Tutorial: Databases of Statistical Information
Introduction
A wealth of demographic and other data is available on a city, county, state and national level in the United States.
But navigating the maze of government and private agencies that collect data to find statistics on a particular topic is often daunting.
This guide lists the websites of major government agencies and some private organizations where you can find online searchable databases and other statistical information on different subjects.
Many of the sites have data you can download, often in a spreadsheet format, and then use to create a data visualization or map mashup.
The guide is organized topically, so you can find databases with statistical information on specific subjects, such as crime, education, the environment, immigration, and so on.
It includes websites with data on California and California cities, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area.
National sites are listed first in each topical section, followed by sites with data on California and Bay Area cities.
Note: Besides databases with statistical information, there are many other online databases for locating information on a specific company or person, such as property ownership, criminal cases, civil court cases, business filings, professional licenses, etc.
For those types of databases, see the other Public Records Tutorials for different topics.
Census and Demographics
U.S. Census Bureau
The main page for accessing information on the 2010 census.
The Census Bureau's gateway site to population, housing, economic and other data, down to a city, zip code census tract and block level. Select Data Sets in the menu on the left to see a list of available data.
National database of selected Census, American Community Survey and other economic, business, government and geogrpahical data for all states and counties, and for cities and towns with +25,000 people.
The U.S. Census Bureau provides access to databases related to building permits, imports/exports, employment and earnings (by county), occupational breakdowns by race, and other info.
The U.S. Census Bureau provides map files that can be used to display census data. They can be merged with data in GIS programs or online mapping sites such as GeoCommons. Files for the 2010 Census will be available beginning in Feburary 2011.
IRE
Census.ire.org
Investigative Reporters and Editors has a tool that gives journalists an easier way to download 2010 Census data.
Minnesota Population Center
IPMUS, the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series at the University of Minnesota compiles current and historic U.S. Census data at an online site that makes it easy to create custom data tables on a national, state and local level.
IRS
U.S. Population Migration Data
Numbers of people moving into or out of counties and states in the United States.
California Department of Finance
Demographic data on California, including county data. Many of the datasets are downloadable as text or spreadsheet files.
Association of Bay Area Governments
Census data for Bay Area counties, cities, census tracts and blocks, from the Association of Bay Area Governments in partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Crime and Criminal Justice
FBI
Annual national crime statistics as well as crime data on cities of more than 100,000 population.
U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics
The Bureau of Justice Statistics does national surveys to gather data a variety of criminal justice issues, including crime victimization (what crimes people report they have been the victims of), jail populations, adults on parole and probation, etc.
Justice Research and Statistics Association
Justice Research and Statistics Association provides an interactive U.S. map with links to state agencies that collect, analyze, and disseminate justice data.
National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
Data charts on law enforcement officer fatalities each year, as well as on assaults on officers and injuries.
California Department of Justice
The Office of the Attorney General's site has statistical tables, as well as reports, publications, and links to federal, state, local agency and other statistics.
Crime In Selected California Jurisdictions
Semi-annual reports on crimes reported by city and county law enforcement agencies.
Oakland Crimespotting
An interactive map that plots crimes committed in Oakland, sortable by type of crime, time of day or neighborhood police beat. The Oakland Crimespotting site, which was created by peope at Stamen Design in San Francisco, uses data reported by the Oakland Police Department.
Drugs
United States Department of Health and Human Services
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Data Archive
Survey data on drug use that can be viewed online or downloaded.
Economics and Business
U.S. Commerce Department
This site has detailed data on business and economic trends in the United States on an international, national and regional level.
U.S. Census Bureau
The Census Bureau does regular surveys on various national business and economic indicators, as well as an economic census every five years with statistical data down to the county and city level.
California Department of Finance
Economic and Financial Research
Economic analyses and forecasts, county level data and an annual California Statistical Almanac.
Latest California Economic Data
Economic data on California including employment, income, consumer prices, construction and foreign trade.
Education
U.S. Department of Education
Educational data on U.S. schools such as state rankings, SAT scores, evaluations of school programs, school crime and safety. etc. The Data Tools are particulary helpful.
California Department of Education
Data and educational studies on schools in California
Education Data Partnership
Compare fiscal, demographic and performance data on all of California's K-12 public schools at the Educational Data Partnership site.
LA Times
Test scores, demographics and comments about California's public, prvate and charter schools schools, compiled by the Los Angeles Times.
Employment and Labor
U.S. Department of Labor
The main federal government agency that tracks employment and labor data.
Occupational Safety & Health Administration
Data on workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
California Employment Development Department
Labor Market Info Data Library
An online data library of up-to-date labor-related statistics.
To find data on counties and cities click on the link for Unemployment Rate and Labor Force.
California Watch
One out of eight Californians unemployed
A searchable database of unemployment rates in all California counties in California from 1990 to 2009 at the Californai Watch website.
Environment
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The EPA has an online database you can search by location, including a city, zip code or street addres, to find facilities that are releasing pollutants or toxics into the air, water or ground.
Database of toxic chemical releases, searchable by zip code.
U.S Fish and Wildlife Service
National and regional data used to map changes in the environment, including coastal resources and critical habitat.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Climatic Data Center
The world's largest active archive of weather and climate data.
World Data Center for Meterology
World Data Center(WDC) for Meteorology in Asheville is one component of a global network of international exchange of scientific data.
National Geophysical Data Center
The NGDC provides geophysical data from the Sun to the Earth and Earth's sea floor and solid earth environment, including Earth observations from space. A good example is National Snow and Ice Data Center maps of polar ice.
National Oceanographic Data Center
The NODC archives and distributes oceanographic data and information. These data include physical, biological, and chemical measurements from in situ oceanographic observations, satellite remote sensing, and industrial oceanographic activities in coastal and deep ocean areas.
