Internet Data Sources for Social Scientists
Direct Access to Selected Datasets available on the Internet
American Communities Project
| Data to analyze racial and ethnic composition and segregation of metropolitan areas using 1990 and 2000 Census data . Links to a separate site, The State of Public School Segregation, with similar data at the metro and school district levels, with comparisons back to the 1970 Census. Site content is frequently updated and easy to use. Maintained by the Mumford Center for Comparative Urban and Regional Research, University at Albany. |
American Community Survey
| Conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau to replace the decennial Census long form. When fully implemented, the ACSwill provide more current demographic, econmic, and housing characteristics for geographic levels comparable to the decennial Census. Tables and maps can be generated from the American Factfinder site http://factfinder.census.gov Summary and public use microdata products are available, although it will be several years before tract and block group summary statistics are published. Statistics for areas with population over 65K were released in 2006, those with populations over 20K will be released in 2008. Limited online analysis of the 2005 ACS PUMS is provided by the UC Data Archive, http://ucdata.berkeley.edu:7101/ACS2005/ . |
American Factfinder
| A gateway or portal to several major US Census products: 1990 and 2000 decennial Census of population and housing; annual population estimates; 1997 and 2002 Economic Census; American Community Survey. Retrieve summary tables and maps for display and download, although American Factfinder features are more robust for recent data products than older ones. |
American Housing Survey
homepage for American Housing Survey | Conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau on behalf of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Consists of a biennial "core" survey based on a national sample and a metropolitan area survey covering about 20 large urban areas on a 4-year rotating basis. |
HUD USER| Provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Microdata, documentation, and publications for the most recent years (mid-1990s+) of the survey. CISER owns years back to the mid-1970s, as does ICPSR. |
American National Election Study
ANES homepage| View the most recent cumulative codebook, and data can be downloaded after registration. The authoritative site for information on dataset revisions and updates. |
Computer-assisted Survey Methods Program| Perform extracts and simple statistical analyses from the 2004, 2000, and 1948-2004 cumulative files. Hosted by University of California, Berkeley. |
American Religion Data Archive| Extract and download selected variables from the 2000-2004 surveys or produce onlline statistics for individual questions. |
American Time Use Survey
| Household survey begun in 2003 on how Americans use of personal, work, and leisure time. Summary tables and microdata can be downloaded. Conducted by Census Bureau on behalf of Bureau of Labor Statistics. Site contains links to similar time use studies conducted in other countries. |
Basketball Reference
| NBA and ABA player stats back to the 1946/47 season. Filter by team, coach, years, player, position. Option to download it all as a zip file in comma-delimited format. |
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
| Prevalence of personal health behaviors and risk factors by state based on a survey of adults conducted from 1990+. Download data and documentation or create your own tables. |
British General Election Studies
| Those not affilaited with UK institutions must register with the Economic and Social Data Service, Universities of Essex and Manchester. |
British Household Panel Survey
| A annual survey begun in 1991 that measures social and economic characteristics. Documentation and questionnaires are publicly available; access to datasets requires individual registration. The FAQ page addresses many common question related to sample composition and enrichment, data access requirements, and anticipated future waves. |
Candidate Emergence Study
| A series of surveys in 1998, 2000, and 2002 to determine who does and does not choose to run for Congressional seats and competitiveness of races. Data and documentation freely available. |
Census of Population and Housing
CensusScope
| Uses Census 2000 data to produce rankings, maps, and other spiffy graphical displays of demographic and social characteristics. Select by state, county, metro areas. Some trend information using previous decennial Censuses. Brought to you by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN), University of Michigan. |
Child Care and Early Education Research Connection
| Links to research datasets, statistics, and reports, with the goal of providing information to researchers and policy makers. Many links to state-level data sources. A collaboration of ICPSR, National Center for Children in Poverty, and the Department of Health and Human Services. |
China Data Online
| Focus on economic and demographic summary statistics, much at the subnational level. Very little Census data is part of this subscription. |
China Health and Nutrition Survey
| Measures affects of health, nutrition,and family planning practices on social and economic life in PRC. SAS transport files for 5 years. Data download requires registration with Carolina Population Center . Extensive documentation is freely available, |
Comtrade
| Annual bilateral trade statisics by commodity and partner country. Most coverage back to 1962. Download custom extracts, create graphs. Powerful but not intuitive. Also known as UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database. |
Consumer Expenditure Survey
homepage for Consumer Expenditure Survey | Surveys the buying habits and expenditures of households. Conducted by the Census Bureau on behalf of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data are collected by a quarterly interview survey and weekly diary survey (mutually exclusive samples). Many summary tables are produced (by year, limited geographic areas, household characteristics), and you can create custom tables on the site. |
microdata downloads| Site at the Econometrics Laboratory Software Archive, University of California-Berkeley. Files in ascii and SAS formats from 1980 to 1998. |
