Statistical Resources

Federal, State, and Local Statistics Resources

• West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission (WMSRDC) Information and statistics on western Michigan, including Muskegon.
• Michigan Census Information
• Data Place "DataPlace aims to be your one-stop source for housing and demographic data about your community, your region, and the nation. The site not only assembles a variety of data sets from multiple sources, but it also provides tools and guides to assist you in analyzing, interpreting, and applying the data so you can make more informed decisions." (IRN)
• GCensus "gCensus is an effort to make geographic data freely and easily accessible to the public, without the need for expensive GIS software packages. With Google's excellent free mapping program Google Earth, you can use this site to visualize a wide variety of data best displayed on a map."
• Global Change Master Directory of Data Sets "The mission of the Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) is to enable the scientific community to discover and access Earth science data and services through distributed, integrated information technology systems. The GCMD offers authoring tools to achieve this mission, which conform to international standards. Tools are available to write, directly submit, and directly update metadata records." (FGI)
• Local Census "a plethora of statistical information about the United States of America and all of its cities, zip codes, and counties. LocalCensus.com also provides business listings from a wide variety of categories throughout most cities within the United States of America. Any business owner can simply log in after being verified and modify the content of their personal business listing web page. Customers can also post reviews regarding the quality of services the business provides."
• Measuring America: The Decennial Censuses from 1790 to 2000 [.pdf] (SR)
• National Center for Health Statistics
• American Factfinder -- Census Bureau [Java]. This is an easy to use "data access and dissemination system" from the Census Bureau.
• Pamphlets on Using American Factfinder
• Social Explorer provides easy access to demographic information about the United States. Some parts are subscription only.
• CensusToolsA collection of free Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to download for recording census data. (LII)
• _An Aging World: 2001_ [.pdf] "This new 190-page release from the Census Bureau and the National Institute of Aging (NIA) presents comparative data related to aging" (SR)
• Census 2000 Supplementary Survey (C2SS) (SR)
• Current Population Survey Table Creator "The CPS Table Creator gives you the ability to create customized tables from the Current Population Survey's Annual Social and Economic Supplement."
• Census Finder this is not a government site, but it does have lots of links to census information from the US and the UK. (RB)
• Census Atlas of the United States "This publication, based on the 2000 U.S. census, is "the first comprehensive atlas of population and housing produced by the Census Bureau since the 1920s. The Census Atlas is a large-format publication about 300 pages long and containing almost 800 maps. ... A variety of topics are covered in the Census Atlas, ranging from language and ancestry characteristics to housing patterns and the geographic distribution of the population." From the U.S. Census Bureau." (LII)
• Population Profile of the United States: 2000 "includes data from surveys conducted in the year 2000 and earlier, as well as some limited Census 2000 data." (SR)
• Agricultural Statistics from the 2002 Census of Agriculture (RB)
• Bureau of Justice Statistics The BJS publishes statistics on many aspects of crime and justice. Hackley PL gets many of the reports in paper form as well. (SR)
• Commerce Department Bureaus' Economics and Statistics Web Sites
• Economic Indicators [pdf]  "Both scholars and those with a penchant for statistics will want to bookmark this fine website created and maintained by the federal government. The site provides monthly compilations of economic indicators covering prices, wages, production, business activity, purchasing power, credit, money, and Federal finance. Visitors can use the search engine to type in their desired terms,
  or they can browse every month from January 1998 forward via a series of
  drop down tabs.  For those who might be looking for more specific data, the
  "Search Tips" feature is quite useful. The site also contains links to the
  Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research (FRASER), which
  contains economic indicators back to 1948. Overall, the site will be a real
  boon to those looking for high quality, accurate information regarding
  current and past economic trends and patterns in the United States. [KMG]"
• Census Links links to census reports from the US and other countries (RB)
• RSS Feeds, U.S. Bureau of the Census "The Census Bureau offers over 40 RSS feeds on general topics (e.g., "Latest Releases," "Tip Sheets") and specific topics ("Aging Population," "Poverty") as well as pocasts (check out "Statistical Abstract 2006")! RSS feeds allow you to easily keep track of content that may be updated frequently. The feeds provide headlines, link back to the source document, and provide brief description information." (FGI)
• First Census 2000 Results -- Resident Population and Apportionment Counts
• The Census 2000 Supplementary Survey (SR)
• United States Census 2000: Geographic Changes for Census 2000 + Glossary "changes related to the geographic entities for which Census 2000 provides data." (LII)
• ERSys.com lots of statistics, many still from the 1990 census, on cities and metropolitan areas. (LII)
• Digest of Education Statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics. (SR)
• Fedstats
(Search engine for government statistics and data)
• FRASER this site provides public access to content in the Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research (FRASER) service. The FRASER service, developed by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, provides scanned images of historical economic statistical publications, releases, and documents.
