Library Guides: Social and Demographic Data Sources: Demographic, Economic & Public Opinion Data

Online Gateways to Data Sources

Data.gov
A gateway for U.S. federal government data, tools, and resources to conduct research, develop web and mobile applications, design data visualizations, and more.
Datahub.io
An open source site for hosting and managing datasets, including access to hosted data. Programming apps are also available.
FedStats
Links to data sites of over 100 federal agencies.

List of open data repositories
Links to data repositories in many disciplines, including the social sciences.

Statistical Insight
Abstracts and index to U.S. federal & state government publications, and to privately published & international and intergovernmental statistical sources from 1972.

Registry of Research Data Repositories (re3data)
Global registry of research data repositories from all academic disciplines.

Along with the ICPSR database (see the Online Gateways to Data Sources box), try these databases for public opinion data.

Gallup
Worldwide public opinion polls. Some Gallup data and products require a paid subscription.
On the Issues
Reports public opinion and political leaders' stands on critical issues, focusing on the 2012 U.S. elections.

American Community Survey
The U.S. Census Bureau's ongoing statistical survey that samples a small percentage of the population every year.

U.S. Census Data (formerly American FactFinder)
Uses Census data to display demographic and economic characteristics. Users may download data to Excel. Open to all users.

Bureau of Justice Statistics
This Bureau collects and disseminates information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government.

Sage Data
Sage Data, formerly Data Planet Statistical Datasets, provides access to data from billions of licensed and public domain datasets. Users can scan the contents of the collection, select subjects and variables of interest, and view data in side-by-side tables and charts. All of the data have been standardized and structured, and are described with up to 37 fields of metadata, including a controlled vocabulary.
Note: See our Data Planet guide for more information.

Historical Census Data Browser
Data describing the people and economy of the U.S. for each state and county from 1790 to 1960.
How Was Life?: Global Well-being since 1820
This study presents evidence on long-term trends in global well-being since 1820 for 25 major countries and 8 regions in the world, covering more than 80% of the world’s population. This ebook contains downloadable tables and graphs.
National Center for Education Statistics
NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations.
National Center for Health Statistics
The NCHS is the principal health statistics agency in the United States.
Nevada Center for Surveys, Evaluation, and Statistics
Statistical division of UNR's Division of Health Sciences. The Center assists with survey design, statistical analysis, data management and programming.
Nevada State Demographer
Open to all users. Nevada population estimates and projections are available here.

Statistical Abstract of the United States
A comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States. This resource includes monthly updates to tables, image and spreadsheet versions of all current and historical tables, along with links to provider sites.
Note: Previously published by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Publications from the National Center for Health Statistics for the period 1898-2004
A wealth of U.S. data on births, deaths, marriages, and divorces is on this DVD.
United Nations. World Population Review
Source for current population of countries and regions.
U.S. Census Publications
Starting point for recent Census releases and publications by category, such as population & housing, agriculture, economic censuses, & more.
US Census. International Data Base
This site creates custom population tables for countries.
Vital Statistics of the United States
Beinning in 1890, annual reports that present detailed vital statistics data, including natality, mortality, marriage and divorce.

Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Open to all users. Monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services.

IMF Data
Provides comprehensive access to International financial statistics (IFS), Balance of payments statistics (BOPS), Direction of trade statistics (DOTS), and Government finance statistics (GFS) databases. View and download predefined reports or build your own data reports using IMF (International Monetary Fund) data.

Nevada Regional Economic Analysis Project
Open to all users. Economic profiles for the state and counties, including personal income, employment, and industry performance. A good source for making comparisons between states or counties.
Nevada Workforce Informer
Open to all users. Statewide and local data on employment, unemployment, and occupational trends.
Producer Price Index (PPI)
Measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output.
U.S. Census: Economic & Statistical Programs
Censuses of construction, governments, foreign trade, manufacturing, mining, retail trade, services, and wholesale trade.
USDA Census of Agriculture
Detailed analysis of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them.
The World Economy
Volume 1: A Millennial Perspective;Volume 2: Historical Statistics (covering 1-2001, C.E.).