#Map of us by population density software#

The value-by-alpha map is similar to the dasymetric dot density map, and in some ways, even simpler. Presidential election 2016: Value-by-alpha Ken Field But on the dasymetric dot density map, it’s the blue that stands out, conveying the difference between the popular vote, which Clinton won, and the electoral college vote, which Trump won. But by completely coloring in all the counties, it gives counties where only a few hundred votes were cast the same visual weight as counties where hundreds of thousands of votes were cast. That map uses different shades of red and blue to indicate whether candidates won by a wide or slim margin. Taken together, Field says, these methods offer a far more detailed illustration of voter turnout than, say, the map in Yingst’s tweet. That’s to avoid placing lots of dots in, say, the middle of a forest, and to account for dense population in cities. Then, rather than distributing the dots evenly around a county, he distributes them proportionally according to where people actually live, based on the US government's National Land Cover Database. On this particular map from 2016, there are roughly 135 million dots. Instead of filling an entire state or county with the color red or blue to indicate which party won, Field uses red and blue dots to represent every vote that was cast. The term “dasymetric” refers to a map that accounts for population density in a given area. To Field, there's no such thing as a totally comprehensive map, but he says, 'Some are more truthful than others.' The so-called dasymetric dot density map is one of them. Presidential election 2016: dasymetric dot density Ken Field (Well, that and he just really loves maps.) That's one reason why Field recently published an extensive gallery of more than 30 alternative maps designed to tell markedly different stories about what happened on election night 2016. But focusing on that map alone could lead Republicans to overestimate their advantage, and lead Democrats to misunderstand the best ways to catch up. It stands to reason that President Trump would want that particular map hung in the West Wing. 'It’s a question of the level of detail that people are interested in understanding.' 'People see maps of any type, and particularly election maps, as the result, the outcome, but there are so many different types of maps available that can portray results in shades of the truth,' Field says.

The problem is believing that any single map can ever tell the whole story. The problem, he says, isn't with people's partisan interpretation of the map.

#Map of us by population density software#

A self-proclaimed 'cartonerd,' Field is a product engineer at the mapping software company Esri and author of a guidebook for mapmakers called Cartography. New York City, the most highly populated city in the United States, accounts for over 8.23 million of the state's population and has a land area of 302.6 miles², giving it a population density of 27,000 people per mile².In reality, both sides are right, says Ken Field. For example, New York has a total population of 19,300,000 and a population density of 410.32 people per mile². Several states have very populous cities, which look much different than the states as a whole. In comparison, Florida's population of 21,312,211 has a population density of 405.45 people per mile². Texas has 29.730,300 people, and its population density is about 110 people per mile² (this is due to its land area being 261,232mi²). California has a total population of 39,613,500, and a population density of 252.74 people per mile². Statistics show a range of population densities in the most highly populated states.

New Jersey follows, with a population density of 1,207.83 people per mile², and Massachusetts with 883.68 people per mile². Alaska is the largest states in the U.S.Ĭompared to the other states, the District of Columbia covers a tiny area of just 68 miles², yet it has a population of 703,608, which makes it by far the densest state of all at 11,685.61 people per mile².

The large states of Alaska, Wyoming, and Wisconsin have the lowest population densities in the country, with Montana having 7 people per mile² in a population of 1,085,000, Wyoming 6 people per mile² with a population of just 581,075 (also the lowest population in the country), and Alaska topping them all with only 1.28 people per mile² relative to its population of 724,357 and a total area of 570,641 miles². For those who enjoy wide-open spaces, the United States offers plenty of options.