Census Demographics Scraper — US Population Data API

Extract demographic data from the US Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates API. Query population, median household income, poverty rates, and hundreds of other variables at the state, county, or ZIP code level. This actor provides structured access to the same data used by government agencies, urban planners, and researchers, without requiring you to manage Census API keys or learn the complex Census data query syntax.

What data can you get?

Each record includes the following fields:

• geoName — Geographic area name (e.g., "California", "Cook County, Illinois", "ZCTA5 90210")
• geoType — Geography level (state, county, or zip)
• geoId — FIPS code or ZIP code tabulation area identifier
• year — ACS survey year
• B01001_001E — Total population (or whichever variables you request)
• B19013_001E — Median household income (or whichever variables you request)
• url — Link to data.census.gov
• scrapedAt — Timestamp of data extraction

Popular Census variable codes include:

• B01001_001E — Total population
• B19013_001E — Median household income
• B17001_002E — Population below poverty level
• B25077_001E — Median home value
• B23025_005E — Unemployed population
• B15003_022E — Population with bachelor's degree

Use cases

• Site selection analysis — Retailers and franchises can compare population density, income levels, and demographics across ZIP codes to choose optimal store locations
• Real estate market research — Analyze county-level income, home values, and population trends to identify undervalued or growing markets
• Grant writing and nonprofit planning — Pull poverty rates and demographic data by county to support grant applications and program planning
• Marketing segmentation — Build geographic audience profiles using income, education, and population data for targeted advertising campaigns
• Academic and policy research — Economists, sociologists, and policy analysts can build datasets for studying inequality, migration, and economic development
• Insurance and financial services — Underwriters can assess geographic risk by analyzing income distribution, population density, and housing data at the ZIP code level

How to use

1. Enter variables as Census codes (e.g., B01001_001E for population, B19013_001E for median income)
2. Select a geography level: state, county, or zip
3. For county or ZIP queries, enter a state FIPS code (e.g., 06 for California, 36 for New York)
4. Optionally set the ACS year (default is 2022)
5. Set max results (default 500, up to 10,000)
6. Run the actor and download results as JSON, CSV, or Excel

Example input

{
  "variables": ["B01001_001E", "B19013_001E"],
  "geography": "county",
  "state": "06",
  "year": 2022,
  "maxResults": 100
}

Example output

{
  "geoName": "Los Angeles County, California",
  "geoType": "county",
  "geoId": "037",
  "year": 2022,
  "B01001_001E": 9829544,
  "B19013_001E": 75623,
  "url": "https://data.census.gov/",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-02-27T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Pricing

Event	Price
Actor start	$0.10
Per result	$0.0005

Example: 500 records = $0.10 + $0.25 = $0.35 total

Integrations

Connect via webhooks, Apify API, Zapier, Make, or Google Sheets. Schedule annual runs after new ACS data releases to refresh your demographic datasets, build population dashboards, or feed census data into location intelligence and market analysis platforms.

Built with Apify SDK.