How to Pull Census Data for Your County for a Grant

Your application asks you to "describe the need in your community, with data." You know the U.S. Census Bureau has the numbers, but the first time you open its data site, it can feel like walking into a library with no signs.

This guide is a hands-on walkthrough: how to get one solid, citable number for your county from data.census.gov, add a state and national comparison, read the margin of error, and download and cite the table. For how to write the need section, including a structure and a list of other data sources, see our guide to writing a statement of need.

Before you start: pick one question

Don't open the site and browse. Decide first what you want to show. One or two numbers that tie directly to your program beat a page of statistics.

Here are some American Community Survey (ACS) "subject tables" that small nonprofits often use. Each has a short table ID you can type straight into the search bar:

If your program is about...Try this table
Poverty or basic needsS1701, Poverty Status in the Past 12 Months
Household incomeS1901, Income in the Past 12 Months
Food assistanceS2201, Food Stamps/Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Jobs and unemploymentS2301, Employment Status
Health insuranceS2701, Selected Characteristics of Health Insurance Coverage in the United States
DisabilityS1810, Disability Characteristics
Education levelsS1501, Educational Attainment
Language accessS1601, Language Spoken at Home
Older adults or age groupsS0101, Age and Sex

Step 1: Choose 5-year or 1-year estimates

The ACS publishes two main kinds of estimates, and the Census Bureau's guide to using 1-year or 5-year ACS data explains the difference:

For most small nonprofits, 5-year estimates are the safer choice, especially if your county is small or you want to compare it with towns or census tracts. The 2020–2024 ACS 5-year estimates were released on January 29, 2026. Always use the newest release you can find, and note which one you used.

Step 2: Find the table

  1. Go to data.census.gov.
  2. Type the table ID and your county into the search bar, for example "S1701" plus your county and state name, and search.
  3. Click the table in the results.

If you'd rather search by topic, typing a word like "poverty" works too. The Census Bureau's own step-by-step exercise uses exactly that approach and lands on table S1701.

Step 3: Set the dataset and the geography

Once the table is open, you'll see a row of buttons across the top, which the Census Bureau calls the table ribbon. Two buttons matter most:

That side-by-side view is your comparison. Funders want to know whether your county's number is higher or lower than average, and this gives you both benchmarks in one table.

Serving a few ZIP codes instead of a whole county? The ACS publishes data for ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs), which the Census Bureau builds to approximate ZIP code areas. They aren't identical to postal ZIP codes, so describe them as ZCTAs in your citation. The Bureau explains the difference on its ZCTA page.

Step 4: Read the number and its margin of error

Find the row you need. In S1701, for example, look for the percent below poverty level for the total population, or for children if your program serves kids.

Next to each estimate you'll see a margin of error (MOE). The ACS is a survey of a sample of households, so every estimate has some uncertainty. According to the Census Bureau's ACS handbook for general data users, published ACS margins of error are at a 90 percent confidence level. Add and subtract the MOE from the estimate to get the range the true value likely falls in.

Why this matters for your proposal:

Keep the Margin of Error toggle in the ribbon switched on while you work, so you always see it.

Step 5: Download and cite

Use the Download button to save the table. The Census Bureau's guide to exporting tables explains that the Excel option gives you a presentation-ready file, with information about the table on the first worksheet and the data on the second. Save it in a folder for this application so you can find it at reporting time.

Then use the Cite button, which offers citation styles including MLA, APA, and Chicago. At minimum, your citation should include the agency, the survey and release (for example, "2020–2024 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates"), the table ID, and the geography.

Step 6: Turn it into a sentence

Write one plain sentence per number. A pattern that works:

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's [release] American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table [ID]), an estimated [X]% of [County] residents [measure] (margin of error ±[Y] percentage points), compared with [A]% statewide and [B]% nationally.

Fill each bracket from your table, and only use the word "higher" or "lower" if the margins of error support it. Then connect the number to what you see every day in your program, which is the part only you can write.

Quick checklist

Once your need numbers are ready, our guide to finding local foundations that fund your cause shows how to build a list of funders to send them to.

Want the numbers pulled for you?

If you'd rather spend your evening on the program than on table IDs, CivicVane's Statement of Need Data Brief ($129) gathers local need statistics for your city, county, or service area from the Census American Community Survey (including employment) and CDC PLACES health estimates, with state and national comparisons, margins of error, full citations, and a draft need paragraph you can adapt. It's delivered by email as a PDF within 2 business days of payment and a complete order form.

Sources

All links checked on October 25, 2026.

Last checked 2026-10-25.