How to use the See Values feature
As the Tables tutorial stated, the See Values feature gives users the ability to download all the values of data for all the geographies that make up an area.
For instance, you can see all the values of each county in a state, zip codes in a city, census tracts in a county, etc. In the example below, See Values will show the population of all the states which make up the US, or population of each county that make up the state of Oregon, census tracts for the city of Portland, and blockgroups for the census tract.
If you are then looking to download data for census tracts in your neighborhood, add the geography larger than a census tract (e.g. city, county, zip code, etc) in the search bar and the See Values option will list all the tracts in that geography as well as the data.
Users can also download data for custom regions or geographies without an aggregated value. If your location has an N/A as the value, the See Value function will then give you the ability to download the data for the geographies that make up the location. The See Values feature has some unique rules in relation to Custom Regions
- If a custom region was drawn or a radius, the See Values feature will follow the “Geography Rules” which will show the show data for the smallest geography based on the size. For example, if you draw a 20 mile radius, the See Values feature will likely show data for Counties or even States, but if you draw a 2 mile radius, then the See Values will likely show data for Census Tracts or County Subdivisions.
- If a custom region was assembled, the See Values feature will always try to show data for the geography used to assemble. For example, if you assemble a group of census tracts, then the See Values will show the list of tracts and the associated values.
The See Values function works in two unique ways for custom regions and pre-defined boundaries like school and state districts.
If your location is larger than the smallest geography in the dataset, the See Values function will download the all the geographies contained within your location. (e.g. your location is a county and the data is available at the census tract level).
If your location is smaller than the smallest geography available in the dataset, the See Values function will download the geographies that touches your location. (e.g. your location is a zip code and the data is only available at the county level).
Use the icons in the See Values window to save or download the data.
The Save icon will save this list to the My PolicyMap page, allowing users access the list at any time.
The Download icon will download the data and name of all geographies shown in the See Values window.
Note: Licensing agreements prohibit PolicyMap from making all datasets available for download.
If you have any questions or want to lean more, visit our training calendar and attend a free session or contact us at any time.
To read a full guide on all features on PolicyMap, please look at our Primer available here