Family-Level Extracts| Data at the consumer-unit level. A nicely massaged set of extracts back to 1980, produced by Congressional Budget Office staff and distributed by NBER. |
Consumer Price Index (CPI)
| Compiled by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. A statistical measure of the average change in prices paid by urban consumers for goods and services, widely used as a meausre of inflation. The core CPI exludes food and energy categories. |
Correlates of War data
| COW Project distributes several historical datasets coding international events back to the 1800s. Data include territorial changes, interstate alliances, and inter- and intrastate warfare. Many are more current versions of those distributed by ICPSR. |
Country Indicators for Foreign Policy
| Collates economic, social, environmental, and military indicators for over 100 countries. Create dynamic maps or charts and download extracts. Registration not required. Use IE to use the fancier features. Most statistical series end with 2000. |
County and City Data Books
| Create custom tables and extracts from several editions of this title. Despite the title, city and place geographies are also available, although with limited lists of variables. Site provided by the Geospatial and Statistical Data Center, University of Virginia. |
County Business Patterns
homepage for County Business Patterns | Download raw data files back to 1988 from this Census Bureau site. Older data files are available in the Data Archive and from ICPSR. Recent years can be viewed as tables online. |
Geospatial & Statistical Data Center| Produces custom extracts, by state, back to 1977. |
Current Population Survey
homepage for Current Population Survey | Home page of the CPS, conducted by the Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. |
data downloads| Download data and documentation for the basic survey (1998+), March supplement (1998+), and selected supplements from this Census site. Older CPS datasets are available in the Data Archive, from ICPSR, and from NBER. |
National Bureau of Economic Research| Downloads for basic monthly files (1976+), most supplements (March back to 1962), some matched research files, and documentation and many input programs (SAS, SPSS, Stata). |
IPUMS-CPS| Create extracts from a harmonized dataset containing over 40 years of March CPS data. Ideal for measuring many facets of household economic change. Superior documentation discusses comparability of variables over time. Service is free from the Minnesota Population Center but requires registration. |
CPS Table Creator| U.S. Census Bureau tool to generate slick tables from the March CPS (the Annual Social and Economic Supplement) but only back to 2003. |
Davidson Data Center and Network
| Disseminates and acts as a portal for data sources on transition and emerging market economies, much can be downloaded without cost. Hosted by the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan with NSF support. |
Davis-Bacon Wage Determinations
| Current hour wage and fringe benefits rates for federally funded construction projects. Search or browse by state and county. |
Demographic and Health Surveys
| A series of surveys conducted in over 60 counties in Asia, Africa, South and Central America, and the Middle East. Surveys measure family characteristics, health status, and household wealth. Distributed by Macro International. User registration and permission required. |
Demographic Profile Generator
| A service of the Missouri Census Data Center. |
1990 Demographic Profile Generator| Uses STF3 to generate tables for states, counties, cities/towns/places, tracts, ZIP codes, and (for some states) county subdivisions. See the instructions for obtaining block-group level profiles. |
2000 Census| Similar tables generated from the SF3 files. Data can also be extracted in a variety of database and report formats using the site's data extractor. |
Disability Statistics
| Up-to-date disability statistics and reports based on Census data (decennial population and housing, CPS, and ACS). Flexible search, extraction, and display features. Site supported by the Cornell University Employment and Disability Institute. |
Diversitydata.org: Metropolitan Quality of Life Data
| Compiles indicators to define quality of life in U.S. metropolitan areas, with a focus on measures affecting diversity, economic opportunity, and social wellbeing, broken down by race/ethnicity. Much summary data are derived from decennial Censues, but other measures (for example, access to health insurance, characteristics of local school systems, residential sprawl, housing affordability) are derived from other government and private sources. Many variables limited to the largest metro areas, and there is no ability to extract and download tables. Maps feature is limited. Compiled under the aupices of the Harvard School of Public Health. |
Economic Report of the President
| Links to reports since 1995. Statistical tables contain extensive macroeconomic historical data. |
Family Life Surveys
| Household and community surveys for Malaysia, Indonesia, Guatemala, and Bangladesh. Distributed by RAND Corporation. |
Federal Elections Project
| Results of the 2000 federal and state elections, including some ballot initiatives and referenda, down to the precinct level. Some geographies include registration and turnout statistics, matched with demographics from the 2000 Census. David Lublin and D. Stephen Voss, Principal Investigators. (Lublin maintains a site of replication datasets and links to the Southern Politics Project at http://www.american.edu/dlublin/research/data/data.html ) |
Federal Funds for Research and Development
| Support provided by federal agencies fiscal years 1951+ . Summary tables by agency and category of recipient in PDF and Excel formats. |
Foreign Currency Exchange Rates
| Excellent historical series from the Federal Reserve Board. Daily spot exchange rate for over 20 countries, some back to 1971. |
GenderStats
| Health, education, economic, and demographic indicators from national statisitcal agencies, UN, and World Bank sources. Select data for individual countries or use the Data Query System for multiple countries and indicators. |
General Social Survey
National Opinion Research Center (NORC)| Select, analyze, and extract variables from the most recent cumulative file using the Nesstar software product. |
