Strategies
Is there a government agency, department, or private company collecting this data?
Was the data collected for the year(s) and geographic area you are researching?*
- Search a compendia of US statistical data, such as Proquest's Statistical Abstract of the United States. If you find a relevant table, check the source notes.
- Search an index to statistical data, such as Proquest Statistical Insight.
- Trace the source notes from the footnotes and bibliographies of relevant books and articles.
- Start with an educated guess about the department or agency that may have collected the data, e.g. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, HUD, etc.
* Please note: Some published statistical tables are only available for higher-level geographies, eg. major regions of the US, states, counties, or large-metropolitan areas. The same data might not available for smaller geographies (e.g., neighborhoods).