-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 2
Expand file tree
/
Copy pathcensusapi.html
More file actions
270 lines (249 loc) · 16.5 KB
/
censusapi.html
File metadata and controls
270 lines (249 loc) · 16.5 KB
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>Census API Guide | BD Economics</title>
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com" crossorigin>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="style.css">
<meta name="description" content="Python tutorial: Using the Census Bureau API for manufacturing and trade data.">
<meta name="keywords" content="Census API, Census Bureau API, M3 Survey, Manufacturing Data, Python Census API, Advance Durable Goods, Capital Goods Orders, Economics Dashboard, Macroeconomics Dashboard, US economy, US manufacturing data, Python pandas requests">
<meta name="author" content="Brian Dew">
<link rel="canonical" href="https://bd-econ.com/censusapi.html">
<!-- Open Graph -->
<meta property="og:title" content="Census API Guide | BD Economics">
<meta property="og:description" content="Python tutorial: Using the Census Bureau API for manufacturing and trade data.">
<meta property="og:url" content="https://bd-econ.com/censusapi.html">
<meta property="og:type" content="article">
<meta property="og:image" content="https://bd-econ.com/images/01_bdlogo.png">
<!-- Twitter Card -->
<meta name="twitter:card" content="summary">
<meta name="twitter:title" content="Census API Guide | BD Economics">
<meta name="twitter:description" content="Python tutorial: Using the Census Bureau API for manufacturing and trade data.">
<meta name="twitter:image" content="https://bd-econ.com/images/01_bdlogo.png">
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="180x180" href="favicon/apple-icon-180x180.png">
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="32x32" href="favicon/favicon-32x32.png">
<link rel="icon" type="image/png" sizes="16x16" href="favicon/favicon-16x16.png">
<link rel="manifest" href="favicon/manifest.json">
<meta name="theme-color" content="#ffffff">
<script>
(function() {
const saved = localStorage.getItem('theme');
if (saved) {
document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-theme', saved);
} else if (window.matchMedia('(prefers-color-scheme: dark)').matches) {
document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-theme', 'dark');
}
})();
</script>
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "TechArticle",
"headline": "Census API Python Tutorial",
"description": "Python tutorial: Using the Census Bureau API for manufacturing and trade data.",
"author": {
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Brian Dew"
},
"publisher": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "BD Economics",
"url": "https://bd-econ.com"
},
"mainEntityOfPage": "https://bd-econ.com/censusapi.html",
"datePublished": "2026-01-11",
"dateModified": "2026-01-15"
}
</script>
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "BreadcrumbList",
"itemListElement": [
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 1,
"name": "Guides",
"item": "https://bd-econ.com/python.html"
},
{
"@type": "ListItem",
"position": 2,
"name": "Census API Guide",
"item": "https://bd-econ.com/censusapi.html"
}
]
}
</script>
<!-- Google tag (gtag.js) -->
<script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-PGVF5S620Y"></script>
<script>
window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);}
gtag('js', new Date());
gtag('config', 'G-PGVF5S620Y');
</script>
</head>
<body>
<a href="#main" class="skip-link">Skip to main content</a>
<nav>
<ul class="ul_nav" id="menu">
<li class="nav_main"> <a href="index.html"><svg class="nav-logo" viewBox="0 0 9 5" width="22" height="12" aria-hidden="true"><rect x="0" y="0" width="1" height="5"/><rect x="0" y="4" width="4" height="1"/><rect x="2" y="2" width="2" height="1"/><rect x="3" y="2" width="1" height="2"/><rect x="8" y="0" width="1" height="5"/><rect x="5" y="4" width="4" height="1"/><rect x="5" y="2" width="2" height="1"/><rect x="5" y="2" width="1" height="2"/></svg>Economics</a> </li>
