The Census Data application programming interface, or API, is a data service that allows software developers and other data users to publicly access Census data in a standardized way.  It is an efficient way to request data directly from the Census Bureau, and the standardization across multiple data sets allows you to access data in the same way regardless of the survey or the data.

The Census Data API has hundreds of data sets available for public use. You can browse the available data sets in the Discovery Tool. They include a wide variety of programs, including the Decennial Census, American Community Survey, Population Estimates, Economic Census, and more.

To get started with using the Census Data API, visit our Developers page to browse the available APIs, and API User Guide.

Guidance for using the Census API, including step by step directions, webinars, and videos, can be found on our API Resource page.

You can access the Developer’s Forum on Slack at uscensusbureau.slack.com.