Computer-Assisted Survey Methods| Extract a customized set from the morst recent cumulative file. You can also perform some simple statistical operations and download extracts using the site's seach and analysis software. Courtesy of University of California, Berkeley. |
Social Sciences Data Collection| Search and extract variables from the 1972-1996 cumulative file. Nice graphic output options. Courtesy of University of California, San Diego. |
Association of Religion Data Archives| Extract and download variables and questions from the GSS (1998-2004) or display online analysis tables. |
Geoecology:
| Data on soils, water resources, land use, air quality, endangered species, etc, from 1964-1979 . Reflects environmental conditions existing in the 1970s. Register to download data from http://daac.ornl.gov |
German Socio-Economic Panel
Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University| Distributes an English-language user package of the GSOEP, which requires a contract and fees. |
German Socio-Economic Panel Study
homepage for German Socio-Economic Panel Study | Only documentation is available from this German Institute of Economic Research site. |
Global Market Information Database
| Demographic, econmic, environmental, and marketing data for over 200 countries, some variables at the sub-national level. Detailed income, expenditure, and lifestyle statistics. Annual historical data and forecasts. |
Global Youth Tobacco Survey
| An international survey of youth aged 13-15 on tobacco use, availability, and attitudes. Jointly sponsored by CDC, WHO, UNICEF, and others. Documentation freely available, access to datasets requires registration with the site. |
Health and Retirement Study (HRS)
| Begun in 1992, the HRS covers topics in health care, employment and retirement, attitudes and expectations, and family issues among persons aged 50 and over. A complementary study conducted in 1994 and 1996, Asset and Health Dynamics among the Oldest Old (AHEAD), was absorbed into HRS in 1998. Registration required for public-use data downloads. A restricted version is available to qualified users. |
Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP))
| A suite of data products that measures hospital patient care, covering care quality, access, an outcomes, among other public policy topics. State- and national-level databases, compiled by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Includes H-CPUnet, an online tool designed to generate statistics. |
Historical Census Data Browser
| Generate tables for states and counties using data from 1790 to 1960. Limited mapping feature. Hosted by the Geospatial and Statistical Data Center, University of Virginia. |
Historical statistics of the United States
| Vital statistics, economics and employment, government, from the earliest figures available to the present. Select tables for viewing, e-mail, or download in a variety of formats. Some features, such as creation of custom tables and saving data, require individual registration in addition to Cornell authentication. |
Indiastat.com
| Demographic, economic, and social indicators for India. Much historical data, often at the sub-national level. Currentness and geographic coverage vary among categories and indicators. |
| Choose up to six countries and create charts based on current statistics on demography, environment, health, economy from United Nations sources. |
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)
| Primary source of information about higher education: institutional characteritics, staffing and enrollment, salaries, degree completions, finances. Create custom tables and extracts on one or many institutions . Data collected and disbtributed by the National Center for Education Statistics. |
Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS)
| Public use microdata from the decennial Censuses, provided by the Historical Census Project, University of Minnesota. |
Kids Count Data Center
| Retrieve state and city profiles containing 100 meaures of child wellbeing (for example, poverty, infant motality, family status, household characteristics). A separate Community-Level Information for Kids (CLIKS) data feature compiles a large amount of state- and local-level data to produce community profiles on the educational, economic, and health environments important to the well-being of children. Right Start Online reports factors that affect newborn wellbeing in the nation's 50 largest cities. All brought to you by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. |
Labor Force Statistics
| Produced from the from the Current Population Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics. |
Legislative Roll Calls and related data
VoteWorld| Limited to US Congress, European Parliament, and British Parliament data, plus selected historical series from 18 other countries. VoteWorld has also been released in fancier versions, VoteWorld Online and Animations, which requrie Java Web Start. For other roll call datasets, select Links from the toolbar. |
VoteView| Roll call voting for the US Congress, usually more current than that provided by ICPSR study #4, as well as historical interest group ratings (1959-1981). |
United Nations General Assembly| Descriptions of resolutions and tallies of voting records from 1946 to 2005, updating data from ICPSR study #5512. Provided by Erik Voeten, George Washington University. |
Australian Political Resources| A series of files on election results (merged with Census data), party apportionment and limited roll call data for Austrailia. Compiled by Simon Jackman. |
Linking Economic Development and Child Care: 50 State Database
| Compiles variables from a wide variety of data sources on child care at the state level. Addresses factors affecting availabilty and quality of child care. Site also links to a database of studies on the child care economic impact studies. Developed under the aegis of the Restructuring Local Government program. |
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
| Monthly estimates of total employment and unemployment for states, metro- and micropolitan areas, counties, larger cities and towns. Data are frequently subject to revision. |
Luxembourg Income Study (LIS)
