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Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

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Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#101

Post by AnimalMuppet »

davidw wrote: post #80
ChuckMcM wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, apparently Wyoming only "wins" on the lower 48 at 5.9 people per square mile, vs Alaska at 1.3 per sq mile. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_populati...

There's a corner of Oregon where it's 1 per square mile: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harney_County,_Oregon Beautiful place in its own stark way - especially Steens Mountain. I wouldn't want to live there, though.

Well, I bet that there are corners of Wyoming that are that un-dense. Maybe most of the state outside of the I-80 strip?

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#102

Post by davidw »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #101
davidw wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a corner of Oregon where it's 1 per square mile: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harney_County,_Oregon Beautiful place in its own stark way - especially Steens Mountain. I wouldn't want to live there, though.

Well, I bet that there are corners of Wyoming that are that un-dense. Maybe most of the state outside of the I-80 strip?

Oh, I'm sure there are, I just think it's an interesting corner of Oregon that's worth pointing out because it's really unknown, but beautiful and fascinating.

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#103

Post by pnathan »

ChrisNorstrom wrote: post #3
ChuckMcM wrote: post #2

Drove across Wyoming the other day on the way to Denver and I could definitely appreciate that it was the least populated state in the US (or least densely populated). Lots of open space.

I'm a recluse and I've actually considered one day retiring to a state like Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho. This infographic just made my eyes light up. "Oh my god I can finally get away from everyone" I thought.

Just so you know, Idaho is a very nice state in many ways. Largely the only real downsides are the lack of jobs and high culture. I've lived there in most of the corners and would be quite happy to discuss the state with you.

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#104

Post by doublerebel »

ggchappell wrote: post #17

This is fascinating. Some of the big green areas are obvious: the Everglades, the forests of Maine, the awful stuff we call "Nevada". But what about the green blob on the Georgia-Florida border? And what's up with south Texas? Also, if you didn't catch the link, a fixed map: http://mapsbynik.com/maps/census0pop/census0pop-mapsbynik-re...

Might be too late to chime in but not enough people know this:

Much of south Texas is shanty towns and illegal settlements, because immigration won't check documents until you are about 100 miles from the border. These people are largely ignored by the US population and not counted in census.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonia_(United_States)#Publi...

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#105

Post by dredmorbius »

sophacles wrote: post #92
dredmorbius wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given that half the population of the US is 156 million, and half that is 78, it's plausible, but a quick add-up of combined MSAs comes up short: LA is 18.1 million, San Diego 3.2 Sacramento 2.2, Stockton 0.7, Portland 0.5, and Seattle-Tacoma 3.6. I get about 23.3 million total, which is still 54 million short. SF-SJ-Oak adds another 8.4 million, but most of it is more than 30 miles from I5. Checking by state confirm…

Actually, west of the mississippi (and assuming all of Louisiana and Minnesota) the population is only about 130 million - so those three states are about 40% of that population. Given the rapid growth of texas, colorado and arizona, and Nevada (well Las Vegas) in the last 15 years, it wouldn't surprise me if those three states would have been over half the population west of the Mississippi not that long ago. As for…

It was 30 miles, not 5 (HN's reply windows makes back-references while composing difficult, I'll grant you that).

And yes, as an old / dated statistic, a 30 - 100 mile radius might have worked further back.

Truth is that population centers are highly concentrated within the US (and the world).

A set of visualizations I've collected showing density as cartograms or height relief: http://imgur.com/a/JgtVp#0

The height map in particular shows the concentration by MSA, and the population density of the eastern US: http://i.imgur.com/NjeWb3a.png

Incidentally, I'd always thought it was 2/3 of the US population east of the Mississippi. Yep.

Adding up: ca: 37.2, or: 3.8, wa: 7.0, id: 1.6, mn: 1.0, nv: 2.8, az: 6.6, ut: 2.9, wy: 0.6, co: 5.3, nm: 2.0, tx: 26.4, nd: 0.7, sd: 0.8, nb: 1.9, ks: 2.9, ok: 3.8, mn: 5.4, ia: 3.1, mo: 6.0, ar: 3.0, la: 4.6, ak: 0.7, hi: 1.4

We get 131.5 million. US pop: 313m

Via bc:

    100 * (131.5/313)
    42.000
Leaving 58% on the east. Not quite 2/3, but close.

Knock off Texas and you're there: 105m, or 33.546% of the US population.

Last I checked, most of Texas was more than 30 miles from US I-5. Or even more than five miles.

Using 2010 census numbers from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Us_state_population, rounded to nearest 100k.

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#106

Post by dredmorbius »

nkoren wrote: post #18

North Dakota is the only clearly discernible state boundary. Anybody know why that is? Does something about the legal regime of North Dakota really change the settlement patterns that much? Or is it some kind of artefact of the way that ND census block are formed, compared to the surrounding states?

I actually manage to work out the TX panhandle and west Texas, particularly the border with New Mexico. A few others show up if you look closely.

Re: Nobody lives here: the 5 million US census blocks with zero population

#107

Post by wyclif »

AnimalMuppet wrote: post #100
wyclif wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vedauwoo is nice, and Laramie is a laid-back college town. I also like the more remote parts of NE WY, like Thunder Basin National Grassland. I have friends who are homesteading near Wheatland.

Homesteading near Wheatland? Can you give a bit more detail on that? Do you mean, they just purchased a farm? Or do you mean like the actual US Homestead Act, making a farm out of nothing?

They purchased more than 50 acres of ranchland. It is a subdivided piece of a huge ranch that has never been developed. They had to "homestead" it in the sense of building everything themselves. The deed says it's 50 acres, but the prepared survey measured something approximating 55. They told me how much they spent on the property itself; I can't quite remember the number but I was surprised by how affordable it is. Of course, there isn't much in the way of services there but they do have satellite internet access and have built a house on the property, have a garden with an irrigation system, solar panels, raising chickens and some livestock, etc.

I have visited there and it's one of the few residences I've ever been to where you can do a full 360 degree revolution while standing on their property and all you see is nature except for their small prairie home...no other buildings, power lines, or structures owned by anyone else in sight. Also, the air there is wonderful; there's a faint scent of sage all the time.

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