US Census Geocoder Scraper

US Census Geocoder Scraper

Geocode US street addresses or coordinates with the official Census Geocoder, no API key needed. Get standardized addresses, lat/lng, and optional Census tract, block, and county IDs. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

The Census Bureau's official geocoder is free, but its API limits batch sizes and returns verbose JSON. This Actor sends your addresses or coordinates straight to the Census Geocoder and returns one clean row per match, with optional Census geography enrichment. No API key, no code, no rate-limit headaches.

Who uses it	What they scrape US Census Geocoder for
Real estate analysts	Batch geocode property lists to map listings and analyze neighborhood demographics.
Data journalists	Turn addresses in public records into coordinates for mapping stories.
GIS specialists	Enrich point data with Census tract and block IDs for spatial analysis.
Market researchers	Geocode customer addresses to study regional patterns and trade areas.
Nonprofit program managers	Map service locations to Census geographies for funding reports.

What it does

This Actor geocodes US addresses to coordinates or reverse geocodes coordinates to addresses using the official Census Geocoder, and returns each match as a flat row with optional Census tract, block, and county IDs.

• 📍 Address to coordinates: forward geocode one-line US addresses like '1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500'.
• 🗺️ Coordinates to address: reverse geocode lat/lng pairs to the closest matching street address.
• 🏛️ Census geography enrichment: optionally return the surrounding census tract, block, and county polygon IDs for each match.
• 📦 Batch up to 1,000,000 inputs per run: the Actor handles the pagination and rate limits for you.
• 📄 Flat, export-ready rows: every match comes back as one row with standardized address, coordinates, and optional geography IDs.

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

What you can do with US Census Geocoder data

🏠 Map a real estate portfolio.

A real estate analyst pastes 5,000 property addresses, runs the Actor, and gets coordinates plus Census tract IDs to join with demographic data for site selection.

📊 Enrich survey responses with geography.

A market researcher reverse geocodes respondent coordinates to Census blocks, then aggregates responses by tract for regional reporting.

🗞️ Geocode public records for a story.

A data journalist feeds addresses from court filings into the Actor and maps them to reveal geographic patterns in evictions.

🧭 Build a store locator.

A developer geocodes a chain's store addresses once, stores the lat/lng pairs, and uses them to power a nearest-store finder.

🏛️ Prepare grant reports.

A nonprofit program manager geocodes client addresses and attaches Census tracts to demonstrate service coverage in low-income areas.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
Official Census data	Matches come straight from the U.S. Census Bureau's geocoder, the same source used for federal statistics.
No API key or setup	The Actor handles authentication and rate limits, so you paste your list and run.
Batch geocoding at scale	Geocode up to a million addresses or coordinates in a single run.
Census geography built in	Optionally attach tract, block, and county IDs to every match for demographic analysis.
Clean, flat output	Each result is one row with standardized address, lat/lng, and optional geography, ready for CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

How it compares

This Actor and the U.S. Census Geocoder both call the same official Census service, but this Actor adds batch processing, a flat output schema, and optional geography enrichment in one run.

Feature	ParseForge	U.S. Census Geocoder
Batch geocoding up to 1,000,000 inputs	Yes	Not listed
Optional Census tract, block, and county IDs	Yes	Yes
Flat, export-ready rows (CSV, JSON, Excel, XML)	Yes	Not listed
No API key required	Yes	Not listed
Handles rate limits automatically	Yes	Not listed

Configure the run

Drive the Actor from a list of addresses or a list of lat/lng pairs, and optionally enrich each match with Census tract, block, and county IDs. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
 "maxItems": 10,
 "mode": "address",
 "addresses": [
 "1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500",
 "350 5th Ave, New York, NY 10118",
 "1 Apple Park Way, Cupertino, CA 95014"
 ],
 "coordinates": [
 {
 "lat": 38.8977,
 "lng": -77.0365
 },
 {
 "lat": 40.7484,
 "lng": -73.9857
 }
 ]
}

A larger pull:

{
 "maxItems": 200,
 "mode": "address",
 "addresses": [
 "1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500",
 "350 5th Ave, New York, NY 10118",
 "1 Apple Park Way, Cupertino, CA 95014"
 ],
 "coordinates": [
 {
 "lat": 38.8977,
 "lng": -77.0365
 },
 {
 "lat": 40.7484,
 "lng": -73.9857
 }
 ]
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.01467 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$1.47
1,000 results	$14.67
10,000 results	$146.70

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 US Census Geocoder 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 US Census Geocoder 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/uscensus-geocoder-scraper"

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

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check that your addresses are in one-line US format, like '1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500'. If you are in coordinates mode, make sure each object has 'lat' and 'lng' keys. Also verify that maxItems is at least 1.

Some addresses return 'No_Match'.

The Census Geocoder could not find a match. Try simplifying the address, removing apartment numbers, or checking for typos. You can also switch to coordinates mode if you have approximate lat/lng.

The run is slow for a large list.

The Census service has rate limits, so the Actor waits between requests. For very large lists, consider splitting them into multiple runs or increasing the timeout.

I enabled 'Return Census Geographies' but don't see tract IDs.

Census geography is only returned when the address matches to a specific location. If the match is approximate or the address is a PO box, geography may be missing. Check the match type in the output.

The output has more rows than my input.

The Census Geocoder can return multiple candidate matches for one input. The Actor returns all candidates up to maxItems. If you want only the best match, filter the output by match type or score.

FAQ

Question	Answer
Is this the official US Census Geocoder?	Yes. The Actor calls the U.S. Census Bureau's public geocoding service, the same one used for federal statistics. It returns the same matches and geography IDs.
Do I need an API key?	No. The Census Geocoder is free and does not require registration. The Actor handles the requests for you.
How many addresses can I geocode in one run?	You can set the maximum results up to 1,000,000. The Actor processes your list in batches and respects the Census service's rate limits.
What is the difference between address and coordinates mode?	Address mode takes one-line US addresses like '350 5th Ave, New York, NY 10118' and returns lat/lng. Coordinates mode takes lat/lng pairs and returns the closest matching address.
What Census geographies can I get back?	When you enable 'Return Census Geographies', each match includes the census tract, block, and county polygon IDs. These are the same IDs used in Census data tables.
What format is the output?	The Actor returns a flat dataset. You can export it as CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify platform.
Does it work for PO boxes or rural addresses?	The Census Geocoder handles most US addresses, including PO boxes and rural routes, but match quality depends on the input. The Actor returns the match type and any warnings from the Census service.
Can I geocode addresses outside the US?	No. The Census Geocoder only covers US addresses and territories. For international geocoding, use a different geocoding Actor.
How accurate are the coordinates?	The Census Geocoder returns coordinates based on its address database. Accuracy varies by address quality, but it is the same data used for official Census mapping.
Can I run this on a schedule?	Yes. You can schedule the Actor to run daily, weekly, or on any cron schedule, for example to geocode new addresses as they arrive.

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 U.S. Census Bureau. 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.