How Real Estate Firms Use Census Bureau Data

For most Americans, the Census Bureau is like a rabbit that pops out of a hat once every 10 years to ask a few personal questions and then disappears. This mysterious procedure somehow decides how House seats will be allocated among states and  how many federal dollars will flow into each community.

But the Bureau also collects economic and government data and conducts economic and demographic surveys. All this data can offer a treasure trove of information for real estate professionals wanting to improve their marketing strategies or to help homebuyers decide which location is best for them. Best of all, courtesy of Uncle Sam, it doesn’t cost a cent – though it might take a professional to figure out how to work with the data to produce what the Bureau calls “a complete and up-to-date profile of neighborhoods with homes for sale.”

One of the most important datasets real estate professionals can use is the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics program, especially its Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) dataset. Another valuable program, On the Map, contains employment data for most states.

Redfin is one of the real estate firms that has put the data to use. It created the Job Opportunity Score using Census Bureau statistics from LODES, the American Community Survey, and population estimates, as well as data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other federal agencies. This information can be used by individuals who want to relocate and by businesses deciding where to open offices.

“This tool helps people understand the opportunities and tradeoffs when deciding where to live or find talent,” Redfin states. The tool assigns an address a rating from 0 to 100 that assesses how easy it is to get to nearby jobs without a car, taking into account access to transit and the cost of homes.

The Job Opportunity Score also allows employers hunting for talent to identify cities with high concentrations of particular skills and compare wages and cost of living data. Companies can use another Census Bureau offering, the Census Business Builder (CBB), to discover the socioeconomic characteristics and household incomes of residents in any given area. The data also offers information on the spending habits of prospective homebuyers, such as how much goes on household services, travel, dining out and transportation.

The CBB was updated in January with new features to make it easier to search and to offer interactive maps. Importantly, it also now includes FEMA disaster areas that show which counties are affected by specific disasters. Other new features include building permits data and imports and exports data from the International Trade Program. Interactive maps allow data to be viewed by type of geography, industry cluster, or region. SBA Hub Zones, HUD Opportunity Zones, and National Weather Forecast offices are also available for viewing.