Public Data Tools
How to actually use the free federal datasets — Census, BLS, the FBI Crime Data Explorer, EIA — to answer a question about a specific place.
- Public Data Tools Who Actually Lives Here: Four Census Tables to Pull A listing describes a neighborhood. data.census.gov measures it. Four table IDs, the geography mistake almost everyone makes, and what is late in 2026.
- Public Data Tools Crime Data Without the Panic: Using the FBI's Explorer A low crime rate is sometimes just a low reporting rate. Three checks on the FBI's Crime Data Explorer before you cut a town from your shortlist.