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Government Documents

UAH is a congressionally-designated selective federal depository of the U.S. Government. As such, the Salmon Library receives that portion of all GPO publications which have been determined to most closely suit the needs of the University and community.

Census

"The Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy." The agency produces a wide variety of statistical data products, including the comprehensive decennial census, the annual Statistical Abstract of the United States, and ongoing surveys of the population, economy, crime, voting, etc."

The Census is one of the most vital statistical resources in the world. It produces information that is not replicated anywhere else, and most likely couldn't be because of the scope. The following resources are some of the most vital that the Census provides. And because the United States does not have one statistical data department there is also a section focusing on other Statistics & Data resources.

 

Agriculture Census

 

  • Census of Agriculture
    Conducted every five years, the Census provides a detailed picture of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. It is the only source of uniform, comprehensive agricultural data for every state and county in the United States.

Census of Population & Housing

 

     The American Community Survey is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh look at how they are changing.
  • American FactFinder
    Access data from the American Community Survey, the Decennial Census, the Economic Census, etc.
  • Census Bureau Homepage
     
  • Historical Census Data 1790-1990
     
  • Population and Household Data Topics
    each link opens a subject page with links to the decennial census, the American Community Survey, the Current Population Survey, the Survey of Income and Program Participation, etc.
  • Race
    The racial categories included in the census questionnaire generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country and not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically. In addition, it is recognized that the categories of the race item include racial and national origin or sociocultural groups. People may choose to report more than one race to indicate their racial mixture, such as “American Indian” and “White.” People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish may be of any race.
  • State & County QuickFacts

 

Business & Economy Census

Geography Census

Other Census Resources

  • American Housing Survey
    collects data on the Nation's housing, including apartments, single-family homes, mobile homes, vacant housing units, household characteristics, income, housing and neighborhood quality, housing costs, equipment and fuels, size of housing unit, and recent movers. National data are collected in odd numbered years, and data for each of 47 selected Metropolitan Areas are collected currently about every six years.
  • Current Population Survey - CPS
    a monthly survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The survey has been conducted for more than 50 years.The CPS is the primary source of information on the labor force characteristics of the U.S. population.
  • Survey of Income and Program Participation - SIIP
    The main objective of SIPP is to provide accurate and comprehensive information about the income and program participation of individuals and households in the United States, and about the principal determinants of income and program participation. SIPP offers detailed information on cash and noncash income on a subannual basis. The survey also collects data on taxes, assets, liabilities, and participation in government transfer programs.

Historical Census

A great resource to locate data, statistics, and information on historical United States information.

 

  • Historical Census Browser
    Presents data that describes the population and economy of U.S. states and counties from 1790 to 1960. From the University of Virginia.

Statistics & Data

American Factfinder is the Census Bureau's data access point. It provides tools to look up, view and deliver data, reports, tables, maps and fact sheets on United States population, economy and industry statistics. Large and small scale geographies, eg., states, counties, places, census tracts and blocks can be searched. Data sets are from the Decennial Census, American Community Survey, Annual Population Estimates, Economic Census, and annual economic surveys. All data sets and statistics may be freely downloaded or viewed online.

 

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, an agency withing the U.S. Department of Commerce produces economic statistics about major functions of the U.S. economy. National Income and Product accounts, GDP, personal income and outlays, and regional economic indicators are the major data sets produced by BEA.
 

As a priority Open Government Initiative for President Obama's administration, Data.gov increases the ability of the public to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the Federal Government. Data.gov provides descriptions of the Federal datasets (metadata), information about how to access the datasets, and tools that leverage government datasets. The data catalogs will continue to grow as datasets are added. Federal, Executive Branch data are included in the first version of Data.gov.

FedStats is no longer being updated, but is still useful. as a gateway to statistics from over 100 United States Federal government agencies. Link directly to statistical data from agencies, for example, the Census Bureau, and the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Access statistics by topics or subjects like crime, education, etc. Search across Federal government agencies using words or phrases to find agencies with statistics. Data sets vary by agency and format.
 

