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Public Policy & Administration

Find Statistics.

The following statistical sources, some are listed more than once. Other good statistical guides are the Datasets , Research Guide on Statistics , Research Guide on Social Work Statistics , and Find Statistics Databases .

  Federal Government Statistics .            State Government Statistics .             County/City Government Statistics .


Federal Government Statistics

Many of the major statistics gathered from the federal government are from Census counts. Population is done every 10 years while economic and government counts are done every 5 years.

American Factfinder by the U.S. Department of Census provides demographic tables and maps for the Country, States, Counties, Cities, Towns and American Indian reservations.

Census of Government by the U.S. Department of Census provides data on federal government budget, spending, federal employee payroll and retirement, and tax collections. Census has the Decennial Census back to 1790, and the Statistical Abstracts of government statistics on social and economic conditions in the U.S., back to colonial times to present .

Data, Government and Geographic Information Service by University of California, San Diego provides links to many data sets listed here but also includes things like California Tobacco survey, General social survey (questions on bankruptcy, jobs, unions, leisure, etc.). Note many sets are only available to UCSD students but some we own via our own Datasets .

Internet Data Sources for Social Scientists by Cornell University links to data sets available from various universities and organizations. TIP: You might be required to register at the site to use their data.

Statistical Resources on the Web: Demographics and Housing by University of Michigan provides an extensive annotated list of sites for demographics, employment, occupation, race, school districts, homeless, housing, maps, marital status or wealth to name a few. Note some sites are only available to University of Michigan students and most are related to U.S. Census materials.

StatUSA by the U.S. Department of Commerce is a collection of economic and trade statistics. Time series data is included for economic indicators and the like.

 

State Government Statistics.

Many of the statistics gathered for California are either available from the federal government or organizations that have gathered California data and made it available to the public.

California Department of Finance by California Department of Finance provides California data used in state planning and budgeting.

California Local Government Finance Almanac by Michael Coleman of Coleman Advisory Services.  Data, statistics, analyses, and articles on California city and county finance.

California Statistical Abstracts by California Department of Finance. This compilation of data on California economics, social and physical aspects. Data is available in both excel and .pdf format.

Census of Government by the U.S. Department of Census provides data on various state finance, taxation, payroll, retirement and library statistics.

Population Estimates for Metropolitan Areas by the U.S. Department of Census provides time series data that estimates population growth in metropolitan areas annually since the 1990 census.

Population Estimates for Counties by the U.S. Department of Census provides time series of birth, death and migration data for the counties.

Rand California by Rand Corporation provides time series statistics dealing with business, education, community, health, government finance and public opinions only on California.

Regional Economic Accounts by Bureau of Economic Analysis provides state local income, gross state product and other economic indicators. The data is available either .pdf with graphs and charts or .xls for study.

State and Local Data by U. S. Bureau of Labor is data dealing with employment, unemployment and wages. Note many of the data sets have ten years of time series.

State and Local Government Statistical Resources on the Web by University of Michigan provides annotated links to many state financial or budget data. Note some sites are only available to University of Michigan students.

State and Metropolitan Quick Facts by U.S. Department of Census is a a collection of statistics basic demographic, retail and housing data.

State Government Tax Collections by U.S. Department of Census provides a summary of taxes collected by state for up to 25 tax categories. These tables and data files details the tax collections by type of tax imposed and collected by state governments.

State Health Facts by Kaiser Family Foundation. Statistics from each of the 50 states to help in developing health policy. Data could be bar graphs, tables or color-coded maps.

 

City/County Government Statistics

Many of the statistics gathered at this level are by the U.S. Department of Census or a local/regional economics think tank.

Southern California Regional Data by the Southern California Association of Governments. This gives data from airports, highways/roads, housing and planning.  There are GIS mapping capabilities too.

Community Information by Zip Code by CSU Northridge Librarian Mary Finley. This list of web sites for finding data by zip code and population, education, health, environment, business or politics.

Los Angeles County/City Statistics and Facts by CSU Northridge Librarian Mary Finley. This list web links for all types of agencies in L.A. that provide statistics. Data like LAX airport, community planning, school crime, etc.

Orange County Finance and Budget by County of Orange (CA). This site provides data on the counties budget, community indicators, facts and figures on population by city, Orange county sales tax, appropriations, etc. There are reports on public finance and comparisons for Orange County against other counties in California.

Population Estimates for Cities and Towns by U.S. Department of Census provides time series estimates of population growth in cities and towns annually since the 1990 census.

Population Estimates for Metropolitan Areas by U.S. Department of Census provides time series estimates of population growth in metropolitan areas annually since the 1990 census.

Rand California by Rand Corporation provides time series statistics dealing with business, education, community, health, government finance and public opinions down to the country level.

San Fernando Valley Statistics and Facts by CSU Northridge Librarian Mary Finley. This list of web sites for finding statistics specific to the San Fernando Valley area (not a county or a city).

Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates by U.S. Department of Census provides updated estimates of income and poverty statistics for the administration of federal programs and the allocation of federal funds to local jurisdictions. They were developed for states, counties and school districts.

State of the Cities Data Systems by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). This set of data is based on the last four census and files mainly are related to housing.

USA Counties by U.S. Department of Census provides time series on many social and economic statistics on all 3,142 counties (sometimes school districts) in the United States; including local area unemployment figures, poverty estimates, housing, labor force data, etc.

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 Content maintained by Kelly Janousek