OnTheMap Version 3.1
By: Brian Holly
Published: Oct 22, 2008

As the first ever partially synthetic data product released by the U.S. Census Bureau, OnTheMap is an interactive, web-based mapping and reporting application that shows where people work and where workers live with unprecedented companion reports on their demographic, earnings, and industry characteristics. OnTheMap is available on a 24/7 basis and at no cost to users. OnTheMap data are resolved at the (8 million) Census block level. Data for official and practical geographies may therefore be aggregated from this base level in real time according to the user’s selection. This level of detail and flexibility has never been available before. First released in 2006, OnTheMap is refreshed and updated annually, offering 5 year of data (2002-2006) at present. The patterns of jobs and workers over time can be displayed by animation. OnTheMap currently covers 45 states, and is expected to become a national program in the next two years. Since the underlying data for OnTheMap are integrated from administrative records, surveys, and censuses, the potential additional uses of OnTheMap are extraordinarily broad. OnTheMap can be accessed by selecting "Local Employment Dynamics" at http://www.census.gov and then OnTheMap under Quick Links, or directly at http://lehd.did.census.gov. Comments should be sent to CES.Local.Employment.Dynamics@census.gov.