Got Data If You Want 'Em: The Statistical Abstract of the United States Available Online Once Again

Following a budget cut in 2011, the U.S. Census Bureau terminated the collection of data for its Statistical Compendia program, resulting in the discontinuation of major statistical publications, including the Statistical Abstract of the United States, one of the most important and useful reference publications ever produced. Subsequent to this decision, the database company ProQuest began publishing a new version of the Statistical Abstract online, and the Cheng Library is happy to announce that the current (2014) edition is now available online to the WPUNJ community.

The Statistical Abstract of the United States is the most authoritative and comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. It offers convenient access to a wide variety of data on such topics as population, education, elections, all major sectors of the economy, health and nutrition, government, science and technology, transportation, housing, and much more. Every table in the Statistical Abstract provides citations to more extensive and detailed sources of data for its subject, which also makes it an efficient guide to data sources. The data in the Statistical Abstract is drawn from the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, and many other Federal agencies and private organizations.

The online version of the Statistical Abstract features an easy-to-browse table of contents and keywork searching. All statistical tables can be exported to PDF or to Excel format for further analysis, and most of the data source citations appearing in the notes at the bottom of each table are hyperlinked for easy navigation to additional detail. A Quick Start Guide to the online edition is available featuring useful tips.

The older editions of the Statistical Abstract remain available through the Census Bureau's web site, but please the current edition for more recent data.

Please contact Richard Kearney (kearneyr@wpunj.edu or 973-720-2165) if you have any questions or need additional information about the Statistical Abstract of the United States.