Los Angeles Open Data Scraper

Los Angeles Open Data Scraper

Scrape any public dataset from data.lacity.org, from crime reports to building permits, up to a million rows per run. Every row arrives in a clean, flat schema ready for CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML export. No API key, no registration, no rate-limit headaches.

The City of Los Angeles publishes hundreds of civic datasets on its Socrata portal, but downloading them one by one through the browser is slow and manual. This actor reads the public API directly, so you can pull the exact rows you need from any dataset by its 4x4 ID. It handles pagination, column selection, and SoQL filtering for you, returning a single structured dataset every time.

Who uses it	What they scrape Los Angeles Open Data for
Data journalists	Pull the latest crime or traffic collision records for a story on neighborhood safety.
Urban planners	Download building permits and zoning data to analyze development patterns.
Policy analysts	Track 311 service requests or parking citations to measure city responsiveness.
Real estate researchers	Collect property, permit, and business registration data for market analysis.

What it does

This Actor collects rows from any dataset hosted on data.lacity.org and returns each row as a flat record with the dataset's native columns.

• 📋 Preloaded dataset catalog: Choose from over 200 datasets directly in the input editor, including crime, permits, 311 requests, and business listings.
• 🔍 SoQL where filter: Narrow results with Socrata's query language, for example to return only burglaries in a specific division.
• 📊 Column selection: Request only the columns you need with a comma-separated $select clause, reducing payload size and cost.
• 📈 Custom sort order: Pass an $order clause to sort rows by date, value, or any column before they reach your dataset.
• 🔎 Full-text search: Use the query parameter to search across all string columns in the dataset for a keyword or phrase.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with Los Angeles Open Data data

📰 Investigate crime trends.

A data journalist pulls the latest year of crime data with a $where filter for a specific offense type and exports it to CSV for mapping in QGIS.

🏗️ Monitor new construction.

A real estate analyst scrapes building permits issued from 2020 to present weekly to track development activity by neighborhood.

📞 Analyze 311 service patterns.

A city performance team downloads MyLA311 service requests filtered by request type and council district to measure resolution times.

🚗 Study traffic safety.

A transportation researcher collects traffic collision data with a $where clause for pedestrian-involved incidents and orders by date descending.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key required	Reads the public Socrata endpoint directly with no registration or authentication.
Over 200 datasets	Preloaded catalog covers crime, permits, 311, business listings, budgets, and more.
SoQL filtering	Full support for $where, $select, $order, and $query to slice the data before download.
Flat row output	Every record arrives as a clean, flat object ready for analysis or export.

How it compares

No other Store actor targets Los Angeles Open Data the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

	Los Angeles Open Data Scraper	Build it in-house	By hand
Setup	Run it now, zero config	Days of engineering	None, but hours per pull
When Los Angeles Open Data changes	Maintained for you	You fix it	You re-learn the page
Proxies, retries, anti-bot	Built in	Your problem	Browser only
Output	Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export	Whatever you build	Copy-paste
Cost	Pay per result	Engineering time	Analyst hours

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a dataset ID from the dropdown, then optionally narrow the results with SoQL where, select, order, and full-text query parameters so only matching rows land in your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "datasetId": "vygi-vxyg",
 "maxItems": 10
}

A larger pull:

{
 "datasetId": "vygi-vxyg",
 "maxItems": 200
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.0347 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$3.47
1,000 results	$34.70
10,000 results	$347.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the Los Angeles Open Data Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Los Angeles Open Data through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/la-open-data-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check your $where clause for syntax errors. SoQL uses single quotes around string values and requires exact column names. Try removing the filter to confirm the dataset itself returns rows, then add conditions back one at a time.

The run fails with an error about the dataset ID.

Make sure the dataset ID is exactly 4 characters, a hyphen, and 4 more characters, like '2nrs-mtv8'. Copy it directly from the dataset URL on data.lacity.org. The preloaded dropdown values are validated.

My $select columns are not appearing in the output.

Column names are case-sensitive and must match the dataset's field names exactly. Check the dataset's metadata page on data.lacity.org for the correct column identifiers.

The run is taking a long time.

Large datasets with millions of rows will take time to paginate through. Reduce maxItems, add a tighter $where filter, or use $select to request fewer columns and speed up each page.

I get a 'column not found' error in my $where clause.

Verify the column name against the dataset's API field list. Some datasets use internal field names that differ from the human-readable labels shown on the portal. Check the dataset's API documentation page.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Do I need an API key or account to use this scraper?	No. The actor reads the public Socrata API at data.lacity.org, which does not require authentication or an API key.
How do I find the dataset ID I need?	Open the dataset on data.lacity.org and look at the URL. The 4x4 code after the domain is the dataset ID, for example '2nrs-mtv8' for crime data from 2020 to present. You can also pick from the preloaded dropdown in the input editor.
Can I filter rows before downloading?	Yes. Use the $where field with Socrata SoQL syntax, for example "crm_cd_desc='BURGLARY' AND area_name='Central'". You can also use $select to pick columns, $order to sort, and $query for full-text search.
What is the maximum number of rows I can scrape?	You can set maxItems up to 1,000,000 rows per run. The Socrata API itself may impose a default limit, but the actor will paginate through all available pages up to your requested maximum.
Which datasets are available?	The input editor includes over 200 preloaded datasets covering crime, building permits, 311 requests, parking citations, business registrations, traffic collisions, budgets, and many more. You can also enter any valid 4x4 ID from data.lacity.org manually.
What format does the output come in?	The actor returns each row as a flat JSON object. You can export the full run to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify dataset tab.
Can I select only specific columns?	Yes. Use the $select field with a comma-separated list of column names, for example 'date_occ,area_name,crm_cd_desc'. This reduces the payload size and speeds up the run.
How do I sort the results?	Use the $order field with a column name and direction, for example 'date_occ DESC' to get the most recent records first.
Does this actor update datasets automatically?	You can schedule the actor to run on a recurring basis from the Apify console. Pair it with a cron schedule to keep your copy of a dataset fresh.
Is there a rate limit on the city's open data portal?	The Socrata API has generous public limits. The actor makes sequential requests with built-in pagination and will not hammer the endpoint.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by City of Los Angeles. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.