Guides: Finding Statistics & Data (A How-to Guide): United States

U.S. Statistics & Data

Data.census.gov
Data.census.gov is the new platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Data.gov
Provides descriptions of U.S., State and some municipal datasets (metadata) and information about how to access and download statistical and data sets from open governmental sources.
Pew Research Center Data Sets
Track key national, political, economic and demographic trends over time using our regularly updated charts and explore further by downloading our data sets, trying our data interactives or viewing our key data points.
ProPublica Data
ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.
States Perform
Sponsored by the Council of State Governments, this website aims to provide users "access to interactive, customizable and up to date comparative performance measurements for the 50 states." The data cover fiscal and economic matters, public safety and justice, energy and environment, transportation, health and human services, and education.

Statistical Abstract of the U.S. (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Printed volumes available in Reference at Lincoln Park and Loop at R.317.3 U58S.
Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new window
Millennial edition, fully updated and revised from previous 1976 edition. Extensive and easy to use. Excellent source for immigration and population data.
Dates Covered: 1790-2000.

Childstats
Access to federal and state statistics and reports on children and their families, including economic security, health, behavior and social environment and education. Maintained by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics.
Access note: Freely available to the public.

Bureau of Transportation Statistics This link opens in a new window
Travel trends, GIS data, airline and highway statistics, and other data sets of published transportation research.
Access note: Freely available to the public.

FBI Uniform Crime Reports
Provides access to U.S. crime statistics including special reports on hate crimes and law enforcement officers killed and assaulted.
Bureau of Justice Stats
Mission: To collect, analyze, publish, and disseminate information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. These data are critical to federal, state, and local policymakers in combating crime and ensuring that justice is both efficient and evenhanded.
Trafficking in Persons Report
Statistics on human trafficking. From the U.S. Department of State.
Department of Homeland Security: Data
DHS and its components provide access to statistical reports and machine readable data sets. These datasets are available in the DHS section of Data.gov and follow the guiding principles set in the DHS Digital Government strategy. Below are links to some of the datasets indicated as high-value by user views.

National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education. The site includes annual publications such as Condition of Education, Digest of Education Statistics, High School Dropout and Completion Rates, Indicators of School Crime and Safety, and Projections of Education Statistics.
IPEDS Data Center
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System is a system of interrelated surveys conducted annually by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). IPEDS gathers information from every college, university, and technical and vocational institution that participates in the federal student financial aid programs
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Access note: Freely available to the public.
NCES Data Tools
Provides a full listing of data archives and download tools available through the National Center for Education Statistics. Includes links to IPEDS and National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) data.
data.gov | Education
Explore education datasets, apps, resources for the classroom, and details about paying for college. These datasets cover education at all levels.
U.S. Department of Education Public Data Listing
Datasets made available to the public through the U.S. Department of Education.

CDC Data & Statistics This link opens in a new window
Extensive statistical data, reports, and analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Access note: Freely available to the public.

FastStats (National Center for Health Statistics, CDC)
FastStats provides quick access to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Topics include diseases and conditions, injuries, life stages and populations, health care and insurance, births, and deaths.
HealthData.gov
This site is dedicated to making high value health data more accessible to entrepreneurs, researchers, and policy makers in the hopes of better health outcomes for all.
Health Services Research Information Central
Data, tools, surveys, and statistics from the National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology. Includes international health data.
Health and Medical Care Archive
The data collections in HMCA primarily includes large-scale surveys of the American public about public health, attitudes towards health reform, and access to medical care; surveys of health care professionals and organizations, public health professionals, and nurses; evaluations of innovative programs for the delivery of health care, and many other topics and populations of interest.
National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive
The National Institute of Mental Health Data Archive (NDA) provides infrastructure for sharing research data, tools, methods, and analyses enabling collaborative science and discovery. The National Database for Autism Research, National Database for Clinical Trials Related to Mental Illness, Research Domain Criteria Database, and the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study are included.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: Data, Outcomes, and Quality
Find program outcome/quality data and statistics relating to a wide range of substance abuse and mental health issues in the United States
Project Tycho (University of Pittsburgh)
Searchable public health data for various transmissible pathogenic diseases in the United States. Curated by the University of Pittsburgh, and arranged in three different formats, depending on degree of data standardization and other treatment/formatting.
Office of Adolescent Health (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
U.S. Government information portal providing numerous links to information and consumer health advice relating to adolescent health.
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health
The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) is a longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7-12 in the United States during the 1994-95 school year. The Add Health cohort has been followed into young adulthood with four in-home interviews, the most recent in 2008, when the sample was aged 24-32.
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) is a program of studies designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States. NHANES is a major program of the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
IPUMS - Health Survey
IPUMS Health Surveys provide free individual-level survey data for research purposes from two leading sources of self-reported health and health care access information: the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS).

Minority Health Statistics

Health Disparities Data Tools & Statistics (National Library of Medicine)
Find statistics or search data sets accessed via this extensive aggregated list of sources maintained by the National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR)
State Health Facts | Minority Health (Kaiser Family Foundation)
A convenient platform for finding state-based demographic data relating to minority populations, medical school graduates, and women's and men's health disparities.
Office of Minority Health (U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services)
Explore and find data, health and census reports for racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States
American Indian Health (National Library of Medicine)
Listing of websites with health statistics on Native Americans.
Women of Color Health Data Book (NIH Office of Research on Women's Health)
Find statistics and analysis/interpretation of data relating to the unique health features of women of color. Includes data on race/ethnicity and disease with relevant discussions of historical,
cultural, and socio-/geo-demographic factors that affect the health status of women of color.

