Databases of Statistical Information
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 US & International 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.
The guide is organized topically, so you can find databases with statistical information on specific subjects, such as crime, education, the environment, immigration, public health, 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 on the different topics.
Census and Demographics
The main page for accessing data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau. Find information on population, demographic, economic and other data, including trade and manufacturing statistics.
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. As well as running the decadal national census, the bureau operates other surveys, which provide more detailed information from representative samples of the U.S. population, including the Current Population Survey (run jointly with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, see below) and the American Community Survey.
U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts
National database of selected Census, American Community Survey, Current Population Survey (run jointly with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other economic, business, government and geographical 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.
TIGER/Line Files and Shapefiles
The U.S. Census Bureau provides map shape files that can be used to display census data. They can be merged with data in GIS programs or online mapping sites.
IRE
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 from 2010 for Bay Area counties, cities, census tracts and blocks, compiled by the Association of Bay Area Governments in partnership with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. Includes historical data as far back as 1860.
Crime and Criminal Justice
FBI
Annual national crime statistics including National Incident- Based Reporting System, Hate Crime Statistics, Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted, andThe National Use-of-Force Data Collection
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. Here is its full list of data collections. The National Crime Victimization Survey is an especially useful resource, which together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting program provides the best national data on crime.
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 people at Stamen Design in San Francisco, uses data reported by the Oakland Police Department.
Drugs
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
Data on drug arrests and seizures compiled by the main agency enforcing federal drug laws.
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.
Pro Publica
A searchable database of payments made to doctors by pharmaceutical companies, compiled by the online news publication Pro Publica.
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 particularly 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, private and charter 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. Find information on employment and unemployment, workplace injuries, time use, pay and consumer spending, including the Consumer Price Index, a key measure of inflation. Browse its datasets here.
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.
Environment
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The EPA has an online database you can search by location, including a city, zip code or street address, 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, climate data, including forecasts, and historical records of hurricanes and other newsworthy severe weather events.
World Data Center for Meteorology
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
GIS mapping of natural disasters. To use with ArcGIS login.
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.
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
Compiles data on fires and fire safety.
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.
General
U.S. Government
A portal site for accessing U.S. government information databases. You can search for data from the home page, or follow the Data and Topics links from the top menu. Be warned, however, that Data.gov does not contain all of the U.S. government’s data. Some of the most useful datasets are still only available on the websites of individual federal agencies. The Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology has links to agencies with some the most important data collections.
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.
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
U.S. General Services Administration
The federal government set up the USASpending.gov website that has a database of federal grants and contracts that have been awarded, searchable by contractor, government agency or location.
Center for Effective Government
The Center for Effective Government (formerly OMB Watch) has a searchable database of U.S. government contracts, grants, and loans.
U.S. Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
Track federal stimulus spending by state, county, city, ZIP, project type, or even block-by-block.
Health
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The CDC compiles national data on death and diseases, accidents and injuries. The WONDER online databases provide a wealth of information, including on causes of death. Other health datasets are available through the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
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
California Department of Public Health Data
Public health data, statistics and surveys for California.
World Health Organization
Data and statistics on public health.
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.
Immigration
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The main U.S. government source of statistical data on immigration
U.S. Census Bureau
The U.S. Census Bureau site with data on immigration to and emigration from the United States.
Migration Policy Institute
The Migration Policy Institute provides access to their statistics, facts and maps on migration 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. You can also visit the UN Statistical Division for more.
World Bank
Online databases of national and international statistics. Its World Development Indicators catalog contains data for more than 7,000 different measures, compiled by the bank and other UN agencies. You can navigate the site using the search box or using the topics links to the right. When you click on a particular indicator, you are sent to a page that gives options to download the dataset from a link near the top right of the page. The data in some cases goes back as far as 1960, and is listed both by individual country and summarized by regions and income groups.
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.
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.
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 affiliations and church membership.
Religion Statistics and Publications
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 published 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.
Sports
American Statistical Association
Links to the major sports associations and other sites that compile player and team statistics in different sports.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
A CDC site with information and data on traumatic brain injuries, including a special section on “Concussion in Sports.”
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
Republishing Policy
This content may not be republished in print or digital form without express written permission from Berkeley Advanced Media Institute. Please see our Content Redistribution Policy.