Government Information

General Sources

• Statistical Abstract of the United States (ProQuest database, 2013 to current)
• Statistical Abstract of the United States -- 1878-2012, issued by the U.S. Census Bureau 
• Data-Planet Statistical Datasets - note: spring 2023, now Sage Data
• Statista
• SimplyAnalytics - US demographics
• ProQuest Statistical Insight database is the most comprehensive source of federal statistics (since the early 1960's). But, mostly pdfs. The database also provides access to American Statistics Index (ASI), Statistical Reference Index (SRI), and Index to International Statistics (IIS).
• PolicyMap - US.
• Data.gov - more than 250,000 datasets from U.S. federal agencies, plus some city and state agencies.
• GovInfo -  new GPO portal (replacing FDsys)  
• Historical Statistics of the U.S Millennial Edition (library subscription) 
• Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. Bureau of the Census Part 1   and Part 2,

• Historical Statistics of the United States, 1789-1945

            Agriculture

• NAL Reports, studies and statistics http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=4&tax_level=2&tax_subject=268&topic_id=1301
• National Agriculture Statistics Service http://www.nass.usda.gov/
• Agricultural Statistics Annual http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Ag_Statistics/index.asp
• National Agricultural Library (NAL) Agricola database http://agricola.nal.usda.gov/

        Crime

• Uniform Crime Reports http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm
• Federal Bureau of Investigation Reports & Publications http://www.fbi.gov/publications.htm
• Bureau of Justice Statistics http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/
• National Criminal Justice Reference Service http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/AbstractDB/AbstractDBSearch.aspx

 

• FEMA, terrorism http://www.fema.gov/hazard/terrorism/index.shtm  
• Homeland Security publications http://www.dhs.gov/files/publications/counterterrorism.shtm

 

·         Defense/Military

o   Department of Defense facts and statistics http://www.defenselink.mil/sites/f.html

o   Department of Defense publications http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/ http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/archive.html

o   National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics (NCVAS) http://www1.va.gov/vetdata/

o   DTIC Public Technical Reports http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/search/tr/str/guided-tr.html

 

·         Disasters

• Water Resources of Georgia (including flooding) http://ga.water.usgs.gov/
• FEMA library http://www.fema.gov/library/index.jsp.  FEMA Press Resources and Disaster information http://www.fema.gov/ 

·         Economic Conditions

• Bureau of Labor Statistics http://www.bls.gov/ 

–     Latest Numbers – Consumer Price Index (CPI), Unemployment Rate…

–     Subject areas – Inflation & Prices, Unemployment, Employment, Pay & Benefits

–     Featured Publications

§  Occupational Outlook Handbook

§  Monthly Labor Review

• FRED® (Federal Reserve Economic Data) http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/

–     Categories

§  Banking

§  Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Ø  Gives Notes: Understanding the CPI – View Data (graph is default)

Ø  Time series

§  Exchange Rates

§  Employment & Population

§  Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Components

§  Interest Rates

§  Producer Price Indexes (PPI)

§  U.S. Trade and International Tranactions

§  U.S. Financial Data

§  Regional Data

 

• Beige Book, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis http://www.minneapolisfed.org/bb/

–     "Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District" report

–     Very brief

–     National Summary, Atlanta Sixth District (9/9/09), etc.

o   Federal Reserve http://www.federalreserve.gov/

–     Economic Research & Data

§  Statistical Releases and Historical Data

Ø  Consumer Credit

Ø  Foreign Exchange Rates

Ø  Flow of Funds Accounts of the United States

Ø  Debt growth

Ø  Mortgage Debt Outstanding

o   Survey of Current Business http://www.bea.gov/scb/index.htm

–     Bureau of Economic Analysis

–     Search by Date http://www.bea.gov/scb/date_guide.asp  (1994 to current)

–     GDP and Other Major NIPA (national income & product accounts) Series (1929 to current)

•   Economic Indicators, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/    (1995 to current; 1948 to current via FRASER, from the St. Louis Federal Reserve, at: http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/  )

