The resources listed below provide national, state, and county-level statistics on a range of public policy issues including education, child and family well-being, labor and employment, and small business development. Although most of these tools are not designed expressly for museum and library practitioners, they do provide access to information that may be helpful for developing museum and library program plans that address a range of community needs.

Because of the time needed to compile, analyze, and publish data, statistical publications often are released two or more years after the time period being analyzed. We make every effort to ensure the resources listed provide the most current statistics available, and for the most part the conditions they represent do not change rapidly. Communities vary considerably in the type and quality of local area data that is available for planning and analysis. More detailed local area statistics may be available through a local university extension service or a university planning department.

If you have questions about the use or potential application of these data resources please contact Deanne Swan at dswan@imls.gov.
 

General Demographics

Child Well-Being

Education

Health

Arts and Culture Indicators

Library Services

Economic Indicators

Labor and Employment

Small Business