Falvey Library :: Census Tools

American FactFinder 2

The official search tool of the U.S. Census, American FactFinder 2 search options include Community Facts, for popular or quick facts about a particular community, and Guided Search and Advanced Search, for in-depth research questions. Researchers can download data, tables and spatial data.

Coverage: 2000 Census, 2010 Census, American Community Survey and more. For further details, see What We Provide.

Recommended for: In-depth research projects, graduate students, faculty.

American FactFinder

American FactFinder is a website used to distribute data collected by the United States Census Bureau.
It provides data for recent survey years for a range of geographies, including by Census tract, Zip Code Tabulation Area, Metropolitan Statistical Area, county, and state. American FactFinder is being replaced by data.census.gov, and as of July 1, 2019, all new data are being released to that platform. American FactFinder will be taken offline on March 31, 2020.

Help and Other Tools

Social Explorer

"Social Explorer provides easy-to-use tools for visual exploration of demographic information, from census and economic data to election and religion data, and more. With these interactive online tools, users can visually explore change over time and understand the patterns behind the raw numbers." Create maps and reports, and download data.

Coverage: U.S. Census, 1790-2010; American Community Survey, 2005-2011; InfoGroup Data on Religious Congregations, 2009-2010; The Religious Congregations and Membership Study, 1980-2010; Carbon Emissions Data, 2002.

Recommended for: GIS projects, visual presentations, undergraduate researchers.

Social Explorer

Provides access to maps and tables of U.S. Census and American Community Survey data from 1790 through most recently released data. Also includes datasets on election, health, crime, religion, and environmental topics, as well as some international data (UK Census 2011; Canadian Census 2011; selected Eurostat data; and World Development Indicators from the World Bank.) Create a free personal account in order to save your work.

Help and Other Tools

Social Explorer recommends that researchers set up a personal login account.

Data-Planet Statistical Datasets

Compare data through StatisticalDatasets' user friendly interface. Create tables, charts and maps, and examine trends. Browse or search to find variables. Researchers can download data and images, as well as export citation information to a citation manger (Zotero, etc.).

Coverage: 2000 Census, 2010 Census, American Community Survey, and more. For complete information see Available Datasets and Sources.

Recommended for: Visualization of data, quick comparison of variables, undergraduate researchers.

Data-Planet

Help and Other Tools

ICPSR

ICPSR is a database of political and social data sets, including the decennial census. Other topics covered range from elections to education to prisons. Data can be downloaded to Excel, SPSS, or other software tools for manipulation and analysis Researchers can search by data set or variable. A collection of data-related literature tied to the data is also provided.

Coverage: Decennial Census, 1790-2000. Browse by series. View all studies.

Recommended for: In-depth research projects, advanced undergraduate researchers, graduate students, faculty.

ICPSR (Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan) Access Instructions

Provides access to archived social science data and data-driven learning guides designed for the classroom. Includes information about data management and curation services available to member institutions. See Qualitative Data Repository for qualitative and multi-method data.

Help and Other Tools

Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970

Historical Census data arranged by major topic area. Database based on former print resources. Create tables and charts, and download data in Excel or .CSV format.

Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970

A compendium of statistics from over 1000 sources last updated in 1975 and has been expanded to include over 37,000 data series. Topics ranging from migration and health to crime and the Confederate States of America are each placed in historical context by a recognized expert in the field. The fully searchable and downloadable edition will permit users to graph individual tables and create customized tables and spreadsheets reflecting their own areas of interest.

Help and Other Tools

Ancestry.com

Designed for genealogical research, this tool allows researchers to search for individuals rather than data. Researchers can even view a scan of the original census roll. Research historical figures or your own ancestors.

Coverage: U.S. Federal Census Collection (1790-1940), plus many other collections. See the Ancestry Card Catalog for more information.

Recommend for: Genealogists, historians, undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty.

AncestryLibrary (ProQuest)

Provides access to a range of databases with biographical information. Includes census data, vital records, directories, voter lists, immigration records, images, and more.