20-03-2025
Census Dots: A New Interactive Dot Map Reveals the Demographic Makeup of America
Census Dots is an interactive map displaying all 331 million Americans from the decennial census, color-coded by race. Users can explore demographic patterns from national to neighborhood levels. The project revives a similar 2010 map, with future plans to add additional historical and socioeconomic data.
BROOKLYN, NY - Census Dots is an updated demographic dot map of the United States, displaying all 331 million Americans recorded in the 2020 Census, color-coded by race. The map is interactive and zoomable, allowing exploration at the national, state, city, and neighborhood levels. Dedicated pages exist for both states and municipalities — for example, Texas or Los Angeles, CA — providing statistics on individual geographies and allowing easy comparison between neighbors. Census Dots intends to make it easier for journalists, researchers, and the public to visualize census data and explore demographic trends across the United States.
The Census Dots map was created following the loss of Dustin Cable's popular 2010 Racial Dot Map, which he created at UVA's Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. Citing outdated data and a lack of resources, the Cooper Center ceased hosting the map in 2022 and it disappeared from the web. 'When the Cooper Center took down the 2010 Racial Dot Map, it left a huge void,' said Luke Loreti, creator of Census Dots. 'I wanted to bring that resource back — updated for the 2020 Census—so people could again explore the data in an intuitive, visually compelling format.'
Similar to previous dot maps, the map was created by combining two census data sources: population counts published in the State Redistricting Data and Shapefiles defining the census geographies. The decennial census provides population counts down to the census block level — an area roughly the size of a city block — enabling a high degree of geographic accuracy. The dots within a given census block are placed at random, which is why some dots may appear in unlikely places like parking lots or bodies of water. The data comes together to create an extremely visually striking map, both when viewed at the national scale and when zoomed into individual neighborhoods. It often illustrates the stark divides that persist across much of the country.
The Census Dots map launches with data from the most recent decennial census, with plans to incorporate additional datasets and views in the coming months. Future updates will include historical comparisons between census years and additional socioeconomic data layers.
The map is optimized for both desktop and mobile use. The project was enabled by the previous work of Dustin Cable, Peter Richardson, Erica Fischer, Brandon Martin-Anderson, and others who have mapped census data.
To explore your city, visit .
City: Brooklyn
State: NY
