Available Data for Public Assistance

The American Community Survey from the Census Bureau provides extensive community level information on the population which are released in 1 year, 3 year, or 5 year datasets. Collecting the data this way allows more timely information but increased the margins of errors and requires attention to detail in how the data is combined to get accurate results. Keep in mind that the data is generated by surveys which are collected and aggregated over time, so the totals and other values do not correspond to a particular point in time (which is why the data must be represented using a date range (e.g. 2011-2015 in this case))

NOTE: This draft does not incorporate the margins of error, will be updated to incorporate this information before this document is finalized.

The 5 Year datasets are the most accurate so those will be used in this exploration.

These maps were generated using the 5 Year ACS (2011-2015) data for children under 18. Getting public assistance means either receipt of Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Cash Public Assistance Income, or Food Stamps/Snap in the Past 12 Months.

Which counties have more public assistance?

There are two ways of looking at this - the greatest number of children getting aid or the percentage of children getting aid in the county.

Greenville has the largest number (with almost 30,000) but Richland, Spartanburg and Charleston all have over 20,000 children getting aid. By percentages, Allendale (59%), Lee(65%), and Dillon(55%) get the most public assistance, but 9 of the 46 counties in South Carolina have 50% or more of the children receiving aid.

By Census Tract

Perhaps looking at the data at the county level doesn’t give the best picture. Within each county, there’s a lot of variation in the percentage of children getting aid.

From wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Census_tract Also: http://libguides.lib.msu.edu/tracts

Census tracts are “Designed to be relatively homogeneous units with respect to population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions, census tracts average about 4,000 inhabitants. These tracts are generally 2,500 to 8,000 inhabitants and can change over time.

There is one tract in Richland county with 100% of the children getting aid, and 5 tracts where the percentage is 90% or above.

NAME.y with_aid percentage
Census Tract 9708, Greenwood County, South Carolina 1850 59.77
Census Tract 9503, Jasper County, South Carolina 1581 66.65
Census Tract 108.18, Dorchester County, South Carolina 1558 52.07
Census Tract 22.01, Florence County, South Carolina 1450 79.11
Census Tract 216.01, Aiken County, South Carolina 1364 61.14
Census Tract 31.15, Charleston County, South Carolina 1309 58.41
Census Tract 9605, Clarendon County, South Carolina 1240 67.39
Census Tract 116.08, Richland County, South Carolina 1238 67.76
Census Tract 704, Horry County, South Carolina 1229 69.91
Census Tract 9705, Greenwood County, South Carolina 1196 83.06
NAME.y with_aid percentage
Census Tract 31, Richland County, South Carolina 68 100.00
Census Tract 7, Florence County, South Carolina 692 97.19
Census Tract 117.01, Richland County, South Carolina 171 93.96
Census Tract 105.02, Richland County, South Carolina 126 93.33
Census Tract 208, Spartanburg County, South Carolina 457 91.58
Census Tract 53, Charleston County, South Carolina 882 89.73
Census Tract 604.01, York County, South Carolina 528 88.29
Census Tract 21.01, Beaufort County, South Carolina 140 87.50
Census Tract 109, Richland County, South Carolina 946 86.87
Census Tract 507, Horry County, South Carolina 346 86.28
Census Tract 203.01, Spartanburg County, South Carolina 170 85.86
Census Tract 107, Darlington County, South Carolina 442 83.87
Census Tract 9601, Bamberg County, South Carolina 785 83.69
Census Tract 117.02, Richland County, South Carolina 619 83.65
Census Tract 26.03, Richland County, South Carolina 968 83.23
Census Tract 9705, Greenwood County, South Carolina 1196 83.06
Census Tract 9, Richland County, South Carolina 749 82.67
Census Tract 113, Orangeburg County, South Carolina 602 82.58
Census Tract 43, Charleston County, South Carolina 500 82.51
Census Tract 10, Florence County, South Carolina 300 82.42