By Jacob Schlessel
Every year, the United States Census Bureau conducts surveys to collect valuable data about the United States population regarding a wide range of topics, including but not limited to age, income, spending, race, ethnicity, location, and occupation. The data collected from these surveys is made publicly available at census.gov/data and can be downloaded for free with support for many different file types. There is significant potential to use this data to drive business development efforts, both on a national scale and a regional scale.
Raw datasets
The Census Bureau’s website offers a plethora of tools to derive insights from their surveys, with the most basic being a variety of raw datasets. Some of the data concerns topics such as health, research, and taxation, however businesses should focus on the datasets that describe population and economic trends. Under the “Population” tab, for example, one can download datasets that offer insight into immigration numbers, a breakdown of regional populations by specific characteristics, and housing trends in different regions of the country. The site also offers projections and estimates for future surveys based on historical data. Population data is extremely important in businesses development efforts because of one simple fact: it describes where people want to live.
Say LEGO is looking for the ideal location to open a new brick-and-mortar store. With the census data available, LEGO corporate strategists can quickly see which regions have observed growing populations and which regions have had a net decrease in population size over the past few years. Furthermore, LEGO can also analyze the characteristics of the people immigrating to or emigrating from a given region to further optimize their site selection, in this case by researching regions where more people are having kids. Population data is incredibly useful in finding regions that will maximize product exposure to target markets.
Similarly, economic data holds value in guiding businesses on strategy. The Census Bureau collects data on businesses and industries all over the country, gathering information about employment trends, profit, expenditures, manufacturing, and more. Analyzing this data can provide a detailed understanding of which industries are growing, which have plateaued, and which are shrinking. Individuals interested in starting a business or existing business owners looking to expand or shift their current customer base can use this data to evaluate new markets they wish to explore, focusing on those with the fastest growth rates in recent years. Industry trends can be subdivided into smaller regions like the Northeast or even the state of Connecticut, giving smaller businesses the opportunity to focus on local trends. Larger businesses may be more interested in data collected about the health of the national economy, which can be analyzed using metrics like new home sales, the national unemployment rate, and inflation.
Data tools
The Census Bureau also offers a number of data tools that can be applied in more technical settings. The website offers users access to the Census Bureau API (Application Programming Interface) which enables software developers and data analysts to seamlessly integrate the Bureau’s data into applications and data visualization software. For those with less experience integrating APIs into their workflow, the website provides a free course on the basics of calling an API and applying it in programs like Excel and R. Additionally, one can find over 80 videos posted on “tips-and-tricks” to get the most out of using the Bureau’s datasets and some common applications that business developers may find useful. For quick insights, the Bureau has some pre-made interactive maps to visualize trends and patterns on a national scale, with plenty of customizations available and tutorials to help get started.
The takeaway
Given that all these tools are freely available, it is worthwhile for businesses and economic developers to visit the Census Bureau’s website and see if there is anything available that allows them to incorporate more data into their decision making.