<li><a href="about.html">About</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://briandew.wordpress.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blog <svg class="icon icon-external" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M15 3h6v6M10 14 21 3"/><path d="M18 13v6a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H5a2 2 0 0 1-2-2V8a2 2 0 0 1 2-2h6"/></svg></a> </li>
<li><a href="python.html" class="active" aria-current="page">Guides <span class="nav-arrow">↓</span></a>
<ul class="hidden">
<li><a href="getstarted.html">Getting Started</a></li>
<li><a href="imfapi1.html">IMF API</a></li>
<li><a href="blsapi.html">BLS API</a></li>
<li><a href="beaapi.html">BEA API</a></li>
<li><a href="censusapi.html">Census API</a></li>
<li><a href="treasuryapi.html">Treasury API</a></li>
<li><a href="cps.html">CPS Microdata</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
<a href="reports.html">Reports <span class="nav-arrow">↓</span></a>
<ul class="hidden">
<li><a href="chartbook.html">US Chartbook</a></li>
<li><a href="indicators.html">Economic Indicators</a></li>
<li><a href="gdpm.html">Monthly GDP</a></li>
<li><a href="imfweo.html">IMF WEO</a></li>
<li><a href="calendar.html">Release Calendar</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><button class="theme-toggle" onclick="toggleTheme()" aria-label="Toggle dark mode"><span id="theme-icon"><svg class="icon" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M12 3a6 6 0 0 0 9 9 9 9 0 1 1-9-9Z"/></svg></span></button></li>
<li class="icon">
<button type="button" onclick="responsiveNav()" aria-label="Toggle navigation menu" aria-expanded="false">☰</button>
</li>
</ul>
</nav>
<div class="page-strip accent-green">
<picture><source srcset="images/census_strip.webp" type="image/webp"><img decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" src="images/census_strip.jpg" alt="" aria-hidden="true" class="page-strip-img"></picture>
</div>
<header>
<h1>Census API</h1>
</header>
<main id="main">
<section>
<article class="card-grid">
<a href="censusapi.html">
<div class="nav-card accent-green">
<div class="nav-card-banner">
<picture><source srcset="images/census_banner.webp" type="image/webp"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="images/census_banner.png" alt="Census API tutorial Part 1" width="207" height="68"></picture>
</div>
<div class="nav-card-head">
<h3>Part 1</h3>
</div>
<div class="nav-card-body">
<p>A <strong>basic example</strong> of retrieving manufacturing data from the M3 survey, processing with pandas, and plotting results.</p>
</div>
</div>
</a>
<a href="censusapi2.html">
<div class="nav-card-muted accent-green">
<div class="nav-card-banner">
<picture><source srcset="images/census_banner2.webp" type="image/webp"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="images/census_banner2.png" alt="Census API tutorial Part 2" width="387" height="68"></picture>
</div>
<div class="nav-card-head">
<h3>Part 2</h3>
</div>
<div class="nav-card-body">
<p>Retrieve <strong>international trade data</strong> from the Census API to analyze U.S. exports by trading partner.</p>
</div>
</div>
</a>
</article>
<article class="prose">
<div class="tutorial-meta">
<span>Updated <time datetime="2026-01-15">Jan 2026</time></span>
<span class="meta-sep">·</span>
<span class="trail-badge trail-beginner">■ Beginner</span>
<span class="meta-sep">·</span>
<button class="tutorial-share" title="Copy link" aria-label="Copy link"><svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="none" stroke="currentColor" stroke-width="2" stroke-linecap="round" stroke-linejoin="round"><path d="M10 13a5 5 0 0 0 7.54.54l3-3a5 5 0 0 0-7.07-7.07l-1.72 1.71"/><path d="M14 11a5 5 0 0 0-7.54-.54l-3 3a5 5 0 0 0 7.07 7.07l1.71-1.71"/></svg><span class="share-label">Link</span></button>
</div>
<h2>U.S. Census Bureau Application Programming Interface with Python</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.census.gov/data/developers/data-sets/economic-indicators.html">Census Bureau API</a> provides access to a wide range of economic indicators, including manufacturing, trade, and business data. This tutorial demonstrates how to retrieve data from the M3 Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders survey using Python.</p>
