The Count by Attribute tool allows you to summarise a column of data and count the total number of times a certain value has occurred within the column. It is best used for categorical or nominal values, although it can be used on any kind of attribute.

 

For this worked example, we will summarise the mesh block categorisation of land use by in Maroochy SA3 in the Sunshine Coast with ABS Census data.

Select Maroochy SA3 as your area (Australia → Queensland → Rest of Qld → Sunshine Coast → Maroochy).

Select ABS – Usual Residential Population and Dwelling Count (MB) 2011 as your dataset, with the following variables:

• Mesh Block Code
• Mesh Block Category
• SA3 Code

Once you have set up your data, open the Count by Attribute tool (Tools → Statistical Analysis → Count by Attribute). The input fields are as follows:

• Dataset: The dataset containing the variables you would like to summarise. Select ABS – Usual Residential Population and Dwelling Count (MB) 2011.
• Variable: The variable we would like to count. Select Mesh Block Category.

The input parameters are summarised in the image below, once complete click Run Tool.

Once the tool has run, click the Display output button on the pop-up dialogue box that appears. This will open up a new table of your outputs illustrating the count of mesh blocks of each land-use type that should look like the image below.