Research Guides: CITY 214: Philadelphia Mosaic (Tri-Co in Philly): Census Data

Census vs. American Community Survey

Beginning in 2010, the American Community Survey (ACS) replaced the Decennial Census for collecting detailed demographic information (age, sex, race, Hispanic or Latino origin, household relationships, housing tenure (owner- and renter-occupied housing units). The US Census no longer includes information on education, income and poverty, transportation, and other topics. Those data are now available from the ACS instead. The ACS is conducted annually to approximately 3.5 million addresses and documents social, economic, demographic and housing characteristics.

All census data is available at data.census.gov. American Fact Finder is longer updated as of June 2019.

For data from the Decennial census and the ACS, the easiest place to start is Social Explorer or PolicyMap.

When in doubt, you can always ask a librarian for help.

Census information and Mapping Tools

Census Bureau
Provides population, housing, economic and geographic data from the latest Decennial Census, the Economic Censuses and Surveys, and the American Community Survey.

Social Explorer
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Offers access to reports and interactive maps for the U.S. Census (1790-present), World Development Indicators (1960-2013), and Eurostat (European Union data), among others. A project of Queens College, sponsored by the New York Times and the National Science Foundation.
PolicyMap
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
PolicyMap is an online data and mapping application that gives access to over 15,000 indicators related to demographics, housing, crime, mortgages, health, jobs and more. Data is available at all common geographies (address, block group, census tract, zip code, county, city, state, MSA) as well as unique geographies like school districts and political boundaries.

----------------------------

Historical Statistics of the United States
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Contains more than 37,000 annual time series of quantitative historical information covering population, work and welfare, economic structure and performance, governance, and international relations. Covers the colonial period to the present.
Statistical Abstract of the United States
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
The ProQuest Statistical Abstract of the United States is the authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States. (2013-Present)

Statistical Abstract of the U.S. Series (1878-2012)
Archived editions of the Statistical Abstract of the U.S. up to 2012 are available via the website of the U.S. Census Bureau.