UWM Libraries Research and Course Guides: Social Welfare Research Resources: Find Statistics & Data

Searching for Data

Before you start your search consider:

What is your research question? What type of data or statistical information do you need?
Who or what organizations are also interested in your research question? Who would create or manage that information? What data sources have been used to answer topics related to the same or similar research questions (for example, those found in literature reviews)
What geographical location does your data need to cover? National, state, county, municipality, census tract, etc?
How is the data collected? What is the methodology or unit of analysis?
When was the data collected? What is the time period you want to investigate? How frequently is the data collected?

Find Datasets

Sage Data
Provides access to a wide variety of economic, social, and political indicators including data sets from the U.S. government, the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, the OECD, Eurostat, the United Nations, the world's stock exchanges, and Zillow. Offers customized graphing and mapping.
Social Explorer
Interactive tool that combines modern and historical US census and demographic data with an intuitive map interface, 1790 to present.

Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR)
Archive of online original research data on social science topics. Create your own MyData personal account.
UWM is a member - contact is Dr. Lex Renda
History Department. renlex@uwm.edu
DataPortals.org
A detailed list of Open Data Portals from around the world.
Google Dataset Search
Harvard Dataverse
The Harvard Dataverse Repository is a free data repository open to all researchers from any discipline, both inside and outside of the Harvard community, where you can share, archive, cite, access, and explore research data. Each individual Dataverse collection is a customizable collection of datasets (or a virtual repository) for organizing, managing, and showcasing datasets.
General Social Survey (GSS): Data Explorer
Since 1972, the General Social Survey (GSS), from NORC at the University of Chicago, has been a reliable source of data to help researchers, students, and journalists monitor and explain trends in American behaviors, demographics, and opinions. Create a free MyGSS account to access, analyze, and save GSS data.

Find Government Data and Statistics

Search or browse the USA.gov departments and agency index to determine which department or agency collects data on your topic. Look for "library", "resources", or "research" on agency websites to find published data.

Browse Census Bureau topics and subtopics to help find the information you need.

Data.gov
Data.gov provides access to federal, state and local open datasets. Search or browse non-sensitive government data and tools in a variety of formats, covering topics such as business, health, education, science, and much more.
Census Data
The U.S. Census Bureau interface for distributing the Decennial Census of Population and Housing, the Economic Census, the American Community Survey, annual economic surveys, and other upcoming major related statistical files. This site is the primary source for the Census and the current economic census reports. The site is updated regularly with new data as it becomes available to the public.

USASpending.gov
USAspending is the official open data source of federal spending information,
including information about federal awards such as contracts, grants, and loans.
My Tribal Area - US Census Bureau
Access select datasets collected from the American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) population from the American Community Survey (ACS).
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.
Housing and Urban Development Data Sets
Data sets provided by the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) administration.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Data
Master list of databases, tables, and Calulators by subject of all data collected and reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis is your source of accurate and objective data about the nation's economy. BEA's economists produce some of the world's most closely watched statistics, including U.S. gross domestic product, better known as GDP, as well as state and local numbers, foreign trade and investment stats and industry data.
Data USA
Visualization tool for open U.S. Government data on geographic locations, occupations, industries, and more. Map, compare, and download data, e.g. median household income by state.
City of Milwaukee Open Data
Under the City's 2016 Open Data Policy, there is now a open data portal for City of Milwaukee data. Topics Include: Aldermanic districts, voting wards, neighborhoods, police districts, properties, parcels, streets, schools, snow removal, leaf collection, streetcar routes and stops, neighborhood strategic planning areas, and more.
Milwaukee County Open Data
This is the GIS open data portal for Milwaukee County. The Topo-Planimetric county-wide data download offers users some of the most comprehensive basemap data available for Milwaukee County, including natural and man-made features. The Cadastral county-wide data download includes basemap information about real estate and property. Each are available county-wide or for specific areas.

Children's Mental Health Indicators and Well-Being Report
Annual reports from the Wisconsin Office of Children's Mental Health (OCMH).
County-Level Environmental Health Tracking
Death Statistics
Annual statistical Death report from the state of Wisconsin based on aggregate data from Wisconsin death records.
Department of Natural Resources Public Drinking Water Data System
A Public Water System (PWS) provides piped water to the public for human consumption. Wisconsin PWSs are regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). This site allows you to query and download data from our database, the Drinking Water System (DWS), which is maintained and used by DNR SDWA regulators. Information is current as of approximately 10 p.m. the prior day. It includes information such as PWS monitoring and other requirements, sample results, violations, inspection findings, plan/document review status, etc.
Department of Transportation Continuous Count Data
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) collects continuous count data from 316 permanent data collection sites primarily located on the State Trunk Highway System. Data at continuous count sites are scheduled to be collected in hourly intervals each day of the year.
Department of Transportation Facts and Figures
Health Insurance Enrollment Reports
The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) issues the Health Insurer Market Survey (HIMS) annually to collect enrollment data on comprehensive health plans. The data gathered allow OCI to monitor the state of Wisconsin's health insurance markets both by type of business (grandfathered, transitional, single risk pool) and market segment (individual, small group, large group).
Multifamily Data Library - WHEDA
complied datasets and statistical profiles for information containing to housing and multi-family developments.
Wisconsin Department of Child and Family Welfare Reports and Data
DCF publishes many reports about our work improving the lives of Wisconsin families.
Data and statistical reports have been grouped by program area.
Wisconsin Department of Corrections Data and Reports
The sections below contain data and reports that address the questions most frequently asked of DOC. This includes adult prison statistics, community supervision statistics, data on youthful offenders, staff assault and injury reports, and recidivism and reincarceration rates.
Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Data & Statistics
Sort through data and statistics from the state of Wisconsin DHS by topic.
Wisconsin Energy Statistics
The Wisconsin Energy Statistics Book is an annual publication from the OEI that serves as a comprehensive source of data on energy consumption, generation, prices, expenditures, and renewable energy development in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Fire Loss / Fire Department Profiles
This page presents a snapshot of Wisconsin fire losses reported through the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).
Wisconsin Public School Nutrition Program Statistics
These data reports give an overview of number of sites, participation, revenue, expenditures and reimbursements, for the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Afterschool Snack Program, Special Milk Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Summer Food Service Program, Donated Food Distribution Program, Elderly Nutrition Improvement Program, and Wisconsin School Day Milk program.
Wisconsin Trauma-Informed Care Map
This is an informational and mapping tool developed to track activities and initiatives across the state of wisconsin pertaining to Trauma-Informed Care by the Office of Children's Mental Health by the State of Wisconsin.

Statistics and Demographics - Wisconsin Women's Council