U.S. Census Bureau releases API

The Census API, which was in the works for a while, was finally made publicly available yesterday (news release).

I’ve heard the DC dating scene is tough for single women… But especially for centenarians!

So far, two datasets are accessible:

  • the 2010 Census Summary File 1, providing counts down to the tract and block levels
  • the 2006-2010 American Community Survey five-year estimates, providing estimates down to the tract and block-group levels (but not all the way down to blocks)

The developers page provides more information and showcases a couple of the first few apps using the API so far, including one by Cornell’s Jan Vink (whose online poverty maps I’ve mentioned before).

For a handy list of the other government agencies with APIs and developers pages, check out the FCC’s developers page.