Cook County, IL tracks recent demographic trends with Everyone Counts interactive map

Alert - Medium

President Preckwinkle today announced a major update to the Cook County 2010-2020 Census Demographics App. The updated interactive map makes it easier to identify a variety of demographic changes that took place in Cook County on a census-tract level between 2015 and 2020. The updated map, now called "Everyone Counts," includes changes in age, ancestry, income, education and more. The original version of the app was created with the initial data released from the 2020 Census. The census authorities have since released a trove of additional data through the American Communities Survey (ACS) that Cook County makes available in the updated interactive map. "Understanding how Cook County is changing over the years is crucial for policy making and invaluable for our residents looking to learn more about their communities," said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. “This app can also be used by the hundreds of municipalities, school districts and other units of government within Cook County to find ways to meet the needs of residents.” Everyone Counts lets visitors see, for example, whether the number of seniors residing in a particular suburban municipality have decreased or increased, and by how many. Visitors can see the whole county or individual county commissioner districts, townships or zip codes. The app includes median income, population below poverty line, unemployed population and other key statistics. “As Chair of the Technology and Innovation Committee, I am excited to see the County take another step toward greater equity in the realm of technological innovation,” said Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison. “This updated system will not only help service providers better understand our diverse communities, but also better inform our policy decisions moving forward.” The map includes employment data collected during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Visitors can see some of the immediate pandemic impacts, such as the way census respondents reported traveling – or not – to work. “The US Census Bureau puts out a tremendous amount of data, but it can be difficult to parse even for subject matter experts,” said Tom Lynch, Cook County Chief Information Officer. “We hoped to really unlock the potential for smaller government entities, non-profits, community organizations as well as for anyone who happens to be curious about how their neighborhood has changed in the last few years.”  The app is available here in both Spanish and English and will work on mobile devices and computers — https://maps.cookcountyil.gov/everyonecounts/

Cook County, Ill., officials hope 'Everyone Counts' map will close gaps in access to services - StateScoop

The Chicago-area county published an interactive map that shows socioeconomic changes based on five years of Census Bureau data.