US Census Bureau Data Scraper

Overview

Extract population, income, housing, and demographic data from the official US Census Bureau API. Query ACS 5-Year, ACS 1-Year, and Decennial Census datasets at state, county, tract, or ZIP code levels. Supports multiple years in a single run for time-series analysis.

Features

• Search by keywords to find specific results
• Filter results by category or type
• Export data in JSON, CSV, or Excel formats

Use Cases

• Track - Track federal government data releases and updates
• Build - Build datasets for policy research and analysis
• Monitor - Monitor regulatory changes and compliance requirements
• Aggregate - Aggregate public government data for transparency projects

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
dataset	string	Census dataset to query	acs/acs5
years	array	Data years to query. ACS: 2009-2023, Decennial: 2000, 2010, 2020	["2022"]
variables	array	Census variable codes (e.g., B01001_001E for total population)	["NAME", "B01001_001E"]
geography	string	Geographic level for data	state
stateFips	string	State FIPS code for sub-state geographies (e.g., 06 for California)
apiKey	string	Census API key (get free at api.census.gov/data/key_signup.html)

Output Example

Each result contains structured data like this:

{
  "NAME": "US Census Bureau Data Sample Item",
  "dataset": "Sample dataset",
  "year": 2024,
  "geography": "Sample geography",
  "stateFips": "Sample stateFips",
  "B01001_001E": "Sample B01001_001E",
  "B01001_001E_name": "US Census Bureau Data Sample Item"
}

Pricing

This actor uses pay-per-result pricing:

• $0.001 per result
• $1.00 per 1,000 results

No monthly fees. You only pay for what you scrape. Apify Free plan includes $5/month in platform credits.

How to Run

Apify Console

1. Go to the US Census Bureau Data Scraper actor page
2. Configure your input parameters
3. Click Start and wait for the results
4. Download data in JSON, CSV, or Excel format

API

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fortuitous_pirate~census-scraper/runs?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"maxItems": 10}'

Python SDK

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("fortuitous_pirate/census-scraper").call(
    run_input={"maxItems": 10}
)

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

Integration

Connect US Census Bureau Data Scraper with your existing tools and workflows:

• API access - Programmatic access via Apify API
• Webhooks - Get notified when scraping completes
• Scheduling - Set up recurring runs on any schedule
• Zapier / Make - Connect with 5,000+ apps via Apify integrations
• Python / Node.js SDKs - Native client libraries for easy integration