right-click and hold to activate the panning feature of the map.
  3. The labels for the 2020 Census data have been abbreviated to allow for better viewing. The abbreviations are:
    • TP – Total Population
    • HU – Total Housing Units
    • OU – Occupied Housing Units
    • VU – Vacant Housing Units
  4. The map view currently displayed can quickly be printed by using CTRL+P. For higher quality maps that include a title, legend, and scale, the on-screen print button should be used. Changing the layout to landscape provides better quality printed maps. They can also be saved to a PDF using either functionality.

Cautions/Caveats:

  1. The 2020 Census data has had noise injected—this can be thought of like random people being inserted or removed—by the Census Bureau to protect the privacy of respondents. The effect of this noise injection is most pronounced at the block level. The Census Bureau has recommended that the data be aggregated or combined to an area with at least a population of 250 people to gain more accurate results from the block-level data.
  2. The only data that have not had noise injected are the count of total housing units (HU). Those counts can be considered accurate without aggregation.
  3. The base maps used in the application are for general reference only and are not tied to the Census data. For example, the building footprints displayed on the base maps are NOT based on census data and are derived from the base map provider (displayed at the bottom of the page). The number of building footprints may not correspond to the number displayed as the total housing units (HU) for a particular block. Also, the block lines displayed on the map (color may vary based on browser settings), which usually follow roads and other major features, may deviate from those displayed on the base map.

Questions? Please email local.estimates@state.mn.us.

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