Homes for sale are not present on our site. We've found that it's actually rather difficult to get accurate and up-to-date listings in a volume large enough to be meaningful to our site visitors. For that reason, we decided that we would focus on doing what we do best - community mapping. We might include home listings in the future but only after we can ensure that the information is accurate, timely, and adds value to the visitor's experience.
Our data comes from a variety of sources. Most of our demographic data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau. Our other data points come from a variety of state and federal regulatory agencies and commercial sources.
We created this website to help people moving to an unfamiliar area in Florida make better decisions about where to live, in less time. The map was designed so that a site visitor can quickly turn on features that they care about and see which areas they'd like to live in.
As a general rule, our data is very accurate. However, it is important to recognize that the accuracy varies from one dataset to another. For instance, "median income" figures are sample-based and subject to a different potential set of errors than a figure like the total population of an area, which is a theoretical 100% count of all the people living in some specific geography. These two datasets are created differently and thus have different levels of accuracy. Our school and environmental datasets have their own independent level of integrity and have still different sources of potential error. It is important to remember that while we make the data viewable in a geographic format and do our best to perform quality control checks, we do not produce the data and cannot guarantee it's accuracy. If you spot anything fishy, please let us know, so that we can investigate it. While we want our site to be a useful tool, it should not be relied upon as a sole source of information. Internet searches are great, but they're no substitute for an in-person visit and thorough research using the appropriate sources.
We do track some of your activity on our site for the purpose of determining which datasets are most popular, and which of our additional resources are visited. We do not collect or sell any personally identifiable information unless you give it to us and give us permission to use it for commercial purposes.
Unlike other websites, ours was created specifically for the state of Florida. Everyone in our team was born and raised here, so we're a bit biased in that we want to show off all the great aspects of our state. Our goal is to do one thing and do it well; we wanted our site to be able to provide useful, local information that simply can't be found on some of the larger sites. We're adding new data all the time, so check back often. If you find that we're missing something that you would really like to see, let us know!
Most of our information is updated on a yearly basis, though some data may be updated more regularly (quarterly) or more infrequently (once every 10 years for some census datasets). You might notice that some of our information dates to 2011 or 2012; this is because while we update things regularly, some datasets lag behind a year or two since it takes time for the regulatory agencies to develop them. In these instances, 2011 or 2012 data may be the most recent data available.
Blank spots indicate areas that do not contain any residential dwellings. In other words if you see an area on the map without any color shading it simply indicates that there are no homes present in that spot. You will probably notice many blank areas in the middle of large lakes, the everglades, large office parks, etc. This is logical since no one actually lives there; we chose this approach (as opposed to labeling them with a homeownership rate of zero) because we wanted to allow site visitors to determine which areas have a truly low homeownership rate and which ones simply don't have anyone residing in them.
The heat maps change with the zoom level in order to make the map more readable. If we tried to show the full resolution of our map data at a zoom level that displayed the entire state of Florida, the map would look like a mess made of confetti and wouldn't tell you much of anything. To combat this problem we averaged the various statistics we show into different units of geography (bigger and bigger areas) as the site visitor zooms out on the map. This is why if you turn the heat maps on when the entire state is visible you will see counties displayed and why as you zoom in, the counties will break up into smaller and more detailed features. The units of geography that we use are the county, census tract, census block group and census block.
Census blocks, census block groups and census tracts are the units of analysis that the median household income, homeownership rate and percentage families heat maps use to convey information. A census block is the smallest geographic area for which the U.S. Bureau of the Census collects data. In other words, it is the smallest unit that the Census Bureau calculates statistics such as the percentage of families for. Census blocks are drawn by using natural and manmade features as boundaries. These features include streets, major roads, railroad tracks, water bodies, county/city boundaries and many others. Census blocks in urban areas can be quite small (only as large as one city block) while census blocks in rural regions can be very large (covering a few square miles). A census block may have a population anywhere from zero to hundreds of residents or more.
A census block group is very similar to a census block, but it's a bit larger. As its name suggests, a block group is made up of a cluster of individual census blocks. It can be formally defined as a statistical subdivision of a census tract. It is also the smallest unit of geography for which the Census Bureau tabulates sample data (such as median income figures). Block groups generally contain between 600 and 3,000 people and have an optimum size of around 1,500 people.
