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Frequently Asked Questions
In this section we will be providing answers to some of our most Frequently Asked Questions. As we receive new inquiries, we will be updating this section.
Do you have a question that we haven’t
answered?
Please send your comments or questions to communitycounts@gov.ns.ca
Getting Started
1. What is a Geographic View? (click to view/hide answer)
A View refers to a set of geographic regions with a common interest. For example, the Health View displays data by Community Health Board (CHB) and District Health Authority regions, while the Electoral View displays data by Provincial Electoral District and Federal Electoral District regions.
For example, someone who works in the Health field and who is looking for data to help with planning for their CHB may want to analyze data by CHB, rather than by Municipality.
County and Community level data can be displayed no matter which of the four views you select, as they are common to all four views.
The Other view refers to geographic levels of interest
which could represent subsections of the province and
do not necessarily cover the province as a whole.
For example: The Municipal Polling Districts (MPD)
represent those located within the Halifax Regional
Municipality. |
2. How many Geographic Views are on Community Counts? (click to view/hide answer)
There are five geographic views on Community Counts:
- Health
- Electoral
- Municipal
- Justice
- Other
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3. What is a level of Geography? (click to view/hide answer)
| A level of Geography is a set of regions that break the province down into smaller pieces. For example, there are 18 counties in Nova Scotia – County is a level of geography. Another level of geography is Community Health Boards - there are 37 boards that make up the province. |
4. How many levels of Geography are there on Community Counts? (click to view/hide answer)
There are 13 levels of geography on Community Counts:
- Canada
- Provincial
- County
- Community
- District Health Authority
- Community Health Board
- Federal Electoral District
- Provincial Electoral District
- Regional Development Authority
- Municipality
- Justice Centre
- Justice Police District
- Municipal Polling District
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5. What is a Subject? (click to view/hide answer)
A Subject is a grouping of data of similar type. There are a total of 10 subjects on Community Counts, to date 8 of them have been developed with data. The 10 subjects on Community Counts are:
- Demographics
- Income
- Education
- Households
- Labour
- Social
- Health
- Resources
- Environment*
- Production*
*indicates that subject is to be developed
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Navigation
6. How do I find data for a particular level of geography? (click to view/hide answer)
From the main menu on the left side of the page, click on ‘Browse Data by 
Geography’.
First of all, you must select a Geographic View (see questions 1 and 2 for more information on geographic views). For example, if you are looking for data on a municipality, choose the Municipal View.
You will then see a list of the levels of geography available for that particular view – select Municipality (see questions 3 and 4 for more information on levels of geography).
You can either click the municipality you are looking for on the map, or highlight it in the list and click ‘Go’.
You can now browse data for the selected municipality by using the Subject tabs (ie. Demographic, Income, Education, etc), and open datasets by clicking the table names.
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7. How do I find my community? (click to view/hide answer)
| The easiest way to find a community is to use the Community Finder. Once you click ‘Community Finder’ in the main menu, there are three ways to find your community: |
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- By listing all communities in a particular county and selecting from the list (County can be selected from list, or by clicking on map).
- By listing them in alphabetical order and selecting from the list.
- By typing the community name (or at least the first few letters) in the search box and selecting from the list.
- You will then be presented with all of the levels of geography that your community is within. Click a level of geography, and begin browsing data tables.
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You can also find a particular community by browsing data using ‘by Geography’ (from the main menu). Click on ‘by Geography’ in the main menu, then click on ‘community’ and find your community in the list. |
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8. What ways can I browse data? (click to view/hide answer)
There are 3 ways to browse data on Community Counts:
- by Geography (described in question 6)
- by Subject
- by Topic
Browsing data by Subject allows you to explore all data available on Community Counts, without selecting any particular level of geography (by default, the selected level of geography is Nova Scotia).
Browsing data by Topic allows you to view a dataset for a complete level of geography across the province. For example, if you wanted to compare data for all communities across Nova Scotia:
- Click browse data ‘by Topic’ (from the main menu sidebar)
- Select a Subject (e.g. Demographics)
- Select a data table (e.g. Population by Selected Age Groups)
- Select a level of Geography (e.g. Communities)
- The table will show population counts for all 276 Communities across Nova Scotia
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Data
9. Why are some data tables not available for certain levels of geography? (click to view/hide answer)
| Not every data table within Community Counts is available for every level of geography. The data within Community Counts comes from various sources, with various methods of data collection. Some datasets are simply not collected, or are not available for lower levels of geography.
