US Census ACS Data Scraper

Extract American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau. Get population, median household income, home values, poverty rates, rent, and dozens of other demographic variables by state, county, or zip code. Powered by the free Census Bureau API — no proxy or authentication needed.

Disclaimer: This actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by the United States Census Bureau or the Department of Commerce.

What Census data can you extract?

This actor wraps the free Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates API to extract demographic and economic data for any geography in the United States. Common variables include:

• Total population (B01001_001E) — population count for any area
• Median household income (B19013_001E) — income in the past 12 months
• Median home value (B25077_001E) — owner-occupied housing values
• Median age (B01002_001E) — median age of the population
• Poverty count (B17001_002E) — population below poverty level
• Median gross rent (B25064_001E) — monthly rent amounts

The Census Bureau publishes thousands of variables covering demographics, economics, housing, education, and more.

Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
Geography Level	select	state for all US states, county for counties in a state, zip for zip codes in a state
State FIPS Code	string	Two-digit state code (06=California, 36=New York, 48=Texas). Required for county/zip.
Census Variables	string	Comma-separated variable codes (e.g., NAME,B01001_001E,B19013_001E)
ACS Year	string	Survey year (most recent is typically 2 years prior to current year)
Max Results	integer	Maximum areas to return (1–5,000, default 100)

Output example

Each record in the output contains:

{
    "name": "Los Angeles County, California",
    "totalPopulation": 9829544,
    "medianHouseholdIncome": 76367,
    "medianHomeValue": 654900,
    "medianAge": 36.7,
    "stateCode": "06",
    "countyCode": "037",
    "source": "US Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates",
    "sourceUrl": "https://data.census.gov"
}

How much does it cost to scrape Census data?

This actor uses pay-per-event pricing. You pay per geographic area returned.

• $0.00005 per actor start (Apify default)
• Per-result charge based on the number of areas extracted
• No proxy costs — the Census API is free and public

A county-level query for one state typically returns 30-250 records. A zip-level query can return 1,000+ records.

Tip: Use the maxResults parameter and specific state codes to control costs.

Who uses Census ACS data?

• Real estate investors — analyze demographics, income levels, and home values to identify target markets
• Site selection analysts — evaluate population density, income, and housing for retail or office locations
• Marketing agencies — build audience profiles and geographic targeting based on demographics
• Urban planners — study population trends, housing, and poverty for municipal planning
• Academic researchers — access standardized demographic data for social science and economics studies
• Insurance companies — assess risk profiles based on population characteristics and property values

Tips for best results

• Find variable codes at the Census API variable list: https://api.census.gov/data/2022/acs/acs5/variables.html — search for specific topics.
• State FIPS codes: 06=CA, 36=NY, 48=TX, 12=FL, 17=IL, 42=PA. Full list at census.gov.
• Zip code queries return ZCTA (Zip Code Tabulation Areas) which closely match but do not exactly equal USPS zip codes.
• Negative values (like -666666666) indicate the Census Bureau suppressed the estimate due to insufficient sample size.
• The 5-year ACS is the most reliable estimate, covering all geographies. 1-year estimates only cover areas with 65,000+ population.

Integrations

Export your data as JSON, CSV, or Excel. Schedule annual runs when new ACS data is released. Use webhooks to trigger updates to your analytics pipeline.

This actor works as an MCP server — AI agents can discover and use it to access Census demographics programmatically.