<p>The example below retrieves the value of new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft. This serves as a proxy for new investment in business equipment and is a closely watched indicator of business investment trends.</p>
<hr class="section-bar accent-green">
<h3>Background</h3>
<h4>Census Bureau</h4>
<p>The U.S. Census Bureau collects data on manufacturing activity through several surveys. The <a href="https://www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/index.html">M3 survey</a> provides monthly estimates of shipments, inventories, and orders for domestic manufacturing establishments.</p>
<h4>API Documentation</h4>
<p>Information on what is required to make the API call is available in the <a href="https://api.census.gov/data/timeseries/eits/m3/variables.html">variables documentation</a>. The list of individual series codes is in the <a href="https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/m3/technical-documentation/code-lists/sichist.pdf">code list PDF</a>.</p>
<h4>Python</h4>
<p>This example uses Python 3 and the requests and pandas packages.</p>
<hr class="section-bar accent-green">
<h3>Example: Nondefense Capital Goods Orders</h3>
<span class="step-label accent-green">Setup</span>
<p>The Census API key is stored locally in a file called <code>config.py</code> (see the <a href="getstarted.html">Getting Started guide</a> for details). You can register for a free API key at the <a href="https://api.census.gov/data/key_signup.html">Census Bureau website</a>.</p>
<p>In[1]:</p>
<pre><code class="python">import requests
import pandas as pd
import config
key = config.census_key</code></pre>
<span class="step-label accent-green">Request Data from the API</span>
<p>The Census API takes query parameters including the fields to return (<code>get</code>), a category code, data type, and time range. Here, <code>NXA</code> is nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, and <code>VS</code> is the seasonally adjusted value. Data are retrieved from 2022 onward.</p>
<p>In[2]:</p>
<pre><code class="python">url = 'https://api.census.gov/data/timeseries/eits/advm3'
params = {
'get': 'cell_value,time_slot_id',
'key': key,
'category_code': 'NXA', # Nondefense capital goods ex. aircraft
'data_type_code': 'VS', # Seasonally adjusted value
'time': 'from 2022',
'for': 'us',
'seasonally_adj': 'yes'
}
r = requests.get(url, params=params).json()</code></pre>
<span class="step-label accent-green">Convert to Pandas DataFrame</span>
<p>The Census API returns JSON as a list of lists, where the first row contains column headers. We parse this into a DataFrame and set up a datetime index.</p>
<p>In[3]:</p>
<pre><code class="python">df = pd.DataFrame(r[1:], columns=r[0])
df.index = pd.to_datetime(df['time'] + '-01')
df.index.name = ''
df = df.sort_index()
df['cell_value'] = df['cell_value'].astype(float)</code></pre>
<span class="step-label accent-green">Calculate Growth Rate</span>
<p>The <code>pct_change(12)</code> method compares each month to the same month one year earlier, giving us a year-over-year growth rate that avoids seasonal distortions.</p>
<p>In[4]:</p>
<pre><code class="python">growth = df['cell_value'].pct_change(12) * 100</code></pre>
<span class="step-label accent-green">Plot the Results</span>
<p>Plot the 12-month percent change from 2024 onward.</p>
<p>In[5]:</p>
<pre><code class="python">title = ('New Orders: Nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft,\n'
'12-month percent change')
ax = growth.loc['2024':].plot(title=title)
ax.axhline(0, lw=0.5, color='gray', zorder=0)</code></pre>
<p>Out[5]:</p>
<picture><source srcset="images/census_m3_growth.webp" type="image/webp"><img decoding="async" src="images/census_m3_growth.png" alt="Census M3 New Orders Growth Rate" loading="lazy" width="567" height="471"/></picture>
<hr class="section-bar accent-green">
<h3>Further Resources</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.census.gov/data/developers/data-sets/economic-indicators.html">Census Economic Indicators API</a> — documentation and available datasets</li>