–     Monthly; prepared by the Council of Economic Advisers for the Joint Economic Committee

–     Consumer Price Index

–     Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

–     Unemployment Rates

–     New Construction

–     Industrial Production

–     Federal Finance

§  Federal Receipts, Outlays, and Debt

§  Interest Rates and Bond Yields

Ø  Prime Rate

Ø  Federal Funds Rate

§  Federal Receipts by Source and Outlays by Function

Ø  National Defense

Ø  Health

Ø  Medicare

 

•   Govinfo, new GPO portal - https://www.govinfo.gov/ 

–     Budget of the United States Government

–     Economic Indicators

• Recovery.gov Track the Money. Access to data related to Recovery Act spending and allows for the reporting of potential fraud, waste, and abuse. http://www.recovery.gov/

 

·         Education

•   National Center for Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/

o   Digest of Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/

o   NCES annual reports http://nces.ed.gov/annuals/

o   U.S. Census education statistics http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/education.html

o   Department of Education Research & Statistics http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/landing.jhtml

o   National Science Foundation Division of Science Resources Statistics Publications and Data http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/showpub.cfm?TopID=2

o   ERIC, Educational Resources Information Center database http://www.eric.ed.gov/

·         Energy

 

•   Energy Information Administration: Official Energy Statistics from the U.S. Government http://www.eia.doe.gov/
• Annual Energy Outlook 2009 http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/index.html
•   Monthly Energy Review http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/mer/contents.html?featureclicked=3&

-   Energy Sources http://www.eia.doe.gov/

§  Coal, Electricity, Natural Gas, Nuclear, Petroleum, Renewable & Alternative Fuels

o   Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Publication & Product Library http://www1.eere.energy.gov/library/

o   National Renewable Energy Laboratory Publications http://www.nrel.gov/applying_technologies/publications.html

o   Energy Citations Database  http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/ ; ETDE World Energy Base http://www.ornl.gov/info/library/etdeweb.htm

 

·        Environment

 

• AirNow  http://airnow.gov/

-   Air pollution data, ozone forecasting, and more for specific metro areas

• National Climatic Data Center (NOAA). Data and products; climate info http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html
• Local climatological data by state http://www7.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/lcd/lcd.html
• U.S. Geological Survey publications http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ExploreNOAA; economic statistics http://www.noaa.gov/sitemap.html
• USGS Water Data Discovery http://water.usgs.gov/data 
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) http://www.epa.gov/

–     National Environmental Publications Internet Site (NEPIS) http://www.epa.gov/nscep/

–     EPA publications http://www.epa.gov/epahome/publications.htm

–     Climate Change, EPA http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/index.html

–     Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center. 2003. Trends Online: A Compendium of Data on Global Change. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, DOEH  http://cdiac.ornl.gov/trends/trends.htmH 

–     Learn the issues, EPA http://www.epa.gov/epahome/learn.htm

o   Pollution (water, air, wastes)

• Environmental Quality Statistics, NEPAnet http://www.nepa.gov/nepa/reports/statistics/
• NASA Technical Reports Server http://ntrs.larc.nasa.gov/search.jsp

 

·         Finance and Banking

• U.S. Credit Conditions, Federal Reserve Bank of New York http://data.newyorkfed.org/creditconditions/

–     Auto Loans, Bank Cards, Mortgages, Student Loans

–     Maps

–     The Foreclosure Research Center

§  Snapshot of Mortgage Conditions with an Emphasis on Subprime Mortgage Performance (21 pages 8/08)

§  Synopses of Selected Research on Housing, Mortgages and Foreclosures (90 pages 9/08)

 

·         Georgia and Atlanta Business

 

• Selig Center for Economic Growth http://www.terry.uga.edu/selig/

–     Georgia Statistical Abstract (biennial)

–     Georgia Business and Economic Conditions (quarterly; online only now)

–     Georgia Economic Outlook (annual)

–     Georgia Housing Permits (annual)

–     Data (left column)

§  Housing  - Housing Units Authorized by Building Permits (Estimates with Imputation New Residential Construction).  Monthly and Annual

• Georgia Statistical System - http://www.georgiastats.uga.edu/    Detailed demographic profiles of counties; county-by-county analysis ; city population (2000; and estimates for 2005 and 2008). The profiles from Georgia County Guide. Library has 1981-85, 1987-99, and 2004 (F284.3.G46x). From UGA's Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development. 

