Research Guides: Census Data: Introduction

Introduction

Every 10 years, the United States government is required to count all of the people in the country. This is called the Decennial Census. The government not only tries to count us, but gather other information about us too.

The Census Bureau has put some of this collected data in one convenient place! You can use American FactFinder 2 to find and download data from the 2000 and 2010 censuses. For earlier censuses, there are several online options from which to choose such as Social Explorer (Library provided access) or IPUMS (freely available with account registration and attributions).

New Census Data Site

The Census Bureau has a new data exploration platform to view and download data. This is still a work in progress. If you don't see what you're looking for, Ask Us! If you feel the Bureau's new site is missing functionality, let them know. There is a feedback email located on the front page.

Use the Chrome browser for best results.

Explore census data
Data.census.gov is the new platform to access demographic and economic data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The vision for data.census.gov is to improve the customer experience by making data available from one centralized place so that data users spend less time searching for data and content, and more time using it. ...
Use the Chrome browser for best results.
Census Survey Explorer
The Census Survey Explorer lets you find a specific survey or census by filtering and searching by geography, frequency, topics, and subtopics. [Beta version at this time]
What is data.census.gov ?
The vision for data.census.gov is to improve the customer experience by making data available from one centralized place so that data users spend less time searching for data and content, and more time using it. ...

Data Gems from the Census Academy

Data Gems
Their experts want to share with you their favorite tips and tricks about how to access and use Census Bureau Data. So they created the Data Gems: a series of "how-to" videos for data users who are looking for an easy and quick way to enhance their knowledge of Census data. They introduce you to various concepts and techniques to improve your ability to navigate their website and use the Bureau's data-access tools.
Census Academy
A site for the Bureau's archived webinars and information about future webinars.

Quick links to the 2020 Census

2020 Census
The 2020 Census counted every person living in the United States and the five U.S. territories. It marked the 24th census in U.S. history and the first time that households were invited to respond to the census online. ...
What is the 2020 Census?
This page defines the Census and explains its importance to your community, state and nation.

Quick Links to Census Information & Data

Decennial Censuses by Decade
This section of the Bureau's site follows the evolution of the decennial census by detailing the events surrounding each of them. Political and technological changes, and the shifting public demand for information, have all shaped the modern census and the mission of the Census Bureau.
2020 Census
The 2020 Census counted every person living in the United States and the five U.S. territories. It marked the 24th census in U.S. history and the first time that households were invited to respond to the census online. ...
2010 Census
Although the U.S. Census Bureau carries out hundreds of surveys every year, its most well-known duty is still to conduct the decennial census. Census results have several high profile applications: they are used to reapportion seats in the House of Representatives, to realign congressional districts, and as a factor in the formulas that distribute hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funds each year. ...
2000 Census
1990 Census
1980 Census
1970 Census
Using this link will take you to earlier census information.
NHGIS (National Historical Geographic Information System)
The National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) is a project that created and freely disseminates a database incorporating all available aggregate census information for the United States from 1790 to the present.
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*Collect and enrich historical and contemporary U.S. Census summary data.
* Incorporate these data into a Geographic Information Systems framework.
*Create a web-based system for access to both census data and the metadata.
Social Explorer
This resource lets you visualize historical and current census data. Social Explorer also includes data for crime, health, religion, censuses for Canada and the United Kingdom and development indicators.
To take full advantage of Social Explorer, you must create an account within the resource.
Demographic profiles from Social Explorer
Social Explorer Profiles helps you find the right facts about your community and understand complex demographic and education profiles in your target market.
KIDS COUNT Data Center
KIDS COUNT is a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation to track the well-being of children in the United States. By providing high-quality data and trend analysis through its KIDS COUNT Data Center, the Foundation seeks to enrich local, state and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children — and to raise the visibility of children's issues through a nonpartisan, evidence-based lens.
U. S. Census Bureau Data Repository
The ICPSR (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research) announced a new data repository of census information from the U. S. Census Bureau. This new repository preserves and disseminates survey instruments, specifications, data dictionaries, codebooks, and other materials from the U. S. Census Bureau.

Related Subjects

Just about every subject can use Census data. The following are the subjects that are directly related to Census data collection.

Census Data

Subject Librarian

Tutorials for finding data

Tutorials for data available from the Census Bureau