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Demographic
Maps: |
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All
data are from the U.S. Census Bureau*
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When
available, the maps will also display data at the neighborhood
(Census Block Group) level when zoomed in
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Economic
Maps: |
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Bond
rating, state aid, tax bill, and revenue data are from the Massachusetts
Department of Revenue Division of Local Services Municipal
Data Bank
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Unemployment data are from the Massachusetts Division of
Unemployment Assistance and are seasonally unadjusted
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All
other data are from the U.S. Census Bureau*
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Education
Maps: |
- SAT,
MCAS, graduate plans, and dropout rate data are
from the Massachusetts Department of Education
- MCAS
stands for Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment
System tests. Students in the 10th grade are required
to pass to graduate. Because the Mass. DOE does
not encourage or endorse the rankings of towns by
MCAS score, MassStats only shows the percentage
of 10th grade students passing for each topic tested
(currently English and Math).
- School
district boundaries are from Caliper Corporation
- School
locations from MassGIS
- Level
of education attained is from the U.S. Census Bureau*
- Per
pupil expenditures are from the Massachusetts Department
of Education. In the case of unified K-12 districts
the data are exactly that reported by the DOE. In
the case of non-unified districts, an approximate
value was computed using pupil expenditures
and enrollment for all districts that are in a town.
It was assumed that expenditures were divided proportional
to the enrollment from the town. For example, the
town of Concord expenditure is calculated by adding
the total expenditures of the Concord (K-8) District
and its share of the total expenditures of the Concord-Carlisle
Regional High School District and dividing that
total by the enrollment of the (K-8) system plus
its share of the Regional High School enrollment.
Its share of enrollment and expenditures for the
Concord-Carlisle Regional High School District was
assumed to be proportional to the enrollments of
the Concord (K-8) and Carlisle (K-8) districts.
For actual per pupil expenditure data for towns
with non-unified school districts, we recommend
contacting officials in that town directly.
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Housing
Maps: |
- Tax
Bill, Assessments, and Tax Rates are from the Massachusetts
Department of Revenue Division of Local Services
Municipal Data Bank.
- Home
and condo sales data are compiled from Banker &
Tradesman
- Foreclosure
notices are from foreclosuresmass.com
- All
others including housing tenure, occupancy, mortgage,
rent, building permits, age, and size are from the
U.S. Census Bureau*
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Crime
Maps: |
- Crime
data are from the Massachusetts State Police
- Crime
rates are per 100,000 population and were calculated
using U.S. Census Bureau population data from the
2000 Census
- Prison
locations from MassGIS
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Health
Maps: |
- Hospital
locations from MassGIS
- All
other data are from the Massachusetts Department
of Public Health
- Cancer
data are standard incidence ratios for 1993-1997
as compiled by the Bureau of Health Statistics.
it is important to keep in mind that an SIR compares
the observed cancer incidence in a particular community
with the expected incidence based on statewide average
age-specific incidence rates. This means that valid
comparisons can only be made between a community
and the state as a whole. SIRs for different cities
and towns cannot and should not be compared
to each other. (Comparisons between two
communities would be valid only if there were no
differences in the age and sex distributions of
the two communities' populations from 1993 through
1997.)
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Political
Maps: |
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Congressional,
Senate, and House district boundaries are from Caliper
Corporation.
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Party
enrollment data are from the Massachusetts Department
of Revenue Division of Local Services Municipal Data Bank.
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Election
results data are from the Massachusetts Secretary of State
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Environmental
Maps: |
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Recycling rate data are from the Massachusetts Department
of Environmental Protection (DEP)
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Community Preservation Act data are from the Massachusetts
Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and the
Massachusetts Preservation Coalition. The CPA allows
communities to create a local Community Preservation
Fund in the municipality to be used for funds through
a surcharge of up to 3% of the real estate tax levy
on real property for open space, historic preservation
and low and moderate housing. The act also creates
a significant state matching fund of more than $25
million annually, which will serve as an incentive
to communities to take advantage of the provisions
of this legislation.
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Vernal pool data are from the
Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered
Species Program and MassGIS.
- Rare
species habitat data: NHESP 2003 Priority Habitats
for State-Protected Rare Species. Priority habitats
are not protected under the Massachusetts Endangered
Species Act, but the rare species that use the habitats
are protected by that law.
- Rare
wildlife habitat data: NHESP 2003 Estimated Habitats
for Rare Wildlife: For use with the Massachusetts
Wetlands Protection Act Regulations (310 CMR 10)
- Flood
data are from the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) and are not available for Franklin County
- Open
space and wetlands data are from MassGIS
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Transportation
Maps: |
- Vehicle
data are from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue
Division of Local Services Municipal Data Bank
- Vehicles
per capita were calculated using U.S. Census Bureau
population data from the 2000 Census
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Public transportation and commute time data are
from the U.S. Census Bureau*
- Subway
and commuter rail routes from Caliper Corporation
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General
Purpose Maps: |
- ZIP
Code data are from Caliper Corporation and are as
of October 2007
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*All
data from the U.S. Census Bureau are for 2000 except where noted
on the maps, data tables, and/or index. |
