Census info sheds light on Brevard's communities

About one in four adults in Brevard has earned a bachelor's degree, one in 10 was below the poverty line and one in 20 speaks Spanish at home.

Those are among more than 11 billion data points -- estimating America's social, economic and housing characteristics -- that were released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau in the largest one-day data release in the agency's history.

Tuesday marked the first time the American Community Survey, a nationwide assessment, has included small communities. About half of Brevard County's residents live in communities with fewer than 20,000 people that have not been included in ACS estimates in recent years.

"If there are needs or problems that have to be addressed, this data will tell us what they are much faster," said Robert Taylor, a history professor at Florida Institute of Technology. "How can we know where we want to go if we don't know where we are?"

Public officials and planners may use ACS estimates to help determine how $400 billion of federal funding is distributed each year to state, local and tribal governments. The money helps pay for community services that range from helping poor children to veterans.

The Census Bureau will release updated five-year estimates that include all communities every year, as well as three-year and one-year estimates for larger communities. "It gives you information that you previously would not have had," said Stan Smith, director of Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida. "The big advantage will be in when you have data for four or five years in a row, you can look at trends."

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Census info sheds light on Brevard's communities - FloridaToday.com - December 15, 2010