• ·         Health and Vital Statistics

  • Health Insurance Coverage

  ü  FastStats -  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/FASTATS/hinsure.htm

  -   U.S. Census Bureau -- Health Insurance. See box "Latest Health Insurance Data" http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/hlthins.html

  • Health Insurance

  ­   National Center for Health Statistics, CDC http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/

  §  Diseases and Conditions; Publications

  -   Health Statistics, MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/healthstatistics.html

  ­   Data & Statistics, CDC http://www.cdc.gov/datastatistics/

  ­   National Vital Statistics System, CDC http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss.htm

   ·         Industry

  • Economic Census, U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/  (2002 data)

      Issued every 5 years; for preliminary 2007 data see http://www.census.gov/econ/census07/

  • County Business Patterns, U.S. Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/index.html

      Includes also state, metro, and zip code data.  Online from 1993 (no longer issued in print)

  • Other Economic Programs, Guide to Data Sources, U.S. Census Bureau   http://www.census.gov/econ/other_econ.html 

  Links to latest releases of retail trade, wholesale trade, international trade statistics, etc.

    ·      International Statistics

  • STAT-USA (ISD desk). Includes National Trade Data Bank
  • USA Trade Online (ISD desk)
  • Exchange rates http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/
  • CIA World Factbook https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/
  • Background Notes (2001-2012, and links to 1990-2000) : http://www.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/index.htm
  • Export.gov http://export.gov/

   ·         Population and Demographics

  • Social Explorer -  http://gtsearch.library.gatech.edu/search/?base=databases&action=proxy&database=GLL30167

    Commercial database, with easier interface than official Census website. Library has 1 seat license.

    Visitors may use this in Library.

   

  • American FactFinder (population, housing, economic, and geographic data) http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml

  o   American Community Survey (ongoing survey) http://www.census.gov/acs/www/

  o   U.S. Census Bureau  http://www.census.gov/

  o   Population Estimates http://www.census.gov/popest/estimates.html

  o   Poverty http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty.html

   ·         Real Estate and Construction

  • Selig Center for Economic Growth http://www.terry.uga.edu/selig/

  –     Data (left column)

  §  Housing  - Housing Units Authorized by Building Permits (Estimates with Imputation New Residential Construction).  Monthly and Annual

  • American Housing Survey http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/ahs/ahs.html

  –     National Data (2007)

  §  Mortgage characteristics; value; journey to work

  • House Price Index, Federal Housing Finance Agency http://www.fhfa.gov/Default.aspx?Page=14

  ·         Recreation

  o   ITA Office of Travel & Tourism Industries research program/statistics   

         http://tinet.ita.doc.gov/research/index.html

  • National Park Service Public Use Statistics Office http://www.nature.nps.gov/stats/

  ·         Transportation

  •   RITA Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) http://www.bts.gov/

  –     Data & Statistics

  –     Publications

  o   Federal Aviation Administration data and research http://www.faa.gov/data_research/

  o   Federal Highway Administration publications and statistics http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pubstats.html http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policy/ohpi/hss/hsspubs.cfm

  o   Aviation Accident Statistics http://www.ntsb.gov/aviation/stats.htm

  o   Transportation Energy Data Book http://cta.ornl.gov/data/Index.shtml

  o   Transportation Research Information Service (TRIS Online) http://trisonline.bts.gov/sundev/search.cfm

   

   

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  This is a revised and expanded version of the handout distributed at our 2009 COMO "Finding Statistics Fast" presentation. 

  Acknowledgment

  Selected subject headings listed in the research guides at UCLA and the University of Michigan were used for our presentation and handout.

   

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  Patricia Kenly and Bette Finn

  Georgia Tech Library & Information Center

  November 2009, updated 2020