This list is not comprehensive—there are myriad sources of data you can get through your Berkeley affiliation as well as open data, government and otherwise!
As you look for a dataset to use, be sure to check out the UC Berkeley Library’s research guides, in particular: Economics, Population, Getting Started with the US Census, US Data and Statistical Sources, and GIS (Geographic Information Systems), for more in-depth information. You can also ask your librarian!
General data resources:
- Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research The place to start, ICPSR is the largest social science data archive in the US. This consortium (of which Berkeley is a member) acquires and preserves social science data from 130 countries. Includes survey data, census records, election returns, economic data, and legislative records. Has some excellent help pages and tutorials, and its staff will consult with users.
- The General Social Survey presents US opinion since 1972 and can be analyzed online and The World Values Survey lets you explore human beliefs and values in 100 countries, online.
- Harvard Dataverse. A Dataverse is an open source web application to share, preserve, cite, explore and analyze research data. Harvard's is the first and sort of like "dataverse central," with thousands of data sets across all academic fields but primarily in the social sciences.
- Statistics Sources. Directory to thousands of sources of quantitative information for U.S. and international statistical data
US Census Data:
- American Factfinder and Data.Census.Gov Download US Census Bureau data from the Decennial Census, the American Community Survey, the Economic Census, and more.
- Social Explorer Data and interactive thematic maps from the U.S. Census from 1790-present
- National Historical Geographic Information System contains summary tables and time series of population, housing, agriculture, and economic data, along with GIS-compatible boundary files, for years from 1790 through the present and for all levels of U.S. census geography
- Neighborhood Change Database. Contains US tract-level data from the 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010 decennial censuses with variables and tract boundaries that are consistently defined across census years with details such as population, household, and housing characteristics, income, poverty status, education level, employment, housing costs, immigration, and other variables.
- Bay Area Census Selected 1860-2010 Census data for the Bay Area, including counties, cities, and small areas.
- CensusScope An easy-to-use tool for investigating U.S. demographic trends, brought to you by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN) at the University of Michigan. With graphics and exportable trend data, CensusScope is designed for both generalists and specialists.
- Current Population Survey. Includes many supplemental surveys on various topics such as child support, tobacco, voting, computer use, identity theft.
- State Data Center Program The State Data Center (SDC) program is one of the Census Bureau's longest and most successful partnerships. The partnership was created to make data available locally.
International and Other Data Sets:
- Human Mortality Database. Detailed mortality and population data for researchers interested in the history of human longevity. From UC Berkeley and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research.
- UN Data. Wide range of economic, social, cultural, and demographic indicators for most countries and territories of the world. The UN Population Division has datasets on Fertility and Contraception, Marriage and Divorce, Cross-country migration and rural-to-urban migration.
- UN Demographic Yearbook System. Statistics on population, births, deaths, marriage and divorce annually as well as economic activity, educational attainment, housing, ethnicity, language, and foreign-born and foreign populations by country from 1948.
- Demographic and Health Surveys Nationally-representative household surveys for individual countries. Includes data for a wide range of monitoring and impact evaluation indicators in the areas of population, health, and nutrition.
- World Population Data from the Population Reference Bureau
Statistics (aggregated, analyzed, and summarized data):
- Statistical Abstract of the United States (ProQuest) A comprehensive collection of statistics on the social, political, and economic conditions of the United States, 1878 to present.
- Statista has statistics on many topics in many countries, in an easy-to-use interface
- Statistical Abstracts of the World has health, population, and culture stats for many countries.
- Data Planet contains a wide variety of economic, social, political, and marketing indicators statistics. It allows for customization of the data by selecting subjects, and the ability to view your data in side-by-side tables, charts and maps. Also available to search using a ready reference interface..
- World Development Indicators has population, birth and death, and fertility statistics for 207 countries
- Statistics Sources. Directory to thousands of sources of quantitative information for U.S. and international statistical data
- Immigration Statistics (US Dept. of Homeland Security) Statistics about foreign nationals who enter or attempt to enter the United States for temporary or permanent residence through a variety of status categories, as well as subsequent actions such as apprehension, removal, or naturalization.
- Migration Data Hub Showcases the most current national and state-level demographic, social, and economic facts about immigrants to the United States; as well as provides global migration statistics and maps.
