The U.S. Census Bureau and its Statistics in Schools program offer a number of tools that students can use to access data. Students can find city- or state-specific information about their birthplace, current place of residence, or ideal future hometown, for example. Using these tools, students and teachers can see data on housing, population, age, sex, race, ethnicity, geographic location, and much more. To see a complete list of data access tools offered by the Census Bureau, visit www.census.gov/data/data-tools.html. To download student activities that use data access tools, visit https://www.census.gov/schools/resources/data-tools/teach-with-data-tools.html.
Best for elementary and middle school
QuickFacts is best for sixth grade and up
QuickFacts is an easy-to-use application that displays tables, maps, and charts of frequently requested statistics such as age, sex, race and ethnicity, and education. Facts are available for the nation, all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and all U.S. counties. Also included are cities and towns with populations of 5,000 or greater.
With This Tool, Students Can:
• Compare data for different geographies. They could, for example, compare the number of people who have a bachelor’s degree or higher in a large urban city like Chicago with the number in a small rural city like Sidney, Montana.
• See data in various formats, such as tables, maps, graphs, and dashboards.
Best for high school
Data.census.gov provides data on population, race, age, education, income, and businesses for the largest and smallest geographic entities including ZIP codes and neighborhoods. Data are available from the American Community Survey, Economic Census, Decennial Census, and other economic surveys and are easily accessible through a single-search bar or through drop-down filters.
With This Tool, Students Can:
• Narrow a search with hundreds of detailed categories, such as languages spoken at home, the number of grandparents living with children under the age of 18, vacant homes, or people with disabilities.
• Access data visualization profiles for states, counties, or cities and towns and see an overview of the area. Also included are the four top key statistics—population, median household income, poverty rates and employment rates—along with other data charts and maps for the selected area.
• Customize charts and maps that can be shared or exported.