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URBAN PLANNING

Statistics

U.S. Census Materials available online 

The 1990 United States Census of Population and Housing was the first census in which data was made available online by the U.S. Census Bureau. Both the 1990 Census and Census 2000  provide online access to data and maps at the national, state, county, MSA, tract, and block level.

American FactFinder (1990-present) -- the Census Bureau's main interface for retrieving demographic data. Currently provides data and maps from the 1990 and 2000 Census, as well as from the American Community Survey.

American FactFinder Help -- American Factfinder can get complicated to use. This site includes helpful tutorials.

Decennial Census -- this site provides links to a wide variety of census information, including selected historical information.

American Community Survey -- homepage of the ACS, includes good explanations of the ACS program

Population Estimates -- population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau

Demographic Data from the State of Washington

The Office of Financial Management

The Office of Financial Management (OFM) is the agency of the Washington State government that has responsibility for collecting demographic and economic information on Washington State and its citizens. OFM is also the agency responsible for the State's annual population estimates and population forecasts.

Office of Financial Management home page -- information about OFM, as well as sections on population data, state-level economic data, and state government funding.

Population -- gateway to OFM's population data. Also accessible from the OFM home page.

Forecast of the State Population -- OFM's population forecasts. Also accessible from the OFM Population page.

Research & Data -- gateway to economic and WA State fiscal data. Types of data include household income, labor force measures, and state spending on K-12 education. Also accessible from the OFM home page.

The Department of Health

The Washington State Department of Health, Center for Health Statistics collects and provides access to a variety of mortality and morbidity data. agency of the Washington State government that has responsibility for collecting demographic and economic information on Washington State and its citizens. OFM is also the agency responsible for the State's annual population estimates and population forecasts.

Health Data -- gateway to the DOH's collection of data on birth rates, death rates, environmental health, chronic and infectious disease, etc.

Employment and Earnings Data

County Business Patterns

County Business Patterns is an annual report conducted by the Census Bureau on the state of business in America. Topics include the number of business establishments, the number of employees, and payroll data. Data is available to the county level and is broken down by NAICS code (1998-present) or SIC code (pre-1998).

County Business Patterns primarily contains information on the private sector, and is not a good source of information on Government, Farm, or Nonemployer (owner-operator) employment.

County Business Patterns (1993-Present) -- from the Census Bureau, provides annual data on the number of businesses, employees, etc., by industry as classified by NAICS or SIC code. Data available to the county level.

Geostat Center's County Business Patterns (1977-2001) -- Historical data from County Business Patterns.

Country Business Patterns is also available at the JFK Library

CBP on CD (1986-2003)

CBP in Print (1953-1962) and (1967-1997)

Nonemployer Data

Many businesses are owner-operator operations and do not have employees. Such businesses are not covered by County Business Patterns, but are still counted by the Census Bureau.

Nonemployer Statistics (1997-Present) -- from the Census Bureau. Covers the number of nonemployer businesses and earnings down to the county level, by industry.

Statistics about Business Size -- from the Census Bureau. Data about small business.

Agriculture Employment and Earnings

Farm employment data is often calculated and reported separately from other employment and earnings data. The following are resources for this type of information:

Regional Economic Accounts (1969-present) -- from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Data down to the county level.

See table CA25 for data on Farm Employment

See table CA45 for data on Farm Income and Expenses

USDA Economic Research Service - Farm Employment -- annual reports by State on agriculture statistics.

Public Employee Data

Spokane County Profile (2007) -- from the Washington State Data Book. County-level data on employment and wages paid, classified by industry, including Government.

The Washington State Data Book is published every other year and is available in the JFK Library Special Collections (1981-1985), (1987-1989), and (1991-2007).

Federal, State, and Local Governments -- from the U.S. Census Bureau. Employment and payroll data on government at all levels. Data is only reported at the state level.

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2001-present) -- from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Annual data available at the county level for Spokane Co.

Statistical Agencies for Economic Data

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)-- statistical arm of the Department of Labor. Portal for finding inflation, consumer spending, wages, employment figures, etc.

Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) -- part of the Department of Commerce, this agency calculates Gross Domestic Product (GDP), personal income, and other national assets.

Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) -- a large database of wide-ranging macroeconomic economic time series data, including regional data, from the Federal Reserve Board of St. Louis; they also offer historical economic statistical publications via FRASER. Some of the data in FRED is repackaged from the BLS and BEA.

created by Justin Otto

last updated 10/08/09