Data.census.gov Newsletter – February 2023

Learn about the latest system updates, data releases, and educational opportunities for data.census.gov.

Latest System Updates

In January, we released new updates to improve your experience on data.census.gov. With this release, you will now see:

• New buttons that allow you to share data.census.gov content directly via social media
• Enhanced summary text for profiles on the All Results page

• Continued search engine enhancements
• Fixes to 5 defects

The primary focus of this release is the new buttons that allows you to share data.census.gov content directly via social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) and email. This feature allows you to share any table, map, or profile at the click of a button.

You may also share an individual chart or population pyramid within a profile.

We applied this feature to all pre-existing share buttons, and we also added the new share buttons to our maps and profiles with this update.

We’ve also enhanced summary text for profiles on the All Results page. With this update, we added highlighted data directly to the All Results page. This provides popular statistics at-a-glance and gives you more detail about the type of information you can explore by opening the profile.

Behind the scenes we’ve made technical improvements to help external search engines better understand and link to data.census.gov content, reduce load times for long lists, and support our ability to provide simpler hierarchical displays in the future.

Latest Data Releases

New data releases:

• December 2022 Current Population Survey Basic Monthly – 1/12
• 2020 American Community Survey 5-Year Migration Flows – 1/26
• 2022 Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) - Earnings – 1/26
• 2022 Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes (PSEO) - Flows – 1/26
• 2021 ACS 5-Year Estimates Public Use Microdata Sample – 1/26
• 2021 ACS 5-Year Estimates Puerto Rico Public Use Microdata Sample – 1/26
• September 2021 CPS Volunteering and Civic Life Supplement – 1/26

Featured Question

Why am I getting the message “Data Not Available” or “System Error”?

You can often reload the page or click between different tables to resolve these messages. If the message continues, you are likely receiving it for one of these reasons:

The Table is Not Available for the Geography You Selected

• The table was not produced for your geographic summary level.
• Minimum population thresholds have not been met.
• The table is suppressed or filtered for your specific geography.

Technical Issues

• Slow network connection
• A Census Bureau system issue

If you are unsure why you are receiving the message, please email your search steps and URL from data.census.gov to census.data@census.gov. For more guidance on data availability and using data.census.gov, the Census API, and Microdata Access, visit our Resources page.

Help us spread the word.

Share this on social media or forward it to a friend.

Featured Video Tutorial:

Building a Custom Table Using Microdata Access (MDAT)

Upcoming Webinar:

Exploring Economic Data on data.census.gov

If you've been curious to learn more about economic data available in data.census.gov, we highly recommend you join this webinar. In this session, you will learn how to access business data from various Census Economic Surveys and programs on our data platform, including how to select filters for best results, customizing table views, creating maps to visualize business data, and more. Our presenter will perform live demonstrations and provide you with helpful resources to help you achieve your data needs.

New Workshop:

Basics of Using the Census API in data.census.gov

Beginning in February 2023, we are launching our new API Workshop!

In this hands-on class you’ll learn the basics of using the Census API without the need for third-party software or programming knowledge. We'll start by explaining what is the API. Then we will walk through how to create custom API queries using just your internet browser, how to edit those queries using individual data variables and geographies, as well as how to save the retrieved data.

More Upcoming Workshops: 

These participatory classes walk you through examples that cover the basics of using data.census.gov.

Time is allotted throughout the training for questions, and participation is strongly encouraged. No prior knowledge of using data.census.gov is required for these classes.

Basics of Using the Microdata Access Tool in data.census.gov

Making the Most of Mapping in data.census.gov

Basics of Finding Data on data.census.gov

Advanced Usage of data.census.gov

Coming Soon

In future updates to data.census.gov, Microdata Access and the Census Data API, we are working toward:

• Enhanced toolbar functionality
• Improved variable access to mapping feature
• Redesigned data discovery through new API structure
• Continued search enhancements
• Defect fixes

About data.census.gov

Data.census.gov is the primary platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau. We continuously update data.census.gov with new data from our most popular survey and programs, as well as system enhancements to improve your experience on the platform.

We’re here to help with your data needs:

• Visit our data.census.gov Resources page for educational materials
• Learn about Microdata Access and the Census Data API
• Request a data.census.gov training: ced.cedsci.outreach@census.gov
• Request a training for your local area: census.askdata@census.gov
• Ask your questions: census.data@census.gov

Provide Feedback on data.census.gov

Your suggestions help determine future improvements we implement to make data.census.gov work better for you!