Data sources
Every dataset AreaProfile collects, with what it is used for, how often it updates, the terms it is published under, and when AreaProfile last imported it.
11 active sources · 1,463,167 normalized measurements · 2,740,538 historical data points
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
Official airport identifiers, names, coordinates, operating status and runway dimensions. AreaProfile derives its own airport classification from these published attributes; it is not an FAA hub designation.
Terms: U.S. Government work, public domain, published as FAA open data.
Attribution: Cite the Federal Aviation Administration. Not for navigational use.
Rate limits: Paged at 1,000–2,000 records per request.
Redistribution: Redistribution permitted. Must not be presented as suitable for navigation.
National Risk Index
Natural-hazard risk, expected annual loss, social vulnerability and community resilience by county and census tract for 18 hazard types. AreaProfile preserves the per-hazard inputs and computes its own consumer-facing Physical Resilience presentation rather than re-labelling FEMA composites.
Terms: OpenFEMA Terms and Conditions: https://www.fema.gov/about/openfema/terms-conditions — U.S. Government work, not subject to domestic copyright.
Attribution: Must cite FEMA as the source and state that FEMA does not endorse any derived product. AreaProfile-derived hazard ratings are labelled as AreaProfile calculations.
Rate limits: None published.
Redistribution: Redistribution permitted with the FEMA non-endorsement statement.
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
Thirty-year monthly normals for temperature, precipitation and snowfall at official observing stations. Used for the climate profile, which is distinct from current weather.
Terms: U.S. Government work, open access. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/
Attribution: Cite NOAA NCEI and the 1991–2020 normals period.
Rate limits: Courtesy limits; AreaProfile requests one station at a time with a declared User-Agent.
Redistribution: Redistribution permitted.
National Weather Service API
Current observed conditions and active alerts. Held deliberately to a compact contextual module — AreaProfile is not a weather service.
Terms: U.S. Government work, public domain. https://www.weather.gov/disclaimer
Attribution: Cite the National Weather Service.
Rate limits: NWS requires a User-Agent identifying the application and a contact address.
Redistribution: Redistribution permitted; not to be presented as an official forecast.
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
Monthly labor force, employment and unemployment for states, counties and metropolitan areas. AreaProfile stores the complete historical series rather than only the latest value.
Terms: U.S. Government work, public domain. https://www.bls.gov/bls/linksite.htm
Attribution: Cite the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. BLS requires a User-Agent with a contact email for automated downloads.
Rate limits: BLS blocks requests without an identifying User-Agent; AreaProfile fetches on the release schedule only.
Redistribution: Redistribution permitted.
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
Metropolitan-area occupational employment counts and wage percentiles used for wage context.
Terms: U.S. Government work, public domain. https://www.bls.gov/bls/linksite.htm
Attribution: Cite the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS program and the reference year.
Rate limits: Requires an identifying User-Agent.
Redistribution: Redistribution permitted.
2020 Geographic Relationship Files
Official record-level relationships between 2020 census geographies (tract↔ZCTA, ZCTA↔county, place↔county) used to build AreaProfile weighted crosswalks instead of joining on place names.
Terms: U.S. Government work, not subject to domestic copyright (17 U.S.C. §105).
Attribution: Cite the U.S. Census Bureau 2020 relationship files.
Rate limits: None published.
Redistribution: Redistribution permitted. Relationship weights are stored with their basis.
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
Demographic, income, housing, education, employment and commuting estimates for states, counties, places and ZIP Code Tabulation Areas. AreaProfile reads the published table-based Summary File directly rather than the keyed API, so ingestion depends on no credential.
Terms: U.S. Government work, not subject to domestic copyright (17 U.S.C. §105). Census Bureau Terms of Service: https://www.census.gov/data/developers/about/terms-of-service.html
Attribution: Cite the U.S. Census Bureau and the specific ACS release. AreaProfile is not endorsed by the Census Bureau.
Rate limits: No published limit for static file downloads; AreaProfile fetches each table once per release.
Redistribution: Redistribution permitted. Margins of error are retained alongside every estimate.
Building Permits Survey
Monthly and year-to-date residential building permits by county, place and CBSA. AreaProfile stores the full historical series and derives its own Development Momentum signal from it.
Terms: U.S. Government work, not subject to domestic copyright (17 U.S.C. §105).
Attribution: Cite the U.S. Census Bureau Building Permits Survey and the reference period.
Rate limits: None published.
Redistribution: Redistribution permitted. Revised figures replace preliminary ones and are re-snapshotted.
Gazetteer Files
Authoritative names, FIPS codes, land/water area and internal-point coordinates for states, counties, places and ZCTAs. Forms the backbone of the AreaProfile canonical geography layer.
Terms: U.S. Government work, not subject to domestic copyright (17 U.S.C. §105).
Attribution: Cite the U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer Files and the vintage year.
Rate limits: None published.
Redistribution: Redistribution permitted.
Population Estimates Program
Annual July 1 population estimates for places, counties and metropolitan areas. AreaProfile uses these for population trend because consecutive ACS five-year estimates share four years of sample and the Census Bureau advises against comparing them; these estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison.
Terms: U.S. Government work, not subject to domestic copyright (17 U.S.C. §105).
Attribution: Cite the U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program and the vintage year.
Rate limits: None published.
Redistribution: Redistribution permitted. Estimates are revised each vintage; AreaProfile snapshots each release.
How a source gets added
Before AreaProfile ingests anything it has to answer yes to all of these: does it answer a question someone actually asks about a place; is coverage broad enough to compare locations; is the methodology understandable; is the update cadence useful; is the source sustainable; can its geography be mapped reliably; can historical values be preserved; are its terms compatible; and does it materially improve a profile. A source that fails any of these is not added, however interesting it is.
AreaProfile does not work around access controls. Where a dataset is published behind bot protection or a paywall, it is left out and the gap is stated on the relevant profile section — as with taxes, which are documented on the methodology page.