LibGuides: US Federal Data: Home

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Sources of Government Data

Governmental bodies collect and distribute data related to a wide array of mandates. As you search for data sources, consider which levels of government (federal, state, local, international, governmental organizations) and which types of agencies (labor, health, education, transportation) may have a mandate to gather and/or disseminate relevant data.

If you're not sure where to start, try these resources:

Statistical Abstract of the U.S. This link opens in a new window
The ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the United States is a comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States. This resource is a continuation of the Statistical Abstract of the United States, previously published by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Materials Indexed: Business Data; Census Data; Charts & Graphs; Economic Data; Financial Data; Government Documents; Statistics
Statistical Insight This link opens in a new window
Search summaries of statistical publications from government agencies, then link to the full-text of selected publications on Statistical Insight and government websites. Statistical Insight combines American Statistics Index (U.S. Federal statistics), Statistical Reference Index (U.S. state governments and private organizations) and Index to International Statistics (international agencies).

Materials Indexed: Business Data; Charts & Graphs; Economic Data; Financial Data; Government Documents; Statistics

Data.gov
The U.S. government's portal to open data allows users to easily find some of the latest data from many federal agencies.
Data and Statistics About the U.S.
Find data about the U.S., such as demographic and economic data, population, and maps. Get information about the 2020 U.S. Census.
Data.census.gov
Data.census.gov is the data dissemination platform to access demographic and economic data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Contains data from 2000-present.
Census QuickFacts
QuickFacts provides statistics for all states and counties, and for cities and towns with a population of 5,000 or more.

RAND State Statistics This link opens in a new window
RAND State Statistics allows users to choose the geographic coverage that's best for them. RAND US contains nearly 200 Social Science databases covering all 50 U.S. states. The California (CA) collection contains these 200 U.S. databases, plus about 80 detailed databases on California. The Texas (TX) collection contains these 200 U.S. databases, plus about 60 detailed databases on Texas.

Date Coverage: 1987 - present
Materials Indexed: Business Data; Economic Data; Statistics

FRASER
The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis provides a substantial collection of economic and financial data.
UNdata
The data portal of the United Nations searches across a large number of IGO and NGO data resources.
World Bank Open Data
International economic indicators and data related to international development are freely available from the World Bank.

OECD iLibrary This link opens in a new window
OECD iLibrary is the online library of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) including books, papers and statistics and is the gateway to OECD’s analysis and data.

Date Coverage: 1998 to present
Materials Indexed: Books; Economic Data; Financial Data; Government Documents; Reports; Statistics
ICPSR: Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research This link opens in a new window
ICPSR is a membership-based organization providing access to a vast archive of computer-based research and instructional data for the social sciences. The data holdings cover a broad range of disciplines, including political science, sociology, demography, economics, history, education, gerontology, criminal justice, public health, foreign policy, and law. The data and codebooks may be downloaded by UCSB faculty, students, and staff.

Materials Indexed: Statistics

Sources for U.S. Demographic Data

Data.census.gov
Data.census.gov is the data dissemination platform to access demographic and economic data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Contains data from 2000-present.
Census Tools and Apps
Find information using interactive applications to get statistics from multiple surveys.
Census FTP
FTP site for downloading census datasets from different years.
IPUMS-USA
IPUMS USA collects, preserves and harmonizes U.S. census microdata and provides easy access to this data with enhanced documentation. Data includes decennial censuses from 1790 to 2010 and American Community Surveys (ACS) from 2000 to the present.
NHGIS Data Finder
The National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) provides easy access to summary tables and time series of population, housing, agriculture, and economic data, along with GIS-compatible boundary files, for years from 1790 through the present and for all levels of U.S. census geography, including states, counties, tracts, and blocks.

Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Social Explorer provides access and mapping tools for current and historical census data and demographic information.

Date Coverage: 1790-present
Materials Indexed: Census Data; Charts & Graphs; Economic Data; Factual Information; Government Documents; Reports; Statistics; Websites

Missouri Census Data Center
The MCDC data archive, which includes many national collections as well as Missouri-specific data, is one of the premier sites in the country for accessing census and other public, machine-readable demographic and geographic data.

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Subjects: News Sources