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Getting Started

What you can do with GeocodioSpreadsheet formattingAddress completionSpelling CorrectionFile formatsFile sizesIntersectionsPreviewing your spreadsheetReverse geocoding

Census Demographics

With Geocodio, you can bulk lookup the Census demographic data for addresses or coordinates via API as well as spreadsheet upload. If you're uploading a spreadsheet, you can click the "Demographics" append in Step 3 of the upload process to append this data.

Geocodio returns Census demographic data from the most recent five-year American Community Survey, which is currently the 2023 survey results published in 2024. (The 1-year American Community Surveys do not have granularity at this level.)

Selecting the geography level

As of API v1.8, ACS data is automatically returned at the most appropriate geographic level based on the accuracy of the geocoded result.

For example:

Accuracy Type Census Geography
rooftop, range_interpolation, nearest_street, point, nearest_rooftop_match, street_center, intersection Census Block Group
nearest_place, place Census Place
county County
state State

With Geocodio, you can also explicitly request Census demographic data for a specific geographic level through our API or through the spreadsheet geocoding tool. Data is available at the following geographies:

  • Block Group
  • Tract
  • Place
  • County Subdivision
  • County
  • MSA
  • State

Via API, you should add the geography name to your ACS field request. For example:

  • acs-demographics-tract (for Census Tract level)
  • acs-demographics-county (for County level)
  • acs-demographics-place (for Census Place level)

When using Geocodio's spreadsheet upload tool, you can choose which geographic level you'd like to receive Census demographic data for by using the dropdown menu that appears when the ACS Demographics data append has been selected.

Demographics geography select box

Please note: We do not provide data at the individual household level.

If you are using an API version prior to v1.8, all results return at the Census Block Group level.

Download an example

You can download an example of the results when you add Census demographics to a list of addresses here or latitude/longitude coordinates here.

Demographic Data Returned

Geocodio provides the data exactly as it is packaged by the Census Bureau in the breakouts it gives. The only change we have made is to add a "percentage" calculation to aid ease of use.

The data returned includes the following data points. For each data point, the data returned includes the value, margin of error, and percentage.

  • Total (Table #B01002)

    • total, male, female
  • Population by age range (Table #B01001)

    • Broken out by male and female
    • under 5 years, 5-9 years, 10-14 years, 15-17 years, 18-19 years, 20 years, 21 years, 22-24 years, 25-29 years, 30-34 years, 35-39 years, 40-44 years, 45-49 years, 50-54 years, 55-59 years, 60-64 years, 65-69 years, 70-74 years, 75-79 years, 80-84 years, 85 years and over
  • Sex (Table #B01001)

    • total, male, female
  • Race and ethnicity (Table #B03002)

    • Broken out by not-Hispanic or Latino and Hispanic or Latino
    • Not Hispanic or Latino, white alone, black or African American alone, American Indian and Alaska Native alone, Asian alone, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone; some other race alone; two or more races; two or more races: two races including some other race; two or more races: two races excluding some other race, and three or more races

We recognize that age, sex, gender, race and ethnicity are sensitive subjects. Accordingly, we return the categories exactly as the Census Bureau provides. We recognize that the categories listed may not be all-inclusive or use preferred terminology.

Special ACS Values

There are a number of special values that may be returned when working with ACS data. Use the chart below to determine their meaning, which can assist with troubleshooting.

Value Definition
-888888888 Estimate not applicable or not available
-999999999 Insufficient sample cases in the geographic area
-222222222 Margin of error couldn't be computed due to insufficient sample
-555555555 Controlled estimate (no sampling error)

Cost

Requests are billed as geocode + ACS Demographic info (i.e., two lookups). For example, if you have 100 addresses that you want Census demographic data for, that would count as 200 lookups.

You can calculate how much this will cost you and how long it will take here.

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