About

The Lab

The Environmental Inequality Lab is a nonpartisan research group that applies a rigorous, data-driven approach to understand how our environment shapes economic opportunity and well-being.

The lab develops novel data infrastructures, publishes frontier research in top academic journals, invests in early career researchers, and creates public-facing tools and products that help to democratize access to information and inform decision-making.

This Website

The Population Data Explorer offers a detailed view of demographic and economic data for every U.S. county using the most comprehensive publicly available Census data. The analysis equips local leaders, residents, and service providers with data-driven insights to inform planning, resource allocation, and investment decisions.

Disclaimer: This content is presented to inform interested parties of research and to encourage discussion. Any opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Data Source

The Gridded Environmental Impacts Frame (Gridded EIF) is an innovative, privacy-protected dataset derived from the Census Bureau’s confidential Environmental Impacts Frame (EIF) microdata. Organized on a fixed 0.01° x 0.01° grid (approximately 1 km² × 1 km²), the Gridded EIF provides population counts by age, sex, race and ethnicity, as well as race-specific population counts by household income decile from administrative tax records. This structure enables more spatially precise analysis than traditional place-based data while maintaining strict confidentiality standards.

Estimates reflect the most detailed available data on the local population, though some figures may understate true counts. Please see https://www.census.gov/data/experimental-data-products/gridded-eif.html for more information.

Contributors

Th Population Data Explorer was developed by researchers at the Environmental Inequality Lab.

Arnav Dharmagadda (University of Virginia), Josie Fischman (Bowdoin College), and Elizabeth Shiker (University of Virginia), contributed to the preliminary development of the county-level analysis and the preparation of the Gridded Environmental Impacts Frame (Gridded EIF) for county-level applications.

Web design and development of the Population Data Explorer were led by Elizabeth Shiker.

© 2025 Environmental Inequality Lab.

Disclaimer: This content is presented to inform interested parties of research and to encourage discussion. Any opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of the U.S. Census Bureau.