100+ Data Sources for Market Research
Putting together our winter newsletter, Five Free Data Sources Every Market Researcher Should Know, had me reviewing various sources of free data that we use nearly every day at Versta Research. The really big sources were top-of-mind and easy to come up with: data from The Census, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the National Institutes of Health, and so on. We rely on these data all the time, and so should you.
I was curious, though, about what I might be missing, and dug up a huge list of other data sources worth knowing about. Here is what I learned from a 2017 report from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget:
“The U.S. has a highly decentralized statistical system, spanning 128 agencies spread across the Government, all of which are engaged, to some degree, in conducting statistical activities.”
Think about that. There are over 100 agencies compiling and disseminating valuable data to businesses (and the public) and it is all there waiting for you to explore and use. Here is a partial listing of the agencies in our robust, generous, publicly-minded federal system offering data for our use and benefit:
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
The Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)
The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS)
The Forest Service (FS)
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
The Risk Management Agency (RMA)
Strategic Data Acquisition and Analysis (SDAA)
The World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB)
The Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA)
The International Trade Administration (ITA)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)
The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO)
The Army Corps of Engineers (ACE)
The Defense Health Agency (DHA)
The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC)
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE)
National Center for Education Research (NCER)
National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER)
The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE)
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)
The Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII)
The Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development (OPEPD)
The Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE)
The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)
The Office of Environment, Health, Safety, and Security (OEHSS)
The Administration for Children and Families (ACF)
The Administration for Community Living (ACL)
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
The Division of Global HIV/AIDS (DGHA)
The Global Immunization Division (GID)
The National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD)
The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCD-PHP)
The National Center for Emerging Zoonotic and Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)
The National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH)
The National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, Sexually Transmitted Disease, and Tuberculosis Prevention (NCHHSTP)
The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD)
The National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC)
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
The Office of Public Health Scientific Services (PHSS)
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
The Indian Health Service (IHS)
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
National Eye Institute (NEI)
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
The Office of Population Affairs (OPA)
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
The Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS)
The Boating Accident Report Database (BARD)
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
The Office of Immigration Statistics (OIS)
The Office of Housing (Housing)
The Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R)
The Office of Public and Indian Housing (PIH)
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)
The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
The Geological Survey (GS)
The National Park Service (NPS)
The Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR)
The Bureau of Prisons (BOP)
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR)
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ)
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
The Chief Evaluation Office (CEO)
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA)
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)
The Wage and Hour Division (WHD)
The Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC)
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
The Drug and Alcohol Management Information System (DAMIS)
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
The National Cemetery Administration (NCA)
The VA Office of Inspector General (VAOIG)
The Office of the Actuary (OACT)
The National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics (NCVAS)
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
The National Science Foundation (NSF)
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
The Small Business Administration (SBA)
The Social Security Administration (SSA)
The Office of Research, Demonstration, and Employment Support (ORDES).
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Every time you embark on a new research effort, you should ask: “What is out there already? Can you get data without generating new data yourself?” Scan this list for agencies related to your topic. Do some quick digging, and you’ll find the answer is often yes.
At the very least, this list of agencies and resources will lead you to valuable nuggets of insight that will likely make your own research faster, easier, smarter, and more efficient.
—Joe Hopper, Ph.D.
