Census ACS 5-Year Estimates - Philadelphia

Comprehensive