More detailed information from the U.S. Census Bureau is now available through the state library that details 17 characteristics of people who have moved in and out of each Iowa county. Beth Henning is coordinator of the State Data Program that organizes the information for the state. She says they organize the information based on the characteristics, so you could go to a table on educational attainment and see the education level of the people who moved into each of the 99 counties. Henning says the data is especially important for local planners and policymakers. He says the information will let them know if they’re losing or gaining college graduates, or young people. She says it will help them know if their county’s migration is out of balance, and let them develop strategies. Henning says it takes some time to sort out all the data after the census every ten years, so there is some time lag. She says the information covers the time from 1995 to 2000, and is based on the question of where people lived in 1995. She says the information is on the website for the State Data Center, and she says the easiest way is to go to the State Library website at www.silo.lib.ia. Once you get there, click on the data center link. This information is a followup to the information released last fall that told about the basic population gains and losses in each of the counties.
