American Fact Finder 

The U.S. Census Bureau is the primary resource for U.S. demographic data (United States, Puerto Rico and the Island Areas), and the primary tool for accessing it is American FactFinder. It is fairly easy to use, and convenient since it includes data from several censuses and surveys including:

• The American Community Survey
• The American Housing Survey
• three Annual Economic Surveys
  • Annual Survey of Manufactures  
  • Business Patterns  
  • Nonemployer Statistics  
• The Decennial Census (every 10 years) (age, sex, race, housing units and more)
• The Economic Census (every 5 years)
• The Population Estimates Program

Other data and resources

• Information about towns in Oregon (including Portland) in the Oregon Rural Explorer
• Income data from the Current Population Survey
• Consumer Spending data from Consumer Expenditures Surveys
• StateMaster compares statistics between different states in the US -- for example you can compare the percentage of toothless Americans over 65 years of age in every state.
• The online mapping database SimplyMap enables users to develop interactive thematic maps and reports using thousands of demographic, business, and marketing data variables. Recently added Health questions. (Limited to OSU users only. Free registration is required.)

Small Business Statistics. Finding data on small businesses is challenging. You can find some Census statistics about them in a variety of government surveys. Links to these various sources can be found on this Census Bureau page: http://www.census.gov/econ/smallbus.html

Bureau of Labor Statistics

From the U.S. Department of Labor. This is a rich source of information on industries, employment, pay and benefits, prices and inflation, and more. This is where the Consumer Price Index and the Occupational Outlook Handbook are located.

Census Training opportunities

The Census Bureau offers both web-based and in-person courses to help you access and use Census Bureau statistics. These free courses can teach you how to use our databases and mapping tools, find local and national demographic information for a variety of uses including grant proposals, economic data statistics for business plans, research papers, etc. Check out our eTutorials and course descriptions.

In December 2012, the Census Bureau presented a webinar series of presentations and exercises on "Accessing Census Bureau Statistics." You can find links to these here: https://www.census.gov/mso/www/training/acbs.html

Economic Census Training

This is a slideshow, originally presented by the Census Bureau on December 11, 2012, that goes over the Economic Census and a few other programs. Exercises are included. It is a useful entry into using Economic Census data including NAICS.

https://www.census.gov/mso/www/training/pdf/econ_Dec2012.pdf