Census
The U. S. Census Bureau conducts many sorts of census surveys. The most well-known is the decennial survey taken every 10 years to determine Congressional apportionment. It counts (or attempts to count) every person in the United States. The next most common survey is the American Community Survey (ACS) with the primary purpose of measuring the changing social and economic characteristics of the U.S. population—our education, housing, jobs, and more. Similar to the decennial census long form that it replaced in 2000, the ACS is a sampling of a smaller portion of the population used to statistically characterize the entire population and is conducted annually. Read more about the differences here (webpage) and here (PDF).
Data for the Zilker neighborhood can be found by looking at the census tract and block level data. The Zilker neighborhood (not counting Zilker Park) is located in portions of three census tracts (13.03, 13.04. and 19.01) although the block level identifications changed between 2000 and 2010. The following tables show the Zilker population for 2000, 2010, and 2018:
| 2000 Decennial Census | Population |
| Tract 13.03; Block Group 1 | 716 |
| Tract 13.03; Block Group 2 | 572 |
| Tract 13.03; Block Group 3 | 1,048 |
| Tract 13.03; Block Group 5 | 686 |
| Tract 13.04; Block Group 2 | 874 |
| Tract 13.04; Block Group 3 | 677 |
| Tract 13.04; Block Group 6 | 775 |
| Tract 19.01; Block 1029 | 588 |
| Total | 5,936 |
| 2010 Decennial Census (see map) | Population |
| Tract 13.03; Block Group 1 | 882 |
| Tract 13.03; Block Group 2 | 1,267 |
| Tract 13.03; Block Group 3 | 722 |
| Tract 13.04; Block Group 2 | 874 |
| Tract 13.04; Block Group 3 | 696 |
| Tract 13.04; Block Group 4 | 812 |
| Tract 19.01; Block 3018 | 526 |
| Total | 5,779 |
| 2018 American Community Survey | Population (est.) |
| Tract 13.03; Block Group 1 | 1,553 |
| Tract 13.03; Block Group 2 | 2,125 |
| Tract 13.03; Block Group 3 | 775 |
| Tract 13.04; Block Group 2 | 1,436 |
| Tract 13.04; Block Group 3 | 920 |
| Tract 13.04; Block Group 4 | 859 |
| Tract 19.01; Block 3018 | not available |
| Total | 8,972+ |
There is much more data than just total population available. Data prior to 2000 is more difficult to obtain at the block level, but the data from 2000 to present can be viewed or downloaded starting from the Census Bureau's Explore Census Data page although retrieving it at the block and tract level can still be challenging. The best way to find the data for Zilker is to use the Advanced Search link.
Use the Geography filter to limit the data to the tract, block group, or block in which you are interested, the Years filter to select the year(s), and the Survey filter (for the decennial survey, choose DEC Summary File 1). Not all combinations of filter options are available. Some will be grayed out depending on which filter options you choose. Click the Search button to retrieve the data. There will be numerous tables which you can view, and you should be able to download the data from the download link once you have retrieved it. This site can be complicated to use because of the different options and numerous tables. Be careful interpreting the tables because some of the names have very specific meanings. Hint: Sometimes when you "Clear" the filters to start over, you may have to refresh the page to actually clear the filters. Good luck.
