Missouri Data Sources and Applicability

The U.S. Census Bureau - http://www.census.gov

The Census Bureau provides detailed data on population, age, sex, income, housing, commuting patterns, disability, educational attainment and other demographic data.  They also issue reports periodically on things such as health insurance coverage, retirement patterns, and immigration across the county.  County, city, and smaller geographic areas are available for analysis.  The American Fact Finder tool available on their website gives one access to this data.  The American Fact Finder tool also provides data in a downloadable MS Excel format so one can manipulate to data into graphs, charts, etc.  There is also a quick facts tool that makes it very easy to look up Census 2000 data on a state and county with only a few clicks of the mouse.

The Missouri Census Data Center (MCDC) - http://mcdc2.missouri.edu

The Missouri Census Data Center makes available all of the data supplied by the Census Bureau but does so in different formats, and offers unique tools to view data.  The Circular Area Profiles (CAPS) tool allows one to type in latitude and longitude coordinates or a zip code and receives what the demographic make-up of a user selected circular area is.  Also available are easily found demographic profiles of not only cities and counties, but also school, library, and political districts.  The political districts might be helpful for demonstrating how the work of a social service agency impacts a legislative district.  The Missouri Census Data Center also conducts annual trainings and conferences to help researchers, social service providers, and anyone else interested in navigating through the enormous amounts of census data available. 

Office of Social & Economic Data Analysis (OSEDA) - http://www.oseda.missouri.edu/

For tabular information on several different Missouri geographies, visit this site.   There are lots of ways to look at demographic information on this site including by school district.  OSEDA has many links with the Missouri Census Data Center (MCDC) because the MCDC website is a product of OSEDA. 

The Missouri Department of Economic Development - http://www.ded.mo.gov/business/researchandplanning/

The Missouri Department of Economic Development Research and Information Center (MERIC) provides data on unemployment, MO industry, cost of living, wages, fuel prices, etc.  This is a great place to start investigating social issues related to employment outlooks by county, poverty issues, and how industry impacts regions. 

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services - http://www.dhss.mo.gov/DataAndStatisticalReports/index.html

The MO DHSS has downloadable data at their website regarding birth and death rates, hazardous substances, WIC data, accident information, cause of death, Medicaid, pregnancy, marriage and divorce, and other health records.  DHSS also provides good explanations about how the data was collected, when it was collected, and other helpful explanations. 

Missouri State Highway Patrol - http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/SAC/index.html

The Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program is a nationwide, cooperative statistical effort of nearly 17,000 city, county, and state law enforcement agencies voluntarily reporting data on crimes brought to their attention. In 2001 Missouri instituted mandatory UCR reporting on a statewide basis. Every law enforcement agency in the State has since been required to report crime data monthly to the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP). MSHP creates and maintains computer files of the Missouri UCR data and supplies information not only to the FBI for use in national crime statistics, but also to local agencies and organizations through their website.  Detailed information such as who perpetrated an act of domestic violence against the victim (i.e. husband, boyfriend) and how many minors were arrested in a city or county is available.

Indiana State Data Center - http://www.stats.indiana.edu/

The Indiana State Data Center has economic and demographic profiles for each of 3,141 counties in the USA, with dynamic ranks. This website is one of the best and easy to use reference tools on the web pertaining to demographics, economics, and labor.  These one-of-a-kind profiles provide a select compilation of demographic and economic indicators supplied by the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  Information is updated periodically through the year, so check back often for the most current information. Added features, such as the linked ranks, allow users to easily locate counties that are similar or dissimilar to one they are interested in. The City-to-County Finder allows you to type in the name of a city or town and locate its county. Also available are manufacturing, research and development expenditures, bankruptcy filings, self-employment figures, utility payments, educational attainment, and occupations data that can be easily compared with other states and counties. The best feature of this site is the ease in which one can compare a county or city to other counties and cities nationwide with only one click of the mouse.

Annie E. Casey Foundation – KidsCount - http://www.aecf.org/kidscount/data.htm

KIDS COUNT, a project of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the U.S. By providing policymakers and citizens with benchmarks of child well-being, KIDS COUNT seeks to enrich local, state, and national discussions concerning ways to secure better futures for all children. The annual analysis of how children fare across the U.S. is based on a variety of social, economic, and demographic data sources and helps track how kids fare across the country. 

State of Missouri Families - http://missourifamilies.org/report/counties/

This website offers quick county demographic profiles based on information most important to families.  For instance if offers information on health, income and housing in one place.  The data supplied is somewhat cursory but for a quick reference, this site can be helpful.

Center for Agriculture, Resource, and Environmental Systems (CARES) - http://cares.missouri.edu/

CARES is a research and service center within the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri – Columbia.  They use geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, environmental modeling, and internet mapping to help better address resource, environmental and socio-economic issues.  While much of the information they provide relates to environmental quality, they also may have studies or information relevant to the environmental health of areas.  They also provide some online mapping services where you choose what you want mapped and it creates it for you.

Missouri Spatial Data Information Service (MSDIS) - http://msdisweb.missouri.edu/

MSDIS offers free census, environmental, and other data in spatial formats.  They offer some online mapping services where you can choose various kinds of information, including aerial and satellite imagery, and create a map in a web browser.  The maps are ok for simple reference tools.  If you want high quality maps however, one has to have and know how to use GIS software and there is an abundance of information on this site.  People pay a large amount of money for this kind of data not knowing it is free for the taking if you know how to access it.  Not all states provide this kind of resource.