| A cooperative project of 25 countries, LIS is a database of household income studies that are normalized to facilitate cross-national research. Site also provides access to the Luxembourg Employment Study (LES), composed of labor force surveys. |
Milwaukee Parental Choice Program
| Data generated from a program to provide subsidies to private schools as part of a general voucher program. Hosted by the Data and Program Library Service, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Free but registration required. |
Minorities at Risk (MAR) Project
| Describes the state of ethnic minorities within a country, discriminatory practices within countries, and political responses to those practices back to 1945. Select one minority group/country for review or download the entire dataset for comparative research. (The MAR Project is developing a new dataset that will focus on organizations claiming to represent minority communities.) Associated with the Center for International Development and Conflict Management, University of Maryland. |
National Health Interview Survey
| Site provides data, documentation, questionnaires, input programs, and publications based on the survey for 10 years, including many supplements. Most of these and older years are available from ICPSR. The Integrated Health Interview Series site contains a chart that provides information on the availability of NHIS variables;from this page http://www.ihis.us/ihis/ click on variables. The link for each variable name describes its context and comparability since the first survey in 1969. |
National Longitudinal Surveys
NLS homepage| Sponsored by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, its intent is to collect data on labor market experiences of individuals over time. However, the NLS datasets are used in a wide variety of research areas: the affects of life events, health status and behaviors, fertility, education, workforce experiences and expectations. Several data extraction and download options for all NLS cohorts (original cohort groups begun in 1968, NLSY79, NLSY79 Children/Young Adults, NLSY97). |
NLS Database Investigator| Software required to utilize NLS data if you download the entire dataset for a cohort. Requires Windows OS. |
Documentation site| Provides much machine-readable documentation for all cohorts, including user guides, questionnaires, interviewer manuals, and flowcharts. For the FTP averse, use the documentation button within the Web Investigator option (below). |
Web Investigator| Create custom extracts from public use files from all cohorts and generate simple statistics for variables. Generate custom weights or save tag sets (variable selections) for later use. Requires that users create an account. Same data as the Data Investigator download and CD options, with the added benefit of working with the most up-to-date versions available. |
National Long-Term Care Survey (NLTCS)
| Longitudinal survey that meaures Medicare services to enrollees, health care expenditures, and caregiving. Jointly funded by the National Institute on Aging and Center for Demogrpahic Studies at Duke University. Six waves of data beginning in 1982, and supplemental surveys on related topics are available. Download documentation from the site. Order public use data on CD. Restricted linked files (to vital statistics and Medicare service use) are available to qualified researchers. |
National Survey of America's Families
| Three waves of an independently drawn samples from 13 states. Measures child- and adult-well being (adults under 65), with emphasis on low-income families. Public-use files and online analysis of a subset available after registering on the site. |
National Survey of Families and Households
| Life history data on family composition, marriage, child-rearing, and family interactions. Three waves, beginning in 1987 with over 9.600 respondents. Data and documention downloads are freely available. Custom extractions and simple statistics can be created created online. |
New Immigrant Survey
| A panel survey of new legal immigrants to the U.S. First-round data collected in 2003 are due for release in late 2005. Data from a pilot survey have been released. Public use data can be downloaded from the site but require pre-registration. |
Occupational Employment Statistics
| Links to national, state, and metropolitan area occuaptional and wage estimates for recent years. From BLS. Based on a semi-annual survey of nonfarm establishments, and does not include self-employed individuals. |
Panel Study of Income Dynamics
| Download the raw data and documentation for all waves or use the Data Center browse and extract function to select variables. |
Penn World Tables
Center for International Comparisons National Bureau of Economic ResearchPolity IV: Political Regime Characterisics and Transitions, 1800+
| Codification of regime characteristics, now expected to be updated annually. Users must register before downloading the dataset and user's guide. Contains links to sources of previous Polity datasets. CISER owns Polity I-III as codebook SIND-055. |
Population and Housing Unit Estimates
| Annual national, state, and sub-state estimates, some with demgraphic characteristics. Files available for download in comma-delimited format. See also a web application supported by the Missouri Census Data Center for state- and county-level estimates beginning with 1990, which permits some download customization: http://mcdc.missouri.edu/websas/test/estimates_by_age.shtml |
Population projections
| State-level projections of population by single year of age, race, sex, and Hispanic origin. National projections also available for household and family structure. |
Public Use Microdata Samples
| CISER houses PUMS data from the decennial Census for 1960-2000 and selected research files from ealier Censuses. |
U.S. Census Bureau| Links to state file downloads from 1-percent and 5-percent PUMS from Census 2000 and information on data for earlier censuses on CD. |
Record of American Democracy (ROAD), 1984-1990
| Election returns, party registrations at the precinct level for elections at the state house level above. Complemented by socioecomic and demographic variables from the 1990 Census. Gary King and Bradley Palmquist, principal investigators. See the Federal Elections Project site at American University for more recent data. |
Rural America at a Glance
