Community 

Socioeconomic 

Information 

System

Making Socioeconomic 

Data Available at the 

Community Level

United States 

Department of 

Agriculture

Forest

Service

Pacific Northwest 

Research Station

General Technical Report

PNW-GTR-672

May 2006
Donoghue, E.M.; Sutton, N.L. 2006. Community socioeconomic information system, [CD–ROM]. Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-GTR-672. Portland, OR: U.S. 

Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station. 

What Is the CSIS?

The Community Socioeconomic Information System (CSIS) is a tool that 

allows users to retrieve 1990 and 2000 U.S. census data to examine conditions and trends for communities in western Washington, western Oregon, and 

northern California. The tool includes socioeconomic data for 1,314 communities in the entire region, including incorporated and unincorporated places.

The tool delivers socioeconomic data using mapping and database features. 

In addition to providing data for one community, the tool produces community-level data at a variety of scales, including communities in areas 

surrounding Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands, all 

communities in the Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) region, and communities 

within planning provinces within the NWFP region. One feature allows users 

to customize community data by creating boundaries and socioeconomic data 

for group of selected communities.

The CSIS tool was designated to increase the usefulness of socioeconomic 

information at the small scale. Typically community socioeconomic assessments use U.S. census designations called census places. However, census 
places only represent a portion of the rural population. The CSIS uses a smaller 

unit of analysis (block groups) that we have aggregated to represent contiguous 

communities across the landscape, thereby representing the entire population.

Community data can be printed as reports with graphs and tables, queried within an Access database, mapped and queried as geographic information system 

(GIS) data within ArcExplorer (a free GIS software included), exported as a 

table for use in Excel, or exported as GIS data for use in ArcGIS. The tool has 

features that allow users to locate communities by county or state and become 

familiar with local geography. The CSIS includes GIS data, such as major land 

ownerships, political boundaries, and physical landscape features. Applications produce maps that can be printed for specific communities showing 

community boundaries, water features, roads, metropolitan areas, community 

population centers, public land ownership, census places, planning provinces, 

counties, and state boundaries. Or, using the spatial data provided on the CD 

and ArcExplorer, users can produce custom maps. 

CSIS System Requirements

To run CSIS, you need to have Internet Explorer 6.0® for Microsoft 

WindowsTM, Adobe® Arcrobat®, Windows 2000® or later, Word 2000® 

or later, Access 2000® or later, Excel 2000® or later, SunTM JavaTM 2 

plug-in®, ESRITM ArcExplorer 2.0® for Windows, and JShape 4.0©. 
The CD includes the following software for your convenience: SunTM JavaTM 2 

plug-in®, ESRITM ArcExplorer®, and JShape 4.0©. Your computer needs 

to have at least 256K ram memory and a monitor with a screen resolution of 

at least 1024 by 768.

Installation Instructions

Open the installation and setup instructions that are linked within the 

READMEFIRST.doc on the CD. Choose Yes to Enabling macros messages.

Instructions guide you through four installation steps including (A) installing 

Java run-time plug-in; (B) installing ArcExplorer®; (C) setting up Windows® 

and Internet Explorer®, JavaTM 2 plug-in®, and Word®; and (D) copying the 

CSIS software from the CD to C:\CSIS to run the CSIS.

The CSIS is operated by linking several types of documents and programs 

from a menu within Microsoft Word. Links may be opened in one of two ways, 

depending on your computer. By resting the mouse cursor over a link, a help 

bubble will appear telling you whether to click or to CTRL + click. 

About Authors

The CSIS was developed by Ellen Donoghue, research social scientist, 

edonoghue@fs.fed.us and Lynnae Sutton, GIS specialist, nlsutton@fs.fed.us.