I previously requested help calculating median family income using the Pareto
Interpolation. I appreciate the replies. The attached spreadsheet contains the median
family income for towns in South Western Connecticut. The top table shows the values
calculated by Pareto Interpolation, and the bottom table illustrates the values calculated
by Linear Interpolation. I also calculated the percentage difference between the
calculated values and the official Census figures. I confirmed that the difference
between the Pareto figures and the Census figures are most likely due to the fact that the
Census Bureau calculates median value based upon more detailed distribution information
than it releases to the public. Notice that the Pareto calculations are sometimes higher
and lower than the official figures, but the linear calculations are higher. Most likely
this observation is because Pareto uses a logarithmic curve rather than a straight line.
(There may be a few instances where the Pareto figure would be higher than linear.) In
addition, the Pareto calculations tend to be more accurate than the Linear ones. I
believe the spreadsheet provides a good way to estimate median income values for regions
that are not tabulated by the Census. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. I am not a statistician, and
I only have a limited understanding of the formulas. Good luck, Daryl
--
Daryl Scott
South Western Regional Planning Agency
Stamford Government Center
888 Washington Blvd., 3rd Floor
Stamford, CT 06901
Tel: (203) 316-5190
Fax: (203) 316-4995
E-mail: dscott(a)swrpa.org
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