Guide to Library Reference Sources
Jan Goldsmith, Kris Kasianovitz, January 2003
Last Updated: January 13, 2006
 
Social Welfare: Statistics for Community Analysis
This page contains resources that will help in your research for statistics for community analysis. All print and non-web materials will be found in YRL Reference unless otherwise indicated.

Identify Your Community

Get Demographic Data for Your Community

Resources That Will Give You More Information About Your Community

Library Resources and Services Guide

IDENTIFY YOUR COMMUNITY

Most data sources have statistics by city. (In the Census, cities are called "places".) However, if your community is an unincorporated area or a neighborhood in a larger city, then you'll have to define it by adding up smaller geographic areas such as zip codes or census tracts. These communities usually have no official boundaries, and it's up to you to decide which zip codes or tracts fall within your community. Often zip codes and tracts will include areas that fall outside your community boundary.

To identify neighborhoods and communities:

  • LA City Department of Neighborhood Empowerment - NC Database and Roster
    Find information about each forming and certified Neighborhood Council: leaders, contact information, meeting times, boundaries, important dates, etc..
  • Los Angeles Department of City Planning, Community Plan Profiles and Statistics
    A variety of statistics, including Census 2000 figures, aggregated for city Community Plan Areas (CPAs) or city council districts.
    • current: Online Access
    • 1995: Online Access
    • paper (current and past): YRL Reference Reading Room, call numbers beginning with HT168 .L7
  • Los Angeles Almanac

To identify zip codes and census tracts in your community, use the following maps:
[Helpful Tip: Try to have an address that falls within the boundaries of your community.]

  • City of Los Angeles Website
    [Note: Use the "My Neighborhood" search feature to find Thomas Guide page and grid, Census Tracts, Police Bureau, Council, Neighborhood Council, School, and Sanitation Districts.]
  • Department of Neighborhood Empowerment Maps
  • Neighborhood Council Maps, showing streets and boundaries
  • Los Angeles and Orange Counties Street Guide: 2003
    The Thomas Guide.

    • YRL Reference Desk G1528 .L6P8 T56 2002

  • Los Angeles and Orange Counties Street Guide & Directory, Census Tract Edition
    1990 zip codes and census tracts.

    • YRL Reference Government Resources table G 1528 .L89T36lo 1989
      [Note: First table, facing in toward Reference area]

  • Thomas Guide 2001 Digital Edition
    1990 and 2000 zip codes and census tracts.
    [Note: For 2000 maps select "Internet Maps"]

    • YRL Reference CD Station G1528 .L6P8 T56 2002 CD-ROM [Ask for disc at Reference Desk]

  • American FactFinder
    1990 zip codes and 2000 zip codes and census tracts.
    [Note: Select "Reference Maps"]
  • Census 2000 Tract Outline Maps
    [Note: Acrobat pdf files, first file in each county is an index map]
  • ImapLA
    Access city information and services, including parcel maps and associated data, demographic data, elected official district maps, and information about locations of services available in your neighborhood.

GET DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
  • Neighborhood Knowledge CA
    Create custom maps of your communities, get demographic reports, find out which census tracts are included in your neighborhood.
  • American Factfinder
    All currently available 2000 data plus most 1990 data. For basic demographic variables (population, race, sex, and age) choose Summary File 1. For socioeconomic variables such as income, occupation, educational attainment, place of birth, and citizenship choose Summary File 3.
    [Note: Be sure you know your Census Tracts!!]

RESOURCES THAT WILL GIVE YOU MORE INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR COMMUNITY
  • Riddick-Norton, Glenda. Los Angeles County Social Service Rainbow Resource
    2004 edition.

    • YRL Reference Desk HV89 .R53

  • Los Angeles Sourcebook

    • YRL Reference Desk HF5038 .L84 P58 1997

  • Pitt, Leonard. Los Angeles A to Z : an encyclopedia of the city and county

    • YRL Reference Desk F869.L84 P58 1997

  • CenStats Zip Code Business Patterns
    Size and number of business establishments, employment size, and payroll; annual. Use SIC for pre-1998 and NAICS for 1998 - present.
    [Note: Look under County Business Patterns]
  • LILA - Living Independently in Los Angeles
  • Neighborhood Knowledge LA
    NKLA provides tools for accessing property and neighborhood data. Create maps of nonprofits, tax delinquent properties, at-risk affordable housing, housing code complaints, and enforcement in your area.
  • Terraserver Advanced Find
    provides a broad range of quality of living statistics.
    [Note: Put in a zip code, choose any of the aerial photographs that come up, then click on "Schools, Crime and Demographics for [your zip code]" in the left column.]
  • Los Angeles Unified School District
    [Note: Use the Find Schools section to get information about elementary, middle, and high schools in your area.]
  • Education Data Partnership
    Statistics for schools.
  • Enviromapper
    EPA-regulated facilities, Superfund sites, and more.
  • Uniform Crime Reports for the United States
    Offenses known for cities of population 10,000 and over.
    [Note: Use Section II, Crime Index Tabulations, Table 8]
  • Los Angeles Police Department Online
    Annual reports by bureau and division.
    [Note: Choose "Visit Your Community" followed by "Neighborhood Crime Prevention & Statistics"]
  • LAPD Statistics by Reporting District
    Detailed weekly and quarterly reports for small reporting districts
    • Reporting District Maps: YRL Reference Reading Room G 1527 .L89F85L67 1992

    • Statistical Reports: YRL Reference Reading Room HV 7595 var.
      [Note: Older volumes in SRLF]

  • Residential Vacancy Data, from the Department of Water & Power, Los Angeles Housing Department
    Based on "Individually Metered Apartment Vacancy Survey" data and "Residential Meter Activity" data, reports show vacancy rates by Community Planning Area, Zip Codes, and Census Tracts.
  • LA County Assessors' Office Property Assessment Information System
  • Quick Data Guide, from the Weingart Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty
    Shows availability of economic and social statistics broken down by geography, including census tracts.
  • Recommended Data Links, from the Weingart Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty
    [Note: Access to Recommended Data Links in on the left hand navigation bar. Use the drop down menu to select Los Angeles for location, then choose your keyword. Most of the reports only go down to the County or City level.]