PAM 3250: Neighborhoods, Housing and Urban Policy Library Research Guide: U.S. Census

A product of the US Census, data.census.gov is the replacement for American FactFinder. It includes data from the American Community Survey, 2010 Decennial Census, Economic Census, County Business Patterns and more.

Useful tutorials on how to use data.census.gov

How the US Census Bureau defines census tracts.

Use this to determine how to cite tables and maps from the census bureau.

Go here to find out when to use the 1,3, or 5-year ACS estimates.

Find out how the American Community Survey is conducted.

An A to Z list defining terminology and data types that are found in census tables

The US Census, also known as the decennial census, is carried out by constitutional mandate every ten years, with the aim of counting every resident in the country. The data collected determines the number of senate seats for each state and informs the distribution of federal funds to communities throughout the US.

The American Community Survey, or ACS, is an ongoing survey sent to a rolling and random sample of the US population every year (about 295,000 per month, 3.5 million
per year). In addition to basic demographic data, the ACS collects information regarding disabilities, health insurance, education, income, and family, among others.