Here are some examples of data and the geographic levels they are available for on Community Counts:
- Census data: available at all levels of Geography
- Taxfiler data: available at County level and higher
- Population Estimates and Projections: available at County level and higher
- Canadian Community Health Survey: available for Nova Scotia and District Health Authorities
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10. Where can I find additional information on the data table, such as variable definitions? (click to view/hide answer)
 If you are looking for additional information or definitions of the variables for a particular data table, please see the Help section to the bottom left of the page. This section is used to point you to any additional information we have on the selected data table. You will find links to user guides, definitions, and any additional information that may be available. |
11. What is Cross Tabulation data? (click to view/hide answer)
Cross Tabulation data presents many of the standard census data tables, filtered to represent custom target groups of population (e.g. Income Distribution for Persons with Disabilities). Currently, selected 2001 census data tables can be found on Community Counts for 11 target groups of population. These 11 groups are:
- Aboriginals
- Visible Minorities
- Seniors Aged 65-74
- Seniors Aged 75+
- Persons Living Alone
- Youth (Aged 15-24)
- Persons with Disabilities
- Immigrants
- Persons in Male Lone Parent Families
- Persons in Female Lone Parent Families
- Persons in Families with Children 0-4 years of age
You can find this data by clicking the link ‘Browse data by Cross Tabulation’ in the main menu. Definitions for each of the target groups can be found in the Help screen (the blue box at the bottom left side of the screen).
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12. How do I find population projections for the future? (click to view/hide answer)
 From the Community Counts home page, choose from the main menu ‘Browse Data by Subject’. You will now be in the Demographics subject of Community Counts. Scroll down and look for the heading Estimates & Projections on the left-hand side. Select Population Projections under that heading. You are now viewing population projections by 5 year age groups to 2031 at the provincial level.
You may also view the data by Gender and Type (numbers or percentages). See the heading Display Data By above the table. To view the data by gender, select male or female from the Gender drop-down menu.
To view the data by percentages rather than numbers, select percentages from the Type drop-down menu.
To view the population projections by county, choose the County level of geography from the tabs above the table (see image below). On the next screen, select a county from the menu and click on the Go button below it or click your selection on the map. You are now viewing the projections for the county selected. See the heading above the table Display Data By for the choice of Gender and Type (as above).
 You may also view the population projections in graph form. Return to the Demographics subject heading by scrolling up from the most recent view and finding four tabs on the right-hand side. Choose Select a New Table. In the Demographics subject, look on the right hand side under the heading Analysis Tools. As you scroll down you will see the Graphs heading and Population Projections under it. Click on the link. You are now viewing a bar chart showing population projections by age groups for the census years 1986 to 2031. You can select either the county level or provincial level projections from the tabs above the graph.
To view a more detailed version of these instructions, click here. |
13. How do I export a table to Excel? (click to view/hide answer)
| You can export the data table that you are viewing to Excel by clicking the ‘Export to Excel’ button in the upper right hand section of the page. Once you click the button, you will be given the option to ‘open’ or ‘save’ the table. To do any manipulation to the table or data, you would want to save the table to your computer. If you just want to view the data in a table format, click ‘open’. |
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14. How do I print a data table? (click to view/hide answer)
Printer-friendly versions of data tables are available by clicking the ‘printer’ buttons at the upper right hand section of the page.
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Features
15. What is a Community Profile? (click to view/hide answer)
A Community Profile summarizes tabular data using text and graphs to generate an easy to understand snapshot of your community. Community Profiles are available for 5 subject areas including Demographics, Income, Education, Households, and Labour. Community Profiles are found in the ‘Data Summary’ section of the main menu on the left side of the page. You must select a level of geography (see question 6 for more details on how to select a level of geography).
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16. How do I print my Community Profile? (click to view/hide answer)
Printer-friendly versions of Community Profiles are available by using the buttons at the upper right hand section of the page. You can either print the selected subject, or all subjects using these buttons.
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17. What is a Statistical Summary? (click to view/hide answer)
| A Statistical Summary takes several datasets from a particular subject area and places them in a single page, for a quick and easy view of various datasets for the selected region. Statistical Summaries are available for 5 subject areas including Demographics, Income, Education, Households, and Labour. Statistical Summaries are found in the ‘Data Summary’ section of the main menu on the left side of the page, you must select a level of geography (see question 6 for more details on how to select a level of geography). |
18. How do I print a Statistical Summary? (click to view/hide answer)
Printer-friendly versions of Statistical Summaries are available by using the buttons at the upper right hand section of the page; you can either print the selected subject, or all subjects using these buttons.
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19. How do I read the comparative indicator (horizontal bar) charts? (click to view/hide answer)
| These charts allow you to compare data on several levels. First of all, you will see how your community compares to other communities across Nova Scotia. The chart identifies the communities with the lowest and highest values, as well as whether your community fits within the bottom 25% (red section of the bar), middle 50% (orange section), or top 25% (yellow section) range.
For example (please see image below):
- 20.0% of the population in Sackville South is Aged 20-34 (see blue triangle on chart).
- This places Sackville South within the top 25% of all communities in Nova Scotia (within the yellow section of bar), but not significantly higher than the middle range (the orange section of the bar).
- You can see the community with the smallest percentage of population aged 20-34 is Little Narrows, with 9.9% and that community with the largest percentage is Halifax Citadel, with 40.3%.
- The width of each of the three sections on the bar represents the range of values for the selected indicator. For example, 50% of all communities have a share of population aged 20-34 within a narrow range of 14.4% and 17.9% (orange section of bar).
Another aspect of these charts is that you can also compare how your community fares within a larger region, such as the County it is part of, to Nova Scotia, or even to Canada.