<li><a href="https://api.census.gov/data/key_signup.html">Register for API Key</a> — free registration required</li>
<li><a href="https://www.census.gov/manufacturing/m3/index.html">M3 Survey</a> — methodology for manufacturers' shipments, inventories, and orders</li>
<li><a href="censusapi2.html">Census API Part 2</a> — international trade data</li>
<li><a href="beaapi.html">BEA API Guide</a> — GDP and industry data from the national accounts</li>
</ul>
</article>
<div class="subfooter" data-hub="guides" data-current="censusapi.html" style="--accent-color: var(--color-card-green)"></div>
</section>
</main>
<footer>
<div class="footer_left">
<p><time datetime="2026">2026</time>, by Brian Dew</p>
</div>
<div class="footer_right">
<a href="https://github.com/bdecon/" aria-label="GitHub"><svg class="icon" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M8 0C3.58 0 0 3.58 0 8c0 3.54 2.29 6.53 5.47 7.59.4.07.55-.17.55-.38 0-.19-.01-.82-.01-1.49-2.01.37-2.53-.49-2.69-.94-.09-.23-.48-.94-.82-1.13-.28-.15-.68-.52-.01-.53.63-.01 1.08.58 1.23.82.72 1.21 1.87.87 2.33.66.07-.52.28-.87.51-1.07-1.78-.2-3.64-.89-3.64-3.95 0-.87.31-1.59.82-2.15-.08-.2-.36-1.02.08-2.12 0 0 .67-.21 2.2.82.64-.18 1.32-.27 2-.27s1.36.09 2 .27c1.53-1.04 2.2-.82 2.2-.82.44 1.1.16 1.92.08 2.12.51.56.82 1.27.82 2.15 0 3.07-1.87 3.75-3.65 3.95.29.25.54.73.54 1.48 0 1.07-.01 1.93-.01 2.2 0 .21.15.46.55.38A8.01 8.01 0 0 0 16 8c0-4.42-3.58-8-8-8z"/></svg></a>
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-dew-5788a386/" aria-label="LinkedIn"><svg class="icon" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M0 1.146C0 .513.526 0 1.175 0h13.65C15.474 0 16 .513 16 1.146v13.708c0 .633-.526 1.146-1.175 1.146H1.175C.526 16 0 15.487 0 14.854zm4.943 12.248V6.169H2.542v7.225zm-1.2-8.212c.837 0 1.358-.554 1.358-1.248-.016-.709-.52-1.248-1.342-1.248S1.4 3.226 1.4 3.934c0 .694.521 1.248 1.327 1.248zm4.908 8.212V9.359c0-.216.016-.432.08-.586.173-.431.568-.878 1.232-.878.869 0 1.216.662 1.216 1.634v3.865h2.401V9.25c0-2.22-1.184-3.252-2.764-3.252-1.274 0-1.845.7-2.165 1.193v.025h-.016a.3.3 0 0 1 .016-.025V6.169h-2.4c.03.678 0 7.225 0 7.225z"/></svg></a>
<a href="https://twitter.com/bd_econ" aria-label="Twitter"><svg class="icon" viewBox="0 0 16 16" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M5.026 15c6.038 0 9.341-5.003 9.341-9.334q.002-.211-.006-.422A6.7 6.7 0 0 0 16 3.542a6.7 6.7 0 0 1-1.889.518 3.3 3.3 0 0 0 1.447-1.817 6.5 6.5 0 0 1-2.087.793A3.286 3.286 0 0 0 7.875 6.03a9.32 9.32 0 0 1-6.767-3.429 3.29 3.29 0 0 0 1.018 4.382A3.3 3.3 0 0 1 .64 6.575v.045a3.29 3.29 0 0 0 2.632 3.218 3.2 3.2 0 0 1-.865.115 3 3 0 0 1-.614-.057 3.28 3.28 0 0 0 3.067 2.277A6.6 6.6 0 0 1 .78 13.58a6 6 0 0 1-.78-.045A9.34 9.34 0 0 0 5.026 15"/></svg></a>
<a href="https://briandew.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" aria-label="WordPress Blog"><svg class="icon" viewBox="0 0 24 24" fill="currentColor" aria-hidden="true"><path d="M21.469 6.825c.84 1.537 1.318 3.3 1.318 5.175 0 3.979-2.156 7.456-5.363 9.325l3.295-9.527c.615-1.54.82-2.771.82-3.864 0-.405-.026-.78-.07-1.11m-7.981.105c.647-.03 1.232-.105 1.232-.105.582-.075.514-.93-.067-.899 0 0-1.755.135-2.88.135-1.064 0-2.85-.15-2.85-.15-.585-.03-.661.855-.075.885 0 0 .54.061 1.125.09l1.68 4.605-2.37 7.08L5.354 6.9c.649-.03 1.234-.1 1.234-.1.585-.075.516-.93-.065-.896 0 0-1.746.138-2.874.138-.2 0-.438-.008-.69-.015C4.911 3.15 8.235 1.215 12 1.215c2.809 0 5.365 1.072 7.286 2.833-.046-.003-.091-.009-.141-.009-1.06 0-1.812.923-1.812 1.914 0 .89.513 1.643 1.06 2.531.411.72.89 1.643.89 2.977 0 .915-.354 1.994-.821 3.479l-1.075 3.585-3.9-11.61.001.014zM12 22.784c-1.059 0-2.081-.153-3.048-.437l3.237-9.406 3.315 9.087c.024.053.05.101.078.149-1.12.393-2.325.609-3.582.609M1.211 12c0-1.564.336-3.05.935-4.39L7.29 21.709C3.694 19.96 1.212 16.271 1.211 12M12 0C5.385 0 0 5.385 0 12s5.385 12 12 12 12-5.385 12-12S18.615 0 12 0"/></svg></a>
</div>
</footer>
<script src="scripts/nav.js"></script>
<script src="https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/highlight.js/11.11.1/highlight.min.js"></script>
<script>hljs.highlightAll();</script>
</body>
</html>