Information Clearinghouse

Regional overviews and indicators are helpful, but they can’t cover everything and may not touch on exactly what you’re looking for. Below is a list of sources organized by topic, many of which were used to gather the data for the Regional Dashboard and Indicators pages, so that you can research your area of interest further.

Data

General

  • Hardly needing an introduction, the U.S. Census Bureau website has data on a wide range of topics, at scales from the Census block to the nation. In addition to decennial Census data, Census.gov offers American Community Survey (ACS) data dating back to the program’s first dataset in 2005. Data.Census.gov provides access to this data and more.

Agriculture

Economics and Labor

  • The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), a branch of the U.S. Department of Labor, offers data in subject areas including but not limited to inflation and prices, spending and time use, unemployment, employment, pay and benefits, productivity, and workplace injuries. State and local data are available via the BLS Regional Information Offices: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, Mountain-Plains, and Western.

  • The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides economic data at the international, national, regional and industry levels, as well as supplemental data in a variety of other areas.

  • Housing and transportation costs consume about half of the average household budget, but it can be difficult for people to fully factor transportation costs into decisions about where to live and work. The Location Affordability Index (LAI) works to close this gap by providing estimates of household housing and transportation costs at the neighborhood level along with constituent data on the built environment and demographics.

Education

  • The Illinois Interactive Report Card, an Illinois State Board of Education resource, provides data on Illinois public schools, including graduation rates and test scores, enrollment and student mobility, and district funding and expenditures.

Environment and Resources

Housing

  • The HUD USER website, a resource by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Office of Policy Development and Research, provides access to recent news, ongoing research and initiatives, new and archived publications, and a range of data sets covering topics including housing markets, housing finance, disabilities, community/neighborhood conditions, demographics, homelessness, fair housing, quality of life, and rural housing.

  • The National Association of Realtors compiles housing statistics and research reports, including the quarterly Housing Affordability Index.

  • The National Association of Home Builders also compiles housing statistics, some available for free download and others available for purchase, including the Housing Opportunity Index.

Health and Safety

Transportation

Local Government and Services

Champaign County

Champaign-Urbana

Municipalities