LibGuides: SOSC 2710 : City Lives and City Forms. Census Profile Data: Home

The following guide provides an overview of the topics covered in the library tutorial for SOCI 2710

What are census tracts?
Locating or identifying a census tract of interest
Getting information about census tracts
Map & airphoto resources

What are census tracts?

Census tracts are defined in the 2016 Census Dictionary as an "small, relatively stable geographic areas that usually have a population of less than 10,000 persons, based on data from the previous Census of Population Program. They are located in census metropolitan areas and in census agglomerations that had a core population of 50,000 or more in the previous census."

Each census tract has a number (or CT name); for example, the census tract in which York University is located is known as 311.06 (sometimes written with a leading 0, i.e., 0311.06). The CT name is not unique all by itself; it must be combined with the code of the census metropolitan area (CMA) or census agglomeration (CA) in which it is located. The code for the Toronto CMA is 535; therefore, a unique identifier for York's CT would be 5350311.06. Depending on how you look the information up, you will need to know at least one and possibly both numbers.

Locating or identifying a census tract of interest

Go to Scholars GeoPortal at http://geo2.scholarsportal.info.ezproxy.library.yorku.ca
Change the search type from 'data' to 'Place or address'; input a postal code (if you have one) or an intersection (e.g., Steeles avenue and Keele street, Toronto) and click on 'Search'. From the list of results, choose the one that matches and click on ‘Zoom’
Finding the census tract boundary file.
1. Click on ‘Back to Browse’
2. Click on 'Census and administrative boundaries' under 'Refine: topics' on the left;
3. Click on the 'data' button, above the search box, then search for 'census tracts';
4. Look for 'Cartographic Boundary Files (CBF), 2016 Census’; click on 'Add'.
5. Scroll down to find 'Census Tracts' on the left, then click on the 'Add' button next to it on the same line. This will add the census tract layer to the map.
To view your map, select the box in the upper left corner labelled ‘Map’. The map will now display census tract boundaries in red. To make the boundaries more obvious, change the base map (by clicking on 'base map' in the top right menu) to one of the grayscale alternatives (Esri Light Grey Canvas or Light Gray Canvas) to make the red boundaries stand out more clearly.
Click on your intersection on the map. The census tract you clicked on will be displayed in yellow, and a box will pop up, giving you the CTUID (Census Tract Unique Identifier) -- a 7.2 digit number (e.g., 5350311.06 would be the CTUID for the census tract York U is in). Pick the census tract that appears to represent your neighbourhood best. Record your census tract number as you need it to find census data.

Getting information about census tracts

Once you know which census tract you're after, where is the information? Statistics Canada has made it much easier to find the data, with their online 2016 census profiles.

Search for the geographic code, or CT number (e.g., 5350311.06)
On the Search results page, you'll find a link to the data, plus a map. Look at the map to confirm you have the correct CT.
Click on the CT number to get the 2016 census profile for your area. Note that the default view shows you all the data; you can select a particular view (e.g., Housing) to focus on the data you're looking for.

Note also that the default view shows you the data for the entire Toronto CMA as well; you'll need these data to find out how typical (or atypical) your area is with respect to the entire CMA.