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Citing our Data, Tools, Technical Documents, and Research

Public-Use Statement

Proper citation ensures that Census Bureau statistical products and research can be discovered, reused, replicated for verification, and credited for recognition to measure usage and impact.

Data users who create their own estimates using data from disseminated tables and other data should cite the Census Bureau as the source of the original data only. Conclusions drawn from any analysis of these data are the sole responsibility of the performing party.

Citation Information and Examples

Use the suggested citation if one is provided with the publication, data, code, or tool.

Citations formatting and structure vary based on audience and publisher, such as Chicago, MLA, APA. The Census Bureau emphasizes that the following citation components are important for Census Bureau Statistical Products:

Publications Data Code Tools

1If no author names are attached, the U.S. Census Bureau and any sponsoring agencies should be listed as the Author/s.

2If available.

Author/s1 Author/s1 Author/s1 Author/s1
Title Title (Includes survey or product and subtitle) Title Title
Program / Publication / Series Table or File Name / Number2 Date of Release Persistent Identifiers2
Persistent Identifiers2 Vintage Version URL
Version or Date Accessed Persistent Identifiers2 Persistent Identifiers2 Date Accessed
URL URL URL  
  Date Accessed    

To unify our communications materials, the Census Bureau uses The Gregg Reference Manual (Eleventh Edition) by William A. Sabin (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011). The citation examples follow this style. Others may need to edit suggested citations to meet their style guide needs.

Author/s, “Table Name,” Full Product Name, Vintage, <URL>, accessed on date.

Example:

U.S. Census Bureau, "Age and Sex," American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates Subject Tables, Table S0101, 2022, <https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST5Y2022.S0101?q=people>, accessed on July 1, 2024.

Please Note:

Author/s include “U.S. Census Bureau” and all sponsors of the product.

When using data.census.gov, click on the “Cite” tool to retrieve a recommended citation for the displayed table.

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Author/s, “Dataset Title,” Vintage, <API Base URL>, accessed on date.

Example:

U.S. Census Bureau, “American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates: Comparison Profiles 5-Year,” 2022, <http://api.census.gov/data/2022/acs/acs5>, accessed on July 1, 2024.

Please Note:

Author/s include “U.S. Census Bureau” and all sponsors of the product.

The Dataset Title can be found in the metadata under the base URL.

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Author/s, “Table or File Name/Number,” Full Product Name, Vintage, <URL>, accessed on date.

Author/s, “Full Product Name,” Vintage, <URL>, accessed on date.

Examples:

U.S. Census Bureau, “Firm Age,” 2021 Business Dynamics Statistics, <https://www.census.gov/data/datasets/time-series/econ/bds/bds-datasets.html>, accessed on July 1, 2024.

U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “2021 National Public Use File (PUF),” https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/data/2021/ahs-2021-public-use-file--puf-/ahs-2021-national-public-use-file--puf-.html>, accessed on July 1, 2024.

U.S. Census Bureau, “tl_2023_us_state”, TIGER/Line Shapefiles, 2023, https://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/TIGER2023/STATE/, accessed on July 16, 2024.

U.S. Census Bureau. 2010 Census Production Settings Redistricting Data (P.L. 94-171) Demonstration Noisy Measurement File, <https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace/pp/prodview-krnfluihbyhqi?sr=0-1&ref_=beagle&applicationId=AWSMPContessa>, accessed on November 15, 2024 

Please Note:

Author/s include “U.S. Census Bureau” and all sponsors of the product.

Sponsors of the product can typically be found in the about the survey or program page for that data file.

Include the table or file name/number if it is available.

In some files, the vintage is incorporated into the Full Product Name. If this is the case, a separate vintage does not need to be included.

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Author/s, “Table or File Name/Number”, Full Product Name [Experimental], Vintage, <URL>, accessed on date.

Author/s, “Full Product Name [Experimental],” Vintage, <URL>, accessed on date.

Example:

U.S. Census Bureau. “Tract”, Community Resilience Estimates (CRE) for Heat” [Experimental], 2022, <https://www.census.gov/data/experimental-data-products/cre-heat.html>, accessed on August 27, 2004.

Please Note:

Author/s include “U.S. Census Bureau” and all sponsors of the product.

Include the table or file name/number if it is available.

In some files, the vintage is incorporated into the Full Product Name. If this is the case, a separate vintage does not need to be included.

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Author/s, “Name of Database,” <URL>, accessed on date.

Example:

U.S. Census Bureau, “USA Trade Online,” <https://usatrade.census.gov>, accessed on July 1, 2024.

Please Note:

Author/s include “U.S. Census Bureau” and all sponsors of the product.

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Author/s, “Tool Name,” <URL>, accessed on date.

Examples:

U.S. Census Bureau, “Household Pulse Survey Interactive Tool,” <https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/hhp/#/>, accessed on July 1, 2024.