The National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) is a historical GIS project to create and freely disseminate a database incorporating all available aggregate census information for the United States between 1790 and 2000. The project has created one of the largest collections in the world of statistical census information, much of which was not previously available to the research community because of legacy data formats and differences between metadata formats. In addition, NHGIS has created cartographic boundary files compatible with every census, and over 50 million lines of metadata describing the collection. The statistical and geographic data are disseminated free of charge through a sophisticated online data access system.

 

U.S. Government Agencies:

 

Annual statistical compendia from the Census Bureau through 2012. Continued by the commercially published (Proquest) Statistical Abstract of the U.S. Census has the Statistical Abstract in pdf online back to 1878.

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service "Quick Stats" statistics database. Select U.S., state, or county data for crops, livestock and other agricultural commodities. Query database by geographic area, search by commodity, or view data in charts or maps. Data sets include Census of Agriculture.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, an agency withing the U.S. Department of Commerce produces economic statistics about major functions of the U.S. economy. National Income and Product accounts, GDP, personal income and outlays, and regional economic indicators are the major data sets produced by BEA.
 

Provides access to statistics for a variety of U.S. Department of Justice reports and documents as well as some international statistics on crime and criminal justice. Link to data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports and download data series. Includes surveys of DNA Crime Laboratories.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Data access point. Labor statistics include prices, inflation, employment, consumer price indices data and tables.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Wonder provides a single pont of access to a wide variety of reports and numeric public health data. Drill down by topic, browse a-z list, or search by keyword to find statistics and data.
 

Diversitydata.org is sponsored by the Harvard School of Public Health. It can be used to create customized reports describing over 100 measures of diversity, opportunity,and quality of life for 362 metropolitan areas. Sources include Census data and other government statistics.

Data tools support creating graphs, maps, spreadsheets and more using the Economic Data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 
 

Official energy statistics from the U.S. government. The EIA, within the Department of Energy, provides data on all energy resources and related topics - petroleum, natural gas, electricity, coal, nuclear, renewable and alternative fuels. EIA also compiles information on international energy resources, provides forecasts and analyses, state and U.S. historical data, energy uses, greenhouse gases, and more energy-related data. Gasoline and diesel fuel prices are tracked weekly.

A one-stop source for environmental information from EPA.

The site is a single place to find a vast selection of EPA data sources, organized into topics such as air and water that are in easily downloadable formats.

Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides information on trade in agricultural commodities. See Data for the Global Agricultural Trade System, and access to data on commodities, exports and more.

Scanned images of historical economic statistical publications, releases, and documents. A project of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
 

Statistical data from the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, profiles on legal permanent residents, and on naturalized citizens, mapping information available in pdf as well as downloadable data formats. Statistics include numbers of immigratants, status, country of origin, etc. Data available from 2004, with archived information from the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics back to 1996.
 

Data and Statistics from NASS include the Census of Agriculture with data from 1997, 2002 and 2007.

U.S. Department of Education site for educational statistics. Link to data tools, tables and figures, fast facts, publications and more from NCES home page. Data includes school district data, educational assessment, and public library data.
 

Provides information on import and export statistics.

International Trade Administration export and import data and state export data.

A website for transportation researchers and analysts, aimed at providing a broad collection of intermodal transportation data collected by various agencies within the U.S.

 

Data and Information about foreign trade from the Census Bureau.

Uniform Crime Reports is the FBI site providing Crime in the U.S. annual statistical reports,and additional reports including Hate Crime Statistics; Terrorism Statistics, and more data from the National Incident-Based Reporting System. 
 

Access current and cumulative U.S. export and import data for over 9,000 export commodities and 17,000 import commodities. USA Trade Online provides trade statistics using the Harmonized System (HS) up to the 10-digit level and the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) commodity classification codes up to the 6-digit level. Data for many series goes back to 1992. To access USA Trade Online please contact the Government Information or Business & Economic Librarians.

Search the USDA Nutrient Database and other data sets on food composition prepared by USDA-ARS's Nutrient Data Laboratory.