Arlet

Government (United States)

Use U.S. Census Bureau from your AI

Query US Census Bureau statistics - population, households, income, housing and business counts - through a three-step flow: search tables by keyword, list a table's variables, then fetch values for any geography (nation, state, county, place). Defaults to the American Community Survey 5-year estimates. No setup needed - Arlet supplies the API key.

This server connects your AI client to the US Census Bureau data API, which publishes the country's demographic and economic baseline statistics. The Census variable system is famously intricate (tables like B19013, variables like B19013_001E, geography codes like state:06); this server wraps it in a three-step flow that an AI can follow reliably.

Key features:

  • search_tables: find statistical tables by keyword within a dataset - 'median household income' resolves to table B19013. Defaults to the American Community Survey 5-year estimates (acs/acs5), the dataset with the finest geographic detail.
  • list_table_variables: list a table's variables with human-readable labels. By default only estimate variables are shown, hiding the margin-of-error and annotation columns that usually just add noise.
  • get_data: fetch values for chosen variables and a geography in the Census 'level:codes' form (us:1, state:06, county:* within a state, place:*, ...). The raw array-of-arrays response is converted to named records, and geography names are always included.

Other datasets and years are reachable through the dataset/vintage parameters (acs/acs1, dec/pl decennial redistricting, cbp County Business Patterns, ...).

Arlet obtains and manages the API key, so there is nothing for you to sign up for or configure - just switch the server on. (The key's rate limit is shared across Arlet users.)

What you need

  • An Arlet account
  • No API key or account registration is needed. Just switch it on in Arlet.

Choose your AI client

Pick the AI client you use to see how to connect it with U.S. Census Bureau.