Understanding the primary aspects of the setting where a particular population resides is instrumental in meeting its needs accordingly. Therefore, using data aggregates such as Claritas.com, where data is presented based on the ZIP code of an area, is an important step in delineating the general direction of the further analysis. However, some of the information provided on such sites may lack precision, while some may be downright false. Although the essential facts provided at Claritas.com regarding Des Moines (50047) and Cedar Rapids (52227) are quite accurate, they lack the details that would lead to key determinants of well-being and quality of its resident’s lives.
The information concerning the household income distribution appears to be quite correct, even though it might give a slightly inaccurate impression about the financial well-being of citizens involved in the agricultural industry. Namely, the struggles of framers that have been facing increased costs and, therefore, a drop in annual income, may appear to be less evident from the graph showing the distribution of wealth across the community.
Likewise, the characteristics of the Des Moines population in terms of their race and ethnicity have been provided rather accurately. Indeed, the Iowa communities could have used greater diversity since most of them are represented by White families. However, the provided description is also quite flawed since it fails to emphasize the presence of several communities of minorities, who struggle to make their voice heard in the social, cultural, and political context (“Zip-code lookup,” n.d.). Therefore, the site could have placed a heavier emphasis on the underrepresentation of minority communities in the Des Moines setting.
Likewise, the Cedar Rapids community has been portrayed quite closely to what it represents, with minor inaccuracies across the essential description. Namely, the information provided at the site depicts the city rather accurately as an urban setting with a flourishing economy and an increasingly large number of citizens (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020b). Moreover, the household income rates are less varied than those of Des Moines, which indicates that Cedar Rapids provides a slightly higher rate of economic security to its residents. However, the difference in the specified factor between the two areas is quite minute.
The race and ethnicity composition of Cedar Rapids is very close to that one of Des Moines, which is quite close to the actual state of the community. Despite the rise in the understanding of how important diversity is, the city remains rather homogenous in its composition, being represented mostly by White citizens (U.S. Census Bureau, 2020a). The specified state of affairs indicates that the few ethnically and racially diverse households existing in this area need to be represented accordingly on cultural, political, and economic levels.
While the information about Cedar Rapids and Des Moines offered at Cllaritas.com gives a general perspective on the environment of the specified areas, it still could use additional details that would paint a more accurate picture of local life. Specifically, the sociopolitical concerns, the sociocultural factors, and the presence of environmental issues, including the focus on urbanization, could have been expanded upon in greater detail. Overall, the study of the specified areas at Claritas.com represents a generic overview of the key properties of the target regions without taking a deeper dive into the analysis. However, even with the offered data, an insightful assessment of the primary properties of the area and its demographic can be made. Therefore, the information provided at the site can be treated as the foundation for detailed analysis.
Reference
U.S. Census Bureau. (2020a). QuickFacts. Cedar Rapids city, Iowa. Web.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2020b). QuickFacts. Des Moines city, Iowa.
Zip-code lookup. (n.d.). Web.