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Finding & Using U.S. Census Data

A guide for finding and ulilizing data from the U.S. Census

IPUMS-USA

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IPUMS-USA is a project dedicated to collecting and distributing
United States census data. Its goals are to:

  • Collect and preserve data and documentation
  • Harmonize data
  • Disseminate the data absolutely free!

Access IPUMS USA Data here!

 

What is Microdata?

In surveys and interviews, microdata is the information at the level of the individual respondent. Example: The U.S. Census collects age, address, educational levels and employment status for anyone who responded to the survey. We would typically look at summary statistics by certain geographic units of analysis such as: census tract, state, or county.

For obvious reasons, releasing the full microdata from a survey conducted by the U.S. Census would pose significant risks. However, in order to explore how one variable affects the other (education level vs. income).

Census Regional Data Centers

The Florida Research Data Center (FLRDC): The first RDC in Florida, and the 32nd in the nation. Support for this Center is provided by the FLRDC Consortium members: University of Florida, Florida State University, Moffit Cancer Center, and University of Central Florida. The FLRDC is located on UF’s East Campus and will provide a secure research environment to be used by qualified researchers with approved projects where they can analyze restricted data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and other federal statistical agencies. Researchers in Florida and beyond at universities, government agencies, and private institutions are invited to propose research in fields such as demography, population health, economics, and geographic and spatial analysis.

Atlanta Census Research Data Center (ARDC): Located at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, the Atlanta Research Data Center (ARDC) is a partnership between the U.S. Census Bureau and a consortium that includes Georgia State University, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Emory University, Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, Tulane University, Vanderbilt University, Auburn University, and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. The ARDC opened in 2011.

Federal Restricted Microdata

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