News Release
HUD No. 04-008 For Release
Michael Fluharty Monday
(202)708-0685 February 9, 2004
www.hud.gov/news
JOURNALISTS, RESEARCHERS DATA GATHERING MADE SIMPLER BY MapsStats Website
Provides "One Click" Access to State, "Two Click" Access to County and City Data
WASHINGTON - Thanks to a partnership between the Department of Housing and Urban Development,
FedStats and the U.S. Census Bureau, finding key government-wide statistical data and information
about cities, counties, states and the nation just became markedly simpler with the activation
of an enhanced MapsStats section of the FedStats website -- www.fedstats.gov -- a one-stop site for
community stakeholders, journalists, researchers, students and everyday data users.
MapStats eliminates the need to search multiple sites to get information on births and deaths,
income, poverty, housing, crime, employment, retail sales, education levels, travel time to work,
minority owned firms, weather and many other community indicators. The website links two
award-winning Internet applications to data and other information across federal agencies to
provide easy access to the latest government statistics.
MapStats, when used with HUD's State of the Cities Data System, provides users with a powerful tool
for accessing detailed demographic and business information for cities. Data from the State of the
Cities Data System are available for four decades, enabling users to research trends.
Mapstats also provides a number of helpful tools and links. For example, if you don't know a county
name but know a place or ZIP Code, MapStats "place search" function will tell you the county and will
link directly to the statistics page for that county, or state or city. Clicking on the "?" to the
left of any data item provides an easy to read explanation, documentation and hyperlinks to other
resources. Thematic mapping is also available for some data, and for hard-core data aficionados,
Federal Information Processing Standard codes - often referred to as FIPS codes - for states,
counties and cities are referenced at the bottom of every page.
HUD and FedStats officials say future enhancements will be based on user feedback.
HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among
minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting
the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department
also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair
housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet
and espanol.hud.gov.
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U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20410
Telephone: (202) 708-1112 TTY: (202) 708-1455