For example (please see image below):
- To compare Sackville South to all of Halifax County à click on ‘Halifax County’. You will see a second value will be added to the chart (see light blue triangle added to chart).
- As indicated, Sackville South is comparable to Halifax County.
- Also, as shown in this image, some charts have further details to choose from, such as year and gender.
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20. How do I interpret the Population and Income Distribution Pyramids? (click to view/hide answer)
| Population Pyramids illustrate the distribution of the population by age groups and gender of a particular level of geography. Historically, the distribution of age formed a pyramid, with the widest bars for the younger population, then gradually narrowing as the age of the population increases. You can find population pyramids by clicking the link in the ‘Graphs’ section of Demographics, and the income distribution pyramids in the ‘Graphs’ section under Income.
The pyramids also allow for a comparison between the male (blue bars) and female (red bars) population. The Y axis (vertical) represents the Age groups, while the X axis (horizontal) represents the Percentage of Total Population. For example, the image below shows that the share of male population, aged 85+ is less than 1% of the total population, while the share of female population, aged 85+ is approximately 1.5% of the total population.
You can also select the year from the drop down list, or change the level of geography by clicking on ‘choose’ under the appropriate tab.
We also use the same type of feature to illustrate data on income distribution. These illustrations (see below) create a visual representation of male versus female income distribution by age. The Y axis represents the level of income in thousands ($,000), and the X axis represents the Percentage of Total Population. For example, the image below shows that the share of male population earning $50,000+ is almost 5.5% of the total population, while the share of female population earning $50,000+ is approximately 4.6% of the total population.
The age groups of the population are selected from the drop down list above the pyramid. 
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21. Where can I find Thematic Maps on Community Counts? (click to view/hide answer)
| A selection of data tables have been incorporated into Thematic Maps, and are available for download. Thematic Maps can be found in the ‘Data Summary’ section of our main menu, they are designed to be printer-friendly (letter sized paper is the default paper size).
First, select a level of geography.
Secondly, select the data set you would like to print/download the Thematic Map for. Maps are available in 3 different file formats, click on the symbol for the format you wish to view/download:
PDF files are well suited for printing, and also have the capability to zoom in and out
PNG and JPEG images are both well suited for inserting the maps into other documents such as Word documents, or PowerPoint presentations. PNG files will be of better quality over JPEG if the maps are going to be re-sized.
Maps of all geographic boundaries are also available for download (select the ‘Geographic Boundaries’ tab in step one). |
22. How was the Selected Socio-Economic Statistics (SES) map created? How do I interpret the map? (click to view/hide answer)
| The Socio-Economic Status (SES) map was created by mapping three variables for all communities – median income, educational attainment (Grade 12), and employment rate, and can be found in within the Social tab in our ‘Printable Maps’ section.. For each of the three variables, communities were ranked by quintiles (communities divided into five equal proportions). Ratings for each variable were established as follows. Communities in the 1st (top) quintile rated +2, in the 2nd quintile from the top rated +1, in the 3rd (middle) quintile rated 0, in the 4th quintile rated -1, in the 5th (bottom) quintile rated -2. Ratings for the three variables for each community were added up. The maximum rating was +6 and the minimum rating was -6. On the SES map, the dark green communities rated +4 to +6, with the highest socio-economic status. The lighter shades of green are for communities with a rating of +1 to +3. Communities shaded yellow have a rating of 0, placing them in the middle of the rating scale. The communities with the darkest red are rated - 4 to - 6, meaning they have the lowest socio-economic rating of all communities. These communities are likely to have populations with the greatest needs for services and resources. |
About Communities
23. Why can't I find my community? (click to view/hide answer)
| If your community does not appear to be included as one of our 276 communities, it has been combined into a larger neighbouring community. The populations of some communities are too small for detailed data to be available; often several communities have been combined to minimize data suppression.
In order to determine which community your area has been combined with, please use the ‘Search’ box in the Community Finder (for details on the Community Finder tool, see question 7). |
24. What areas does my community include? (click to view/hide answer)
| If you are browsing a data table for a particular
community and are wondering exactly what area it includes,
you can click the link just below the title of the
table that says ‘Click here to view the list
of place names that are included in this Community’. You
will then see a list of the smaller areas that make
up the community. (For more information on
community boundaries, see question 25) |
25. How were the community boundaries defined?(click to view/hide answer)
Community Counts staff defined the communities that are used within our system. Several guidelines were used in developing the boundaries for our 276 communities.
- Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations has created regions called General Service Areas (GSAs), which divide all of Nova Scotia into small areas, following natural clusters of population. Community Counts used these areas as building blocks for our community boundaries.
- In order to minimize data suppression, communities have a population of 1,000 or greater (with the exception of populated Native Reserves). On average, a Community encompasses 6-10 GSAs. In a few instances, the GSAs are divided or other geographic boundaries are used (ie. Provincial Electoral Districts).
- The dominant or major place name within the group of communities is used as the main community name.
- The most recent changes to our community boundaries were made as result of a boundary review in the Summer of 2007.
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Do you have a question that we haven’t
answered?
Please send your comments or questions to communitycounts@gov.ns.ca
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