The Census Bureau maintains and enhances confidential microdata for use in social science research. These data are from Census Bureau censuses and surveys of businesses and households, linked employer-employee data, and administrative records from federal and state agencies and other sources. Information about selected restricted-use datasets can be found in the links below. Some (not all) of these datasets are available to qualified researchers at Federal, state, local, and tribal government agencies, academic institutions, and other entities (as appropriate) with approved projects at secure Federal Statistical Research Data Centers or, where authorized, through the secure Remote Access Program.

You can apply for access to restricted-use microdata at FSRDCs via the Standard Application Process (SAP) Portal at www.ResearchDataGov.org. The SAP Portal is a web-based data catalog and common application that serves as a “front door” to apply for confidential data from any of the 16 principal federal statistical agencies and units for evidence building purposes. To learn more about the SAP, please visit the Standard Application Process Overview webpage. Information about applying for access to restricted-use Census Bureau microdata in the FSRDCs using the SAP portal is available on the Census Bureau’s Standard Application Process website. 

Note: the SAP Portal has the definitive list of restricted-use Census Bureau datasets available to potential FSRDC researchers. Datasets are added and removed from the SAP portal as their availability status changes.

Assistance from an FSRDC administrator will greatly reduce the need for future revisions to your application. If you are unsure which FSRDC to contact or have a general question, please reach out to the Census Bureau at ced.fsrdc.info@census.gov.

UMETRICS Data is currently unavailable to FSRDC to researchers due to an agreement lapse.