The U.S. Census Bureau today released dwellr, a new mobile app that delivers on-the-go access to key demographic, socio-economic and housing statistics for thousands of places across the nation.

Powered by American Community Survey statistics, dwellr can pull up a list of U.S. locations that matches users' preferences for such variables as city size, geographic region, job type and income. Users can also learn more about where they are by a simple tap of the screen that reveals educational levels, housing values and commute times.

"With dwellr, people considering a move, homebuyers, travelers and military families can easily access and explore information on U.S. towns and cities based on data compiled through the American Community Survey," Census Bureau Director John Thompson said. "With dwellr and our previously released America's Economy app, the Census Bureau is using 21st century technology to accomplish our centuries-old mission to measure America and make the results accessible to the public anytime, anywhere on any device."

The customizable demographic and community variables featured in dwellr include:

• city size
• commute type
• housing value
• income
• occupations
• educational attainment and
• demographic variables including age, race, marital status and family type

The mobile app is now available for download through the Apple app store and Google Play store for Apple iPhones and iPads and Android phones and 10-inch tablets. Privacy protection is built into the app, and all information is stored only on the user's device.

The Census Bureau's first mobile app — America's Economy — provides smartphone and tablet users with real-time releases of the economic statistics that drive decisions on employment, housing, construction, international trade, retail sales and manufacturing, and are important tools for businesses, economists, planners and policymakers.

The statistics that drive dwellr and America's Economy are available through the Census Bureau's application programming interface (API), which allows our developers greater ability to build more shareable content for public use. The interface, which has been used 100 million times since it began in July 2012, allows developers to make their own apps using two of the Census Bureau's most powerful, useful statistics — the American Community Survey and the 2010 Census.

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NOTE: The Census Bureau decommissioned our mobile applications on September 22, 2017.