Maps tell us where you're moving.

Not in a creepy way though. This isn't Facebook or Google stalking your every move. Just the US Census Bureau, who is much less crafty at playing the role of a jealous lover than Google is.

The US Census Bureau completed is 2010 census a little while ago, and now pretty little maps are being drawn up by random people to show us how the data looks.

Now, you're wondering what this has to do with this blog. Well, I'll tell you: it'll have an effect on the books you read eventually. 120+ years ago, books were heavily bent toward northeastern writers, themes, plots, etc. (Think: Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, Poe, Howells, you get the idea.) But the northeast isn't where everyone lives any longer, which means future literature will have all the appeal of a Phoenix, AZ, subdivision.

So onto the maps...:

This is the map, by county, of the US population change in the last decade, which largely shows that not a single soul lives in Nebraska any longer.

The bad news? People keep moving to Las Vegas and Florida. Every book twenty years from now will read like a bad interpretation of The Godfather, Part II.

The map above shows what your home county did compared to the national average, which is to say every American urban center is now a destitute wasteland. That, and I'm not even sure I live in New England any longer.

Above: details what percentage each county grew in its share of Hispanics. I know Maine is far away from Mexico's influence and all, but...really? Montana is more appealing?

That said, Montana is no hotbed for racial diversity when it comes to African Americans. It somehow makes Idaho look like a society of inclusion.

All these maps go to show that we segregate ourselves (or are segregated by economic and social forces), and that Nebraska really isn't appealing whatsoever. Which is understandable. Other than an Omaha Steaks outlet store, what's the allure?

It also means all those great novels you've been waiting to percolate out of Arizona and Wyoming are just around the corner. I've been keeping my fingers crossed for a great urban story from the bustle of Cheyenne.



Maps and information courtesy of newgeography.com. Visit them for everything you could imagine about demographics.