Demographic Statistics from the U.S. Census and other sources: Learn to Use American FactFinder

American FactFinder is an online tool to search and compile information from U.S. Census Data.  

The basic principle behind American FactFinder is simple: First pick the geographic areas you want to see in your results, then pick the data set that has the information you want.

Available datasets are listed under "Topic"

The most popular data sets in American Factfinder are:

• Decennial Census (2000, 2010)
• American Community Survey (2009-2014)

The Decennial Census and American Community Survey (ACS) give different numbers for the same geographic area because they use different methodologies to gather data. The Census form is given to everybody once every 10 years so the number represents an actual number of surveys returned; The ACS uses sampling to gather information every year so the data includes a margin of error, but the data is more up-to-date.

The "Clear all Selections" button is important! American FactFinder remembers everything you do until you clear the form. If you are getting results that look like nonsense, it is probably because you forgot to clear the form.