Women's Health Statistics

FastStats (National Center for Health Statistics, CDC)
FastStats provides quick access to data from the National Center for Health Statistics. Topics include diseases and conditions, injuries, life stages and populations, health care and insurance, births, and deaths.
Women's Health USA 2013
Women’s Health USA is an easy-to-use collection of current and historical data on some of the most pressing health challenges facing women, their families, and their communities.
Maternal & Child Health (Health Resources & Services Administration)
Captures program, performance and financial data on the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant to States and more than 900 grants that help to ensure that the Nation's women, infants, children, adolescents, and their families have access to quality health care.

Kids Count Data Center
Source for data on child and family well-being in the United States.
Health and Retirement Study
For more than 20 years, the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) has been a leading source for information on the health and economic well-being of adults over age 50 in the United States. We do this by asking people across the country to participate in the study and tell us about their lives.
IPUMS-CPS
IPUMS CPS harmonizes microdata from the monthly U.S. labor force survey, the Current Population Survey (CPS), covering the period 1962 to the present. Data include demographic information, rich employment data, program participation and supplemental data on topics such as fertility, tobacco use, volunteer activities, voter registration, computer and internet use, food security, and more.

Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new window
Millennial edition, fully updated and revised from previous 1976 edition. Extensive and easy to use. Excellent source for immigration and population data.
Dates Covered: 1790-2000.

Voter Turnout in the United States 1789-2009
Provides statistics on voter turnout for presidential, congressional, and gubernatorial elections in the United States between 1789 and 2009.

LGBTQ Data

If you are looking for LGBTQ data, please be aware that the federal government does not collect that data as of 2017. Any data that you may find is self-reported and the statistics will vary. There is currently a LGBTQ Data Inclusion Act that has been introduced into Congress. If that act is passed, LGBTQ data will begin to be collected. The two resources listed below can give you a starting point to start to explore LGBTQ demographics.

National Health Interview Survey
The National Health Survey Interview administered by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) interviews American's about their behavior and has a section about sexuality.

Government-Sourced Statistics & Data

Economic Indicators (GPO)
Provide economic information on GDP, income, employment, production, business activity, prices, money, credit, security markets, and more.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor is the principal Federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. Statistics and downloadable data sets also available.
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data)
U.S. economic statistics available through the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Time series are either monthly or quarterly and include data on banking, consumer price index, employment, exchange rates and interest rates.
IPUMS-CPS
IPUMS CPS harmonizes microdata from the monthly U.S. labor force survey, the Current Population Survey (CPS), covering the period 1962 to the present. Data include demographic information, rich employment data, program participation and supplemental data on topics such as fertility, tobacco use, volunteer activities, voter registration, computer and internet use, food security, and more.

Company Information

Mergent Online This link opens in a new window
Provides online access to detailed, accurate and comprehensive global company data for both national and international companies.
Key Business Ratios This link opens in a new window
Online access to competitive benchmarking data compiled from D&B??s database of public and private companies, featuring 14 key business ratios (users choose a one-year or three-year set of ratios) for public and private companies in 800 lines of business.

Marketing

MarketResearch.com This link opens in a new window
Access research reports that address consumer behavior and industry/market trends in retailing, food and beverages, personal care, manufacturing, services, hospitality, healthcare and technology. Geographic coverage is predominantly the United States but there is also significant global and individual foreign country analysis best discovered by selecting the advanced search option.
Passport This link opens in a new window
Market research database providing statistics and analysis on companies, industries, economies, and consumers worldwide.
Access note: Some users might encounter a single sign-on (SSO) prompt in error and subsequent link to “Contact your institution." We recommend first trying a different browser or clearing cookies to see if doing so resolves the issue.
Access note: Not available to walk-in users.

Market Share Reporter
Presents comparative business statistics. Each entry features a descriptive title; data and market description; a list of producers/products along with their market share; and cites original sources.

WRDS

Data Visualization

Data USA
Data USA puts public US Government data in your hands. Instead of searching through multiple data sources that are often incomplete and difficult to access, you can simply point to Data USA to answer your questions. Data USA provides an open, easy-to-use platform that turns data into knowledge.
USAFacts
USAFacts is a new data-driven portrait of the American population, our government’s finances, and government’s impact on society. It relies exclusively on publicly available government data sources.
Note: Best viewed in Internet Explorer.

Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Uses historical census data and demographic information to create maps and reports of demographic and social change throughout history. Includes the entire US Census history from 1790 to 2000, all annual updates from the American Community Survey, and the Religious Congregations and Membership Study from 1980 to 2000.
Google Public Data Visualization This link opens in a new window
The Google Public Data Explorer makes large, public-interest datasets easy to explore, visualize and communicate. All of the datasets in the Public Data Explorer are provided by third-party data providers, such as international organizations, national statistical offices, non-governmental organizations, and research institutions.
Access note: Freely available to the public.

Washington Post Police Shootings Database
2015 police shooting statistics analyzed and visualized. This database is based on news reports, public records, Internet databases and original reporting.
Cancer Statistics Center (American Cancer Society)
Find downloadable & interactive national and state-level data from the National Cancer Society. Topics include estimated new cancer cases and deaths by sex, state, and cancer type in the current year; current cancer incidence, mortality, and survival rates and trends for individual cancer sites; risk factors; screening rates by state.
500 Cities Project | CDC
The purpose of the 500 Cities Project is to provide city- and census tract-level small area estimates for chronic disease risk factors, health outcomes, and clinical preventive service use for the largest 500 cities in the United States.