Statistical Information Research Guide

The U.S. Census counts every resident in the United States. It is mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution and takes place every 10 years. The data collected by the decennial census determine the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and is also used to distribute billions in federal funds to local communities.

The Census Bureau conducts nearly one hundred surveys and censuses every year. By law, no one is permitted to reveal information from these censuses and surveys that could identify any person, household, or business.

Data from the following surveys and censuses are available (or in progress) in American FactFinder:

• The Decennial Census collects data every 10 years about households, income, education, homeownership, and more for the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas. 
• The American Community Survey is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities a fresh look at how they are changing.
• The Puerto Rico Community Survey is the equivalent of the American Community Survey for Puerto Rico. 
• The Economic Census profiles the U.S. economy every 5 years, from the national to the local level and by detailed industry and business classification. 
• The Population Estimates Program publishes estimated population totals for the previous year for cities and towns, metropolitan areas, counties, and states. 
• The Census Bureau conducts more than 100 economic surveys covering annual, quarterly, and monthly time periods for various sectors of the economy. Data from three Annual Economic Surveyscan be found on American FactFinder:
  • Annual Survey of Manufactures 
  • County Business Patterns 
  • Nonemployer Statistics 

Resources on the web about poverty typically come from government sources and non-profit organizations.

Most states have an online clearinghouse for demographic data. For example, Iowa has the State Data Center (see link below). Most often the information is from the census data but it is usually presented in an easy-to-follow format.

In a search engine, type the name of any state followed by the words "state data" or "state demographics" (example: Tennessee state data).