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Mapping and Analysis Center provides GIS mapping of natural disasters.
U.S. Energy Information Administration
Electric power data are collected to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding. The most widely used data are the Electric Power Monthly and the Electric Power Annual.
Food and Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture
National Agricultural Statistics Service
Data on crops and livestock on a national, state and county level.
California Department of Food and Agriculture
California Agricultural Production Statistics
Data on crops and livestock in California.
California Department of Public Health
Surveys of dietary and eating habits of adults, teens and children in California.
Fire
U.S. Fire Administration
Collects all sorts of data on fires.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control
Injury Prevention and Control - Fires
The CDC compiles statistics on accidents, including fires.
National Fire Protection Association
Research
Compiles data on fires and fire safety.
General
U.S. Government
A portal site for accessing U.S. government information databases.
Google has demographic and other datasets from a variety of U.S. and international sources on its Public Data Explorer site. The data can be explored online or converted into data visualizations. People also can upload their own data to the site to create visualizations.
EveryBlock
EveryBlock - A news feed for your block
Data down to the neighborhood level in 16 cities on police calls, restaurant inspections, real estate sales, building permits, liquor licenses and other public records, as well as news stories from local media sources.
Public Policy Institute of California
Survey and other data on a variety of topics that is downloadable at the Public Policy Institute website. Subject areas include education, environment, government, health, housing and public finance.
UC Berkeley News21 Project
Hard-to-find statistical and demographic information on San Francisco Bay Area cities. Include data ranging from number of funeral parlors and liquor stores to veterinarians and midwives in each city. Created by a team of students working for the UC Berkeley News21 Project.
San Francisco
A clearinghouse for finding datasets produced by the city and county of San Francisco.
Government Spending
OMB Watch
Comprehensive searchable database of recipients of U.S. Economic Recovery Act contracts, grants, and loans.
Recovery.gov
Track stimulus spending by state, county, city, ZIP, project type, or even block-by-block.
USASpending.gov
Government spending at your fingertips
The federal government has set up a USASpending.gov website that tracks federal grants and contracts that have been awarded, mainly under the federal recovery act.
Health
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The CDC compiles national data on death and diseases, accidents and injuries.
Medicare
Medicate archives hospital and nursing home performance, patient mortality rates, average payments for procedures and more.
Occupational Safety & Health Administration
Data on workplace injuries, illnesses and fatalities.
California Department of Public Health
Public health data, statistics and surveys for California.
Housing
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Statistics and studies on the U.S. housing market.
National Association of Realtors
The National Association of Realtors provides the standard measurement of the residential real estate market. On or about the 25th of each month, NAR releases statistics on sales and prices of existing single-family homes for the nation, four regions, states and MSAs.
San Francisco Chronicle
Search addresses, sales price, number of bedrooms, square footage and the year the homes were built.
Down Around the Bay: Home Prices Per Sq. Ft.
Search home prices paid per square foot and other details by county, city or zip code.
Bay Area properties recently sold at a foreclosure auction
Under Water Around the Bay Area
Look up by zip code the percentage of homes that are worth less than their original mortgage.
How Many Millionaires in Your ZIP?
Find out how many millionaires live in a zip code.
Immigration
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The main U.S. government source of statisticial data on immigration
U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau site with statistics on immigration to the U.S. and states and counties.
Migration Policy Institute
The Migration Policy Institute provides access to their statistics, facts and maps on migratio and immigration in the U.S. and abroad, with databases that are searchable by state.
International
United Nations
This United Nations web page has databases with different kinds of demographic information for countries around the world.
World Bank
Online databases of national and international statistics.
CIA
CIA World Factbook - Guide to Country Comparisons
Generate charts comparing demographic data in different countries, downloadable as text files.
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum does reports on a wide range of global issues.
The Guardian
Government data from countries around the world compiled on The Guardian's website. Much of the data is available for download as Google Docs spreadsheets, and there's also an API for accessing the datasets.
Politics and Elections
UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies
Data on voting, voter registration and the census, on a county, census tract and block level. Compiled by the Statewide Database for use in redistricting.
California VoterConnect
California Geographic Political Data Repository
Data on California state senate, assembly and congressional districts and precincts in KML format that can be used in applications like Google Maps, Google Earth and ArcGIS. Provided by California VoterConnect.
Public Policy Institute of California
Public opinion survey data on political participation and the mood of voters, as well as job approval ratings of elected officials in California, downloadable at the Public Policy Institute website. Check the areas under Government and Political Participation.
Religion
U.S. Census Bureau
Statistical Abstract - Population - Religion
The annual U.S. Statistical Abstract published by the U.S. Census Bureau has some data on religious affliations and church membership.
The Census Bureau is prohibited by law from asking mandatory questions about religion in its surveys, but it does keep a page with links to other sources of information on religious affiliations and churches.
National Council of Churches USA
Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches (pdf)
The yearbook publshed by the National Council of Churches has statistical data on the membership of major church groups in the U.S. and Canada.
However, it is a paid publication that must be ordered. It is not available online.
Transportation
U.S. Bureau of Transportation
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
National data on airlines, trucking, shipping, highways and transportation shipping.
California Department of Transportation
Traffic counts on state highways in California.
Bay Area Rapid Transit District
A survey done by BART that has data on ridership at the transit district's 40+ train stations.
UC Berkeley News21 Project
A data visualization of BART's 2008 station profile study along with other information on the transit district's 43 stations, their passengers and people who live near the stations. Created by a team of students working for the UC Berkeley News21 Project.
About this Tutorial
This tutorial was written by Kate Kilpatrick, Paul Grabowicz, Len De Groot and Amanda Dyer with additional input from other UC Berkeley Knight Digital Media Center and Graduate School of Journalism faculty, staff and students.
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