Research Guides: History: Data & Statistics

Major US Government Data Sources

US Census
US population statistics, along with economic data (local, county, state and national). A treasure trove.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Key source for labor and industry statistics and data, and about American consumers.

Statistical Abstract of the United States (1878-2012) This link opens in a new window
Annual Census Bureau comprehensive publication of summary statistics on social, political, and economic topics of the United States. Includes data from many federal government agencies. Coverage: 1878-2012.

HealthData.gov
It makes high value health data more accessible to entrepreneurs, researchers, and policy makers.
National Center for Health Statistics (CDC)
A rich source of information about America's health that compile statistical information to guide actions and policies to improve the health.

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
The primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.
Civil Rights Data (US Dept of Education)
Provides education access and equity data collected from US public schools.
US Dept of Ed: Data & Research
Overview of available data and tools on various education-related topics

ICPSR (datasets) This link opens in a new window
The Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research (ICPSR) provides research datasets covering a wide range of social science areas. Each study's dataset provides documentation (e.g. codebook), and a bibliography of published articles that used the data. Data offered in many formats. Must create an ICPSR account to download data. Coverage: 1700s-present.

PolicyMap This link opens in a new window
Visualize and map thousands of socioeconomic variables covering the United States (local to national). Create reports on specific Census geographies. Download reports, data, and maps. Coverage: 2000-present.
Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Map various demographic and socioeconomic variables from United States Census, Statistics Canada, UK Data Centre, and Eurostat. Download maps/data. Coverage: 1790-present.

Users must create and log into your personal account on Social Explorer.

GapMinder
It uses its videos and data visualization tools to help people better understand statistics and other information about social, economic and environmental development at local, national and global levels.