U.S. Census Bureau. “Household Pulse Survey PUF” [Experimental], October 18 - October 30, <https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/household-pulse-survey/datasets.html#phase3.10> accessed on July 1, 2024.

Please Note:

Author/s include “U.S. Census Bureau” and all sponsors of the product.

A separate citation for the underlaying data file should also be included.

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Author/s, “Title of Visualization” (Data Visualization), date published, <URL>.

Example:

U.S. Census Bureau, “Percent Change in the Hispanic or Latino Population by County: July 1, 2022, to July 1, 2023,” data visualization, June 27, 2024, <https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2024/comm/hispanic-population-change.html>.

Please Note:

For visualizations and infographics without a listed author/s, use “U.S. Census Bureau.”

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U.S. Census Bureau, “Software/Code Title,” version [Type of Product], year, <URL>, accessed on date.

Author(s), “Software/Code Title,” version [Type of Product], year, <URL>, accessed on date.

Examples:

U.S. Census Bureau, “Census and Survey Processing System (CSPro),” version 8.0.0 [Software], 2024, <https://www.census.gov/data/software/cspro.html>, accessed on July 1, 2024.

U.S. Census Bureau, “DAS 2020 DDHCA Production Code,” [GitHub], 2023, <https://github.com/uscensusbureau/DAS_2020_DDHCA_Production_Code>, accessed on July 1, 2024.

Please Note:

Example [Types of Product] are: [Software], [Code], and [GitHub].

Use the recommended citation if provided in the repository’s README file.

Use author names if the code or software are related to a research project and/or paper. Otherwise, use U.S. Census Bureau.

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U.S. Census Bureau, “Title of Press Release,” press release number, date of posting, <URL>, accessed on date.

Example:

U.S. Census Bureau, “Census Bureau Announces New Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes Partners,” CB24-TPS.65, June 27, 2024, <https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024/post-secondary-employment-outcomes-partner.html>, accessed on July 1, 2024.

Please Note:

Include press release number if available.

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Author/s, “Title of Publication” (Technical Documentation), U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, year, <URL if available>.

Please Note:

For publications without a listed Author/s, use “U.S. Census Bureau.”

If there is no date of publication, use the vintage year that the documentation covers.

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Author/s, “Title of the Paper,” Working Paper Series Name, Working Paper Number, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, year published, <URL>.

Example:

Jennifer Benard, Kelsey Drotning, and Katie R. Genadek, “Where Are Your Parents? Exploring Potential Bias in Administrative Records on Children,” Center of Economic Studies (CES) Working Paper Series, CES-24-16, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2004, <https://www.census.gov/library/working-papers/2024/adrm/CES-WP-24-18.html>.

Please Note:

Working papers are research papers and analytical presentations that may later be developed into formal papers or presentations.

The views expressed in these papers are solely those of the Author/s and not necessarily those of the Census Bureau or the U.S. Department of Commerce.

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Author/s, “Article Title,” Title of Journal, Series Number [if given], Volume number [if given], Issue Number [if given], Date, Page Number, DOI (as a hyperlink).

Example:

Sallie Ann Keller and John M. Abowd, "Database reconstruction does compromise confidentiality." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120, 12, 2023, e2300976120.

Please Note:

In some cases, working papers are subsequently published as a peer-reviewed scholarly publication. During the process, changes in content and formatting may differ from the original working paper.

Cite the latest version in lieu of the original working paper.

The views expressed in these papers are solely those of the Author/s and not necessarily those of the Census Bureau or the U.S. Department of Commerce.

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Author/s, “Title of Publication,” Type of publication, publication number, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, year, <URL if available>.

Examples:

Brittany King, “Monthly and Episodic Poverty: 2022,” Current Population Reports, P70BR-196, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2024, <https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/p70br-196.pdf>.

Amogh U. Bandekar and Lisa N. Bunch, “Changes in Children’s Health Coverage Varied by Poverty Status From 2018 to 2020,” America Counts, U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2021, <https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/09/uninsured-rates-for-children-in-poverty-increased-2018-2020.html>.

Please Note:

For publications without a listed Author/s, use “U.S. Census Bureau.”

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U.S. Census Bureau, “Title of Video” [Video], date of posting, <URL>, accessed on date.

Example:

U.S. Census Bureau, “Exploring Census Data Webinar Series: Minority Businesses & Equitable Data” [Video], May 30, 2024, <https://www.census.gov/data/academy/webinars/2024/exploring-census-data/minority-businesses-and-equitable-data.html>, accessed on August 27, 2024.

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U.S. Census Bureau, “Title of Webpage” date of posting or last revised, <URL>, accessed on date.

Example:

U.S. Census Bureau, “About the 2020 Census,” November 23, 2021, <https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/decade/2020/about.html>, accessed on August 27, 2024.

Please Note:

Include date of posting or last revised if available.

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Page Last Revised - March 5, 2025
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