A Guide to International and U.S. Statistics Sources: US cities

A portal to datasets from participating cities as well as the federal government, by subject. Available data will vary widely among municipalities.

Available from FRASER (Federal Reserve, historical pdfs of economic data). Also includes cities of 25,000 or more (1902, 1903) and 8,000 to 25,000 (1903).

Compiles state, and some city, data.

Each year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) receives custom tabulations of American Community Survey (ACS) data from the U.S. Census Bureau. These data, known as the "CHAS" data (Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy), demonstrate the extent of housing problems and housing needs, particularly for low income households. The CHAS data are used by local governments to plan how to spend HUD funds, and may also be used by HUD to distribute grant funds. For more background on the CHAS data, including data documentation and a list of updates and corrections to previously released data, click here

Clues about who might be collecting data on various topics. This is a little bit hit-and-miss and you won't necessarily find reports for your city, however, the list provides some clues about what may have been collected and by whom (agency or interagency projects). Search tip: After selecting a topic area, click on the Publications link at the top of the screen to find published reports (sometimes including relevant data).

Browse by topic.

In census geography, cities are listed as "places." In some census publications, smaller cities might be listed as MCDs (minor civil divisions) or CCDs (County Civil Divisions) . Data is also collected for MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas).

You may be able to find some useful data here. A number of these reports are surveys across cities on various topics.

"The Urban Institute Data Catalog is a place to discover and download open data provided by Urban Institute researchers and data scientists. You can search for specific datasets or view all of our public datasets. Please review the data license before using the data in this catalog."