| Demographic and economic characteristics of rural areas in the U.S. represented in maps, charts, and tables. September 2003 edition, from the USDA Economic Research Service. |
School District Demographics
| Extracts from 1990 and 2000 Census data in school district boundaries. Limited download capabilities. |
Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System (SESTAT)
| Distributes data from the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG), Survey of Earned Doctorates, and other surveys measuring characteristics of the American technical labor force. From the National Science Foundation. |
Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates
| Estimates on number of families and children living in poverty, median household incomes. Most estimates are available for states, counties, and school districts. Produced by the U.S. Census Bureau. Estimates are generally 3 years behind. |
State and Local Personal Income
| State, county, and MSA personal income, including per capita income back to 1969. Produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. |
State Failure: Internal Wars and Failures of Governance
| Codes events in countries with populations of over 500,000 since 1955. Includes the following types of events: ethnic war, revolutionary war, adverse regime change, genocide/politicide. |
State Health Facts
| State comparisons of health status, poverty, insurance coverage, topics in minority and women's health, HIV/AIDS, care costs, and Medicare/Medicade issues. Most data for the current year only. Most series can be downloaded as delimited ascii files. |
State of the Cities Data Systems
| Compiles information on popualtion, housing, crime, housing, employment, economic activity for metro areas, central cities, and their suburbs. Most statistics from 1990+, Census tables back to 1970. |
StatLib
| Use the Get Data link to access the extensive archive of datasets, most compiled to support research projects or texts in statistics. An idiosyncratic mix on everything from sports to anthropometry. Great source for stats class projects. Supported by the Statistics Department, Carnegie Mellon University. |
Study of American Families, 1994
Survey of Consumer Finances
| Conducted every three years for the Federal Reserve Board . Measures wealth and income of American households. |
Survey of Economic Expectations
| A national survey on how Americans view their short-term economic future. Conducted in 8 waves from 1994 to 1998. Data can be downloaded (registration required) in Stata and ascii formats. Codebook includes variable-level frequencies. |
Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP)
| A longitudinal panel study conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau to measure income, participation in government programs. Follows changes in income within a household and events that influence economic participation, access to benefits, and social wellbeing. In addition to a "core" survey of income and labor participation questions , additional topical modules cover a wide range of topics such as child care, retirement savings, and utilization of health care services. SIPP data constitute a rich source but can be complicated to use. The tutorial (linked from the homepage) provides an excellent introduction to the content and structure of the survey. |
Surveys of Consumers
| Begun in 1946, the monthly surveys measure sentiment regarding personal financial well being and that of the country. The Surveys are also used to generate the Index of Consumer Expectations. Microdata from the most recent six months are embargoed. A University of Michigan site provides customized subsets and tables using the SDA utility: http://www.sca.isr.umich.edu/sda-public/ (ICPSR houses older years under the series title, Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior.) Conducted by the Survey Research Center, University of Michigan, with support from Reuters ( http://www.reuters.com/universitymichigan ) |
Uniform Crime Reports
Social Sciences Data Center National Archive of Criminal Justice DataUnion Density Estimates by State, 1964-2005
| Estimates based on the Current Population Survey and the Directory of National Unions and Employee Associations. |
Union Membership and Coverage Database
| Compiled from the Current Population Survey. National, state, and metro area estimates. Updated annually. |
USA Counties
homepage for USA Counties | Online access permits viewing one state/county/table at a time and comparison of the data for a table with other counties in a state. |
Wisconsin Longitudinal Study
| A study of over 10,000 Wisconsin residents who graduated from high school in 1957, with two separate surveys of their sibliings and spouses. The newest wave of data was collected in in 2005, released in late 2006. Download complete datasets with programs or create a custom subset; both require user registration. |
World Fertility Survey
World Income Inequality Database
| Indicators measuring inequality (including but not limited to Gini coefficients) in over 150 countries, including those with transitional and developing economies. |
World Values Surveys
| Perform simple statistical functions on WVS data or extract and download varibles of your choice. Surveys from the four waves can also be downloaded from ICPSR Direct. |
Data Distributors and Producers: U.S. Government
| Composed of representatives from federal statistical agencies and dedicated to improving data quality and communicating infomration on methodologies. Site includes an extensive report series and descriptions of federal statistical agency products. |
Federal Computer Products Center (NTIS)
| Descriptions of datafiles on diskette, CD, and tape produced since 1990. Most products are produced from federal agencies, but state and some private-sector products are also included. |
Department of Agriculture
homepage for Department of Agriculture
Economic Research Service
National Agriculture Statistics Service
| Agricultural statistics at the state, county, ZIP code, and Congressional district levels. Reports, statistical tables, and some mapping features based on recent Census of Agriculture results and other surveys. |
USDA Economics and Statistics System
