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Using the List Method of Retrieving Information from American FactFinder

The list method of retrieving information from American FactFinder is good when the geographic area(s) from which you want information have common names, such as "Syracuse" or "California." The form for the list method makes retrieving the information rather easy as it will guide you through the available geographic hierarchies. The list method will allow you to get information for all areas within ONE area immediately higher in the geographic hierarchy, such as all tracts in ONE county. If you only want some tracts, or all tracts in a state, then the map or geo within geo methods are better.

Please note that AFF works best with Internet Explorer and you must have your pop-up blocker turned off or at least set to accept pop-ups from the AFF domain. The Census Bureau provides more detailed technical help.

  1. The first step is to select the type of geographic area for which you want information - tract, block, zip code, etc. By default, you are presented with only the major geographic types. If you want to see all types available for the dataset with which you are working, click on the link that says "Show all geography types."L

  2. Depending on your choice, the form will automatically update itself to present you with the next set of choices. Continue selecting until the box labelled "Select one or more geographic areas and click 'Add'" is filled in.L

  3. Select which areas you want, or if you want all of them, click the first choice. Then click the "Add" button.L

    4. Note that you can go back and select other geographic types and areas. Just keep selecting and "Add"ing them to the list.

  4. The box labelled "Current geography selections:" will be filled in. At this point you can remove some of the selections if you want, or click the "Next" button to move on to selecting tables.L

  5. By default, you will be presented with all tables available for the geographic selections you have made. This can be a fairly long list, so you can also select tables by subject or keyword. Whichever method you use, select the tables you want and click the "Add" button. Note that you will only be able to select up to 50 tables at once. L

  6. When you are done selecting your tables, click on the "Show Result" button.L

  7. You will then be presented with your results. Depending on how many tables and geographies you selected, there may be many pages of results, so you may want to download the information to use in a spreadsheet, statistics or word processing package.L

    1. To download the tables, put your cursor over the "Print/Download" link in the upper right corner of the screen and select "Download."

    2. A new window will open and present you with several choices of how to download the information. Click on the Explain my choices link in the upper right corner to determine which is best for your needs.

    3. When you have made your selection, click "OK" and proceed with your browser's typical method of saving files.

  8. With large or complex queries, you may want to save all of the selections you made so you can easily retrieve them at a later time. To do so, go to the "Print/Download" link and select "Save Query." You will then be presented with your browser's file save dialog. You can select where to save the file and change the filename - DO NOT change the extension (the .xql part)! This will save all of the geography and table selections you've made.

    1. To re-run the query at another time, go to the datasets main page and click in the "Load Query" link near the upper right corner. You will be prompted to enter the filename of the saved query.

    2. Once you have filled in the file name, click the "Go" button, and the results you created previously will be re-generated.

    3. You will then be able to navigate back and add or drop tables and geographic areas.

    4. If you make changes to your query, be sure to save it again!!
  
 
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