How do I cite US Census data in APA?
Answer
If you need to cite the U.S. Census Bureau (data.census.gov), in APA format, follow APA 7th edition guidelines for webpages on a website with a retrieval date. These rules are used for websites where the content changes over time, like the US Census.
Make sure to include the following elements in the citation:
- Author: U.S. Census Bureau.
- Date: Use n.d. for no date since there is no date for this specific web page.
- Title: Use the name of the data or report
- Parent organization: U.S. Department of Commerce
- Retrieval date and the URL https://data.census.gov/. It is uncommon to include a retrieval date in APA 7th edition, but you should include it here since contents of a page are designed to change over time
Reference List Example:
U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). Without health care coverage in ZCTA5 90804. U.S. Department of Commerce. Retrieved September 27, 2022,