| Data and statisical reports generated from the Agricultural Marketing Service, (AMS) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), World Agricultural Outlook Board, and the Economic Research Service (ERS). Substantial historical coverage of crops, agricultural management, trade and markets, and some environment and land-use topics. E-mail announcement service also available for selected reports. |
Department of Commerce
homepage for Department of CommerceBureau of Economic Analysis
| This link goes directly to the BEA Catalog of Products, from which you can download many national and regional economic series. Of special interest to researchers, the site archives previously published estimates that underwent subsequent revision. There is also some international data, and the site has limited mapping abilities. In addition to data downloads, you can use an interactive feature to create tables from selected series, some back to the 1940s. Among these are the national income and products accounts (NIPA) http://www.bea.gov/national/ , regional economic accounts (also known as REIS) http://www.bea.gov/regional/ , and input-output accounts |
Census Bureau
Census Bureau Censtats | A gateway to some of the most popular Census products, such as County Business Patterns, tract locator, and USA Counties. |
FedWorld
Office of Travel and Tourism Industries
| Data on travel by US nationals and incoming visitors. Some detailed marketing data is sold, but the site also provides very detailed, historical statistics on travel. |
STAT-USA
Department of Education
homepage for Department of Education
National Center for Education Statistics
| The site distributes a broad range of published reports and data on all levels of education, including state and local financing and governance, student performance and well-being, as well as trends and projections. Its Data Resource Center permits drill-down to specific tablels and charts produced by NCES. Fast Response Survey System http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/frss/ permits dataset downloads for the most recent and popular public-use files. The NCES site also supplies information about its restricted-use datasets. |
State Education Reforms
| Part of the National Center for Education Statistics site but provides data collected outside of NCES. Focuses on student assessment, school finances, school choice (public, charter, private, home schooling), and classroom practices. Most "data tables" go back only a few years. |
Department of Energy
homepage for Department of EnergyEnergy Information Administration
| Comprehensive source of statistics on generation, use, forecasts, and environmental implications related to energy: nuclear, coal, natural gas, petroleum, electrcity, renewable and alternatirve fuels. Some international data. Many series can be downloaded in Excel format. |
Department of Health and Human Services
homepage for Department of Health and Human Services
Bureau of Health Professions
| Provides access to the National Practitioner Data Bank, which contains records of malpractice payments and "adverse actions" taken against health care professionals as reported by insurers, agencies, hospitals, and others. A second product is the National Integrity and Protection Data Bank, designed to prevent fraud in health care delivery and payments. Access to both is restricted but there are public-use versions. Information on both is on this site: http://www.npdb-hipdb.hrsa.gov/ |
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
| Links to cost and service utlization data related to Medicare and Medicaid programs. Many tables down to the county level. Download public-use datasets and link to descriptions of restricted-use datasets and information on how to obtain them. |
National Center for Health Statistics
Department of Housing and Urban Development
homepage for Department of Housing and Urban Development
| Most HUD data are available via HUD USER (http://www.huduser.org ), a primary source for housing research information. |
Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS) Database
| A special tabulation of 1990 and 2000 Census data used by local governments to determine housing needs. Create extracts based on household type and geographic area (state, county, place, MCD). CHAS and supporting spatial files available through US HUD. |
House Price Index
| Broad indicator of changes in single-family house prices by Census region, state, and MSA. Compare up to 3 geographic areas online or download historical quarterly data back to 1975 (when available) in ascii or Excel formats. Maintained by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. |
Housing Data Sets
| The "front door" to important HUD datasets (sor example, American Housing Survey, Property Owners and Managers Survey, Residential Finance Survey) and GIS files designed for use with HUD data. |
Speciall Tabulations of Households
| Counts of houseolds by household characteristics (tenure, income, etc.) for counties, MSAs and PMSAs, and places with populations over 50,000 based on the 1990 and 2000 Census. |
Department of Justice
homepage for Department of JusticeBureau of Justice Statistics
Federal Justice Statistics Program database
| Compiled by the Bureau and maintained by The Urban Institute, the database is a compilation of information from several federal agencies describing suspects and defendents in the criminal justice system. |
National Archive of Criminal Justice Data
Department of Labor
homepage for Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
| The ultimate source of US data on employment, prices, working conditions, and productivity. Includes a considerable number of historical time series and a highly selective list of series from other countries. It's all there if you can find it. For those who know the data and what they're looking for, see the list at http://www.bls.gov/data/home.htm |
Safety and Health Statistics
Department of the Treasury
homepage for Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service: Tax Stats
Department of Transportation
homepage for Department of Transportation
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
National Household Travel Survey
| Collects data on American long-distance and local travel habits. Conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the Federal Highway Administration. Latest survey year is 2001/ 2002. Continues two other BTS surveys: the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey (conducted irregularly 1969-1995) and American Travel Survey (1977 and 1995). |