Census tracts are still larger units of analysis. According the Census Bureau, census tracts can be formally described as
"small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county or equivalent entity that are updated by local participants prior to each decennial census as part of the Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program. Census tracts generally have a population of somewhere between 1,200 and 8,000 people; with an optimum size around 4,000 people. Like census blocks and block groups, their boundaries are drawn using natural or cultural features such as rivers or political boundaries."
The size of Census blocks, block groups and tracts is dependent on population density; sparsely populated areas will tend to have larger blocks, block groups and tracts while in urban areas they will tend to be smaller. All units of analysis that Census Bureau uses are nested; this means simply that all census blocks fit perfectly within block groups, which in turn fit perfectly inside tracts. Our maps change units of geography as you zoom in; this is because if we tried to show the full resolution of our map data at a zoom level that displayed the entire state of Florida, the map would look like a mess made of confetti and wouldn't tell you much of anything. For this reason you will see areas "break up" into smaller and smaller units as you zoom in on the map. For example, if you turn the heat maps on when the entire state is visible you will see counties displayed and as you zoom in, the counties will break up into smaller and more detailed and more colorful features.
Short Answer: The disappearing homeownership rate phenomenon has to do with the way the U.S. Census collects its data. Privacy is a big concern for the Census and in order to protect our privacy the Census Bureau restricts the level of resolution of some of its data sets. Median income is one of those data sets. The maximum level of resolution we can show is the census block group (made up of census blocks); while the maximum level of resolution we can show for the homeownership rate is the census block (smallest unit of geography the Census Bureau uses), this being the source of the disappearing act. Keep reading below for a more detailed answer and to learn about the way the U.S. Census collects its data.
Long answer: Excellent! You're ready for a knowledge bomb! The long answer is somewhat complicated. At its core, this issue is a matter of size. It exists because of differences in the unit of geography used to represent a particular statistic, homeownership rate as our example. The units of geography we used are the same ones the Census Bureau uses; they are - the county, census block, census block group and census tract. The important thing to understand about these units of geography is that they are nested. In other words, census blocks are the smallest units of geography available and they all fit perfectly inside census block groups. Census block groups, which are made up of individual census blocks all fit perfectly inside census tracts and census tracts fit perfectly within county boundaries, the largest unit of geography.
Since census blocks are much smaller than census block groups there is a higher probability that some of them might not have any people living within them. Census blocks that do not have anyone residing in them will show up as blank spots on the map. On the other hand, since a census block group is an area that contains many individual census blocks, the likelihood that it will have no one at all living in it is greatly reduced. So although individual census blocks within a census block group may have no one residing within them and thus show up as blank in the map, the statistics shown at the census block group level are a function of all the people living in all of the census blocks contained within in a particular census block group. Therefore, a particular census block group may be populated while some census blocks within it are unpopulated or it may have a median income somewhat different than its constituent census blocks. Again, this is simply a matter of size, since a census block group or tract has a larger geographic area, it will tend to have more people living in it which will cause its statistical profile to look somewhat different than the individual blocks contained within.
However, this only answers half the question - It's all well and good that statistical profiles can change with the level of census geography but if an area has a median income it has to have a homeownership rate right? Absolutely, the disappearing homeownership rate phenomenon has to do with the way the U.S. Census collects its data. Privacy is a big concern for the Census and in order to protect our privacy the Census Bureau restricts the level of resolution of some of its data sets. Median income is one of those data sets. The maximum level of resolution we can show is the census block group; while the maximum level of resolution we can show for the homeownership rate is the census block. For the aforementioned reasons, this is the source of the disappearing act. If you stuck with us this long congratulations!
MoversAtlas helps you find out everything you need to know about Florida. At MoversAtlas we understand that deciding where to live is an extremely important and often difficult decision. If you’re not familiar with Florida it can be tough to figure out where exactly within Florida you would like to live. We make the process easier by supplying information about communities and neighborhoods throughout Florida. Use our MoveMap to locate community amenities such as daycares, schools and churches in Florida. Make sure you look for environmental hazards like flood zones, waste sites and sinkholes within Florida as well. Whether you’re buying a single-family house, condominium, townhouse or just renting, MoversAtlas helps you fully understand the community around your new Florida home.
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