An Iowa State University office that keeps track of key census data on the state has released a c-d that contains the info separated into several categories. Cindy Anderson of the Office of Social and Economic Trend Analysis , helped create the c-d. She says “Iowa by the Numbers 2004” was assembled so people could go to a topic and easily pull out one or two, or even thousands of pieces of information. Anderson says it helps make a mountain of information easier to use. She gives this example. Under the Agriculture category you can look up the number of farms in Iowa’s counties over the last two decades, the market value of the products sold in the counties over the last decade. She says the information would be useful for someone working with state agencies, people writing grants.Anderson says people often want to find out about the business climate and things like housing in their communities. She says another thing people might be interested in are the trends in Iowa. She says a lot of time we hear national reports about the poverty rate or uninsured people in the nation, and she says this is a way to see how Iowa stacks up when compared to those trends. Anderson says there may some information that could surprise you. She says things like birth and death rates by county and state, home ownership rates, building permits are just some of the information people might find surprising. Anderson says anyone can order the c-d. You can call 515-294-9903 and order a c-d or you can go on-line at:www.seta.iastate.edu. The cost of the c-d is 20-dollars or 30-dollars, depending on the file format.