Gateways to Federal Statistics Sources
ChildStats| Compiles statistics on child wellbeing from 20 agencies that constitute the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. Topics in economic and health security, education, population and family characterisitcs, crime and substance abuse. National statistics only as charts and tables in HTML and Excel, links to information on the source data . |
FEDSTATS
Investigators' Guide to Sources of Information
THOMAS
U.S. Government Printing Office
White House Briefing Rooms
Economic Statistics Social StatisticsOther Federal Agencies
Election Assistance Commission
| Use the Election Resources link to locate national and state-level voter registration and turnout for federal elections. National turnout statistics by age, gender, and race based on Current Population Survey's November voting and registration supplement. Some historical data back to 1960. Selected voter turnout information for other countries is useful but not current. |
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Election Commission
Campaign financing Historical files| An FTP site for FEC data files back to 1980. |
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
| Online access to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) and Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) data, aggregated by lending institutions and MSA. |
Federal Reserve Board
| Economic Research and Data links to current and historical statistical series, reports and data associated with FRB surveys such as the Survey of Consumer Finances and Survey of Small Business Finances. |
General Accounting Office
National Archives and Records Administration, Electonic and Special Media Records
| Formerly known as the Center for Electronic Records. Among other file formats, archives numeric files representing attitude surveys; historical Censuses and other demographic and economic data products' education and environmental files; administrative records; international surveys conducted by the US Information Agency; and much more. Use the Archival Research Catalog at http://www.archives.gov/research/arc/ to locate studies. Selected data products can be explored by using the Access to Archival Databases tool http://aad.archives.gov/aad/ There's also a handy (and difficult to find) series of research guides to data series from agencies such as the IRS and NLRB. |
National Science Foundation
Scientist and Engineer Statistics Data System (SESTAT)Social Security Administration
Benefits and Earnings Public Use File| Microdata consisting of a 1-percent representative sample of beneficiaries drawn from the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program, linked to correponding earnings histories. Approximately 470,000 records. Files available in ascii and SAS formats. |
Data Distributors and Producers: Other U.S. Sources
| Associated with the RAND Corporation, the CPHHD Data Core compiles a large number of health-related measures, with primary focus in the 1990s. Series focus on population and housing characteristics (largely drawn from the U.S. Census), the aging population, cost-of-living variables, pollution, and neighborhood "connectivity." Some variables are summarized at the county, census tract, and MSA levels. Registration is required for data access. |
City-Data.com
| Demographic, economic, and environmental profiles of US cities and towns both large and small, from Tombstone to Tucson and DeRuyter to Detroit. Most series appear to be derived from government sources (Census, FEC, etc.) but no attribution or list of sources is provided. |
Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
| An abundance of demographic and environmental datasets, much of it useful for GIS applications. |
Dupuy Institute (TDI)
| Produces and collects historical data on armed conflicts and their resolution. Its datasets encompass military campaigns, warfare, and battles in the U.S. and internationally, with some extending back centuries. Data are not available for immediate download. The Institute is a successor to the Historical Evaluation and Research Organization (HERO). |
EconData
| Lots of economic time series, hosted by INFORUM, University of Maryland. Formatted for use with G software. |
Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research
| The premier social science data archive. Data and codebooks may be downloaded by Cornell-affiliated users. See http://ciser.cornell.edu/info/icpsr.shtml for information on services affiliated with Cornell's membership |
Kaiser Family Foundation
| Current data on health-related topics, including cost, insurance, and public policy initiatives. Also a source of public opinion survey results on health issues. See also the Kaiser State Health Facts site at http://www.statehealthfacts.org/ to download related time series. |
Kansas Event Data System (KEDS)
| KEDS is a software that "uses automated coding of English-language news reports to generate political event data." Includes conflict and mediation datasets. Geographic focus is the Middle East, West Africa, and the Balkan region. |
Linguistic Data Consortium
| "Creates, collects, and distributes speech and text databases, lexicons, and other resources" for reseach use. Develops tools to collect and organize linguistic data. A membership organization of universities and research laboratories, located at the University of Pennsylvania. |
Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC)
| Distributes public-use datasets related to studies on welfare-to-work, public program participation, barriers to employment, and program evaluation efforts in urban areas. |
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
| Excellent source of historical economic and trade data, as well as some series on health care and vital statistics. Noteworthy collection of vital statistics and Current Population Survey files, including SAS, Stata, and SPSS input programs to die for. |
Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
| Acquires and disseminates public opinion survey data. CISER maintains a Roper membership, so Cornell users can download most US data via Roper Express service. The iPOLL database of questions from American surveys is also available to Cornellians. |
Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN)
| Creates user-friendly data discovery and display tools based largely on data from the 2000 Census and Kids Count indicators compiled by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Based at the Population Studies Center, University of Michigan. |
State Data Centers
| SDC agencies and affiliates provide training and assistance to locate and use US Census Bureau products. |
Tax Foundation
| Describes itself as nonpartisan and committed to a simplified and stable system of taxation that supports economic growth. Downloads from the Data section include information on tax rates on income, consumption, comparisons among states, results of opinion polls on taxes, and much more. Some sections have extensive time series, whereas others have only the most recent year or two. |
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse
| Uses public data to examine spending and enforcement activities of the federal government. Obtains data from the FBI, INS, DEA, Homeland Security, and IRS based on FOIA requests to these agencies. Extensive discussion of data sources and their limitations. Simple charts and comparison tables are freely available,other services are by subscription only. Based at Syracuse University. |
Data Distributors and Producers: International
| Contains links to major data sites on international conflict and events. Includes selected economic tables (in Excel) on Africa derived from the World Bank. Hosted by the Payson Center for International Development, Tulane University. |
EUROSTAT
| Economic, social, and demographic statistics from the Statistical Office of the European Communities. |
Food and Agriculture Organization
homepage for Food and Agriculture Organization FAOSTAT| International data on agriculture production and fisheries, food supply and nutrition, land use and environmental topics, by country. Create online tables or download series as comma-delimited files. |
Inter-American Development Bank
| Datasets on economic performance and institutions in Latin America, the Caribbean, and beyond. Specific studies cover public debt, trade integration, and labor markets. |
International Labour Organization (ILO)
| The ILO Bureau of Statistics compiles and distributes statistics on employment and working conditions, income and economic stability, trade unions, and related macroeconomic indicators. Its focal database is LABORSTA http://laborsta.ilo.org which covers about 200 counties, with some series beginning in 1970. Additional data products are available on request from ILO. |
International Monetary Fund
homepage for International Monetary Fund | Free macroecnomic data are generally distributed in the form of published reports. Some series such as World Economic Outllook and exchange rates can be selected, displayed, or downloaded. The good stuff, such as International Financial Statistics, Direction of Trade, and Government Finance Statistics must be purchased. |
International Financial Statistics | Create custom tables and extracts from monthly, quarterly, or annual macroeconomic indicators. Some coverage back to 1948. This link requries authentication as a Cornell user. The University of Minnesota maintains a helpful IFS user guide: http://courses.lib.umn.edu/page.phtml?page_id=1778 |
Numeric Data for UN Information
| A collection of links to UN agency data sites. Part of the United Nations Scholars' Workstation, Yale University. |
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD)
Statistics Portal| Statistical reports and spreadsheets for OECD countries. |
SourceOECD | Many OECD statistical series covering agriculture, economics and trade, communications, and social indicators. Download tables as Excel or csv files. Point-and-click with a clunky interface.This link will require Cornell authentication. |
Statistics Canada
homepage for Statistics Canada E-STAT | Create tables and extracts derived from demographic, social, economic, and enviornment indicators. Many series have considerable historical coverage. Coverage largely limited to the national and provincial levels. See usage agreement for information on restrictions and acknowledgement requirements: http://www.statcan.ca/english/Estat/estat-html.htm |
UN/ECE Statistical Division
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
| Use Statistics=>Database Access link to create, manipulate, and download data on education, communication, and literacy. Use Statistical Tables option for pre-formatted tables. |
United Nations Statistics Division
| Select the Statistical Databases option from the header bar or one of the statistical categories from the left navigation menu. This site has a wealth of national population, economic, and social indicators. In particular, the UN Common Database contains hundreds ot time series covering over 100 countries, with some extending back to approximately 1950. Unfortunately, it's not very intuitive to use, so see this helpful tutorial: http://courses.lib.umn.edu/page.phtml?page_id=1803 |
World Bank
homepage for World Bank | With the exception of basic facts for each country, not much free from this site, unfortunately. See WDI and GDF products described below for the good stuff. |
GDF Online | Create custom tables and extracts from Global Development Finance on public income, expenditures, and debt. This link requries authentication as a Cornell user. |
WDI Online | World Development Indicators allows you to select from a wide range of national demographic, environmental, and economic indicators. This link requries authentication as a Cornell user. See this site for a nice tutorial on its use: http://courses.lib.umn.edu/page.phtml?page_id=1802 |
World Health Organization Statistical Information System (WHOSIS)
| Create customized tables and extracts from an online database of health indicators. |
World Resources Institute
| Focuses on environmental issues and ecosystem/human interaction. Download selected tables and graphs from their many publications as well as spatial data for use with GIS. |
Lists of International Sites
Data from Developing Countries| Links to sources of household surveys, macro times series, and national statistical offices in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. |
Demographic, Population, and Family Planning
| A list of links to national and nongovernmental statistical and demographic agencies. maintained by the UN Populati |