• InfoNation (United Nations)
• National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) produced and hosted by the Minnesota Population Center (MPC). "The NHGIS is a project to create and freely disseminate a database incorporating all available aggregate census information for the United States between 1790 and 2000."
• OFFSTATS: Official Statistics on the Web from the University of Auckland Library, New Zealand. (LII)
• US Census Bureau
• Historical Data on the Foreign-Born Population in the United States -- US Census Bureau
• Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1970 to 1990, For The United States, Regions, Divisions, and States
• Historical censuses and Statistical Abstracts from the US Census Bureau.
• Social Explorer "This site "provides easy access to demographic information about the United States, from 1940 to 2000," by featuring "thousands of maps and hundreds of reports with thousands of variables." Includes interactive census maps (showing population, age, race, occupation, and other factors) and related reports. Additional features are available for a fee." (LII)
• Federal, State, and Local Governments: State and Local Government Finances -- Census [Excel, .zip] from the Census Bureau
• Bureau of Labor Statistics
  • Geographic Profile of Employment and Unemployment, 1999 (SR)
• Fed Stats Good for subject specific data.
• United States Historical Census Data Browser Covers from 1790-1970
• Electronic Map Library An experimental geographic survey
• Tiger Mapping Services Pilot project from the U. S. Census Bureau, provides street level maps with census data.
• ERSYS (Earth Resource SYStem) this isn't a government site but it has lots of demographics. (SR)
• Population Reference Bureau Population information for the world.
• Basic Tables Dynamic Report Generator from the University of Missouri, based on the 1990 Census
• County and City Data Books 1988, 1994
• County and City Data Book 2007
• State Master "a unique statistical database which allows you to research and compare a multitude of different data on US states. We have compiled information from various primary sources such as the US Census Bureau, the FBI, and the National Center for Educational Statistics. More than just a mere collection of various data, StateMaster goes beyond the numbers to provide you with visualization technology like pie charts, maps, graphs and scatterplots. We also have thousands of map and flag images, state profiles, and correlations."
• University of Michigan Documents Center a comprehensive bibliography of links.
• Statistical Abstract Home Page many tables are available as Excel worksheets.
• US Census Bureau: 2001 Statistical Abstract of the United States [.pdf] 1300 pages long. Requires Adobe Acrobat Readerto use. (SR)
• Statistical Abstract of the United States--1996
  Need Adobe Acrobat Readerto use
• National rankings of the revised U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas based on the latest official population estimates for 2002 and shows the Census 2000 population and percent change in population between 2000 and 2002.
• Transportation Statistics Intermodal transportation database.
• World Population Profile: 1998 [.pdf, 167p., .WK1, .zip] from the US Census
• Nation Master "an excellent resource for finding out any number of current details about just about any country in the world." (SR)
• UNESCO Institute for Statistics [pdf] "designed to meet both the needs of UNESCO Member States and to provide the international community with a wide range of statistical information in order to "analyze the efficiency and effectiveness of their programmes and to inform their policy decisions." (SR)
• Vital Stats "a collection of vital statistics products including tables, data files, and reports that allow users to access and examine vital statistics and population data interactively." (RT)