American Community Survey · Census Data API

ACS Query Builder

A menu-driven tool for accessing published American Community Survey tables through the Census Data API.

Start here

Paste your Census API key to load the menus

Enter your Census API key to begin. Don't have one? Request a free key ↗

If checked, the key is stored in this browser's local storage so you do not have to paste it on every visit. Do not use this option on a shared or public device.
Natural-language start

Start here — or build manually below

Describe the data you want in ordinary language. The tool will use your request to preselect a table, variable, geography, and ACS release for you to review.

ACS Table Shells & Table List ↗See which ACS tables exist, what each table measures, its universe, and whether it is available in the 1-year or 5-year release. Census Data API User Guide ↗Learn how Census API requests are structured and how to reuse the URLs generated by this tool in a browser, R, Python, or other software. Available Census API datasets ↗Explore other Census datasets available through the API beyond the ACS products included in this builder.

1Data source

2020–2024 ACS 5-year · Subject tables
Subject tables are a good starting point for many common topics; Detailed tables provide more cross-tabulation detail.
For 5-year estimates, trends compare nonoverlapping periods (for example 2010–2014, 2015–2019, 2020–2024), following Census guidance against comparing overlapping multiyear estimates. 1-year trends remain annual.

2Variables

Want to see the full universe of ACS tables first? Browse the Census Bureau's Table Shells and Table List ↗, including table titles, universes, and 1-year/5-year availability.

Enter your Census API key above to load tables.

Select a table

Up to 200 estimates per query.
Choose a table to browse its estimates.
0 variables selected
Selections can come from more than one table within the same table family.

3Geography

The list will reflect the geographies supported by the selected table family and year.
What this tool can and can't do

Census API boundaries

Small-area geography is hierarchical. Standard ACS for/in requests for tracts and block groups use parent geographies rather than a single national tract or block-group call.

ZCTAs are not nested under states in the standard ACS hierarchy. The newer Census ucgid predicate can create some state-based ZCTA collections in supported datasets, but this builder does not yet expose that method.

Standard for/in queries target one geography level at a time. Census's newer ucgid predicate can mix geography levels in datasets that support it.

ACS 1-year coverage is limited. Standard 1-year tables are generally published for areas of 65,000 or more, with Census publication exceptions; tracts and block groups are not part of the standard 1-year release.

The API allows up to 50 requested variables per call. This builder handles larger baskets by splitting the request and rejoining the results.

This builder's choices

Guided parent geography is one state at a time. The Census API supports multiple geography codes in some predicates; use the Advanced geography syntax below when you need a combination the menus do not offer.

The on-page results view shows up to 500 rows. The downloaded CSV still contains the full returned result.

The variable basket is capped at 200 estimates. This keeps browser rendering and multi-request joins manageable; larger projects are better handled as separate queries.

Trend charts for 5-year estimates compare nonoverlapping periods only. Overlapping multiyear periods share most of their sample and should not be read as year-to-year change.

Cross-tabulations beyond the published tables are a microdata job. When a combination of topics is not published as a standard ACS table, custom tabulations can be built from ACS PUMS microdata using the Census Bureau's MDAT tool.

Advanced Census API geography syntax
Geography portion of the API query Choose a geography.
This is the escape hatch for specialized hierarchies or codes that cannot be conveniently discovered through the menus.

Run query

The builder automatically splits requests that exceed the API's 50-variable limit, then rejoins the results by geography.

A resource of PRB's Federal Data Forum. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, via api.census.gov.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau. Estimates are subject to sampling error and possible changes in table definitions or geographic boundaries across ACS releases. By default, this page keeps the Census API key only while the page is open. If you opt in to “Remember this key on this device,” it is stored in this browser's local storage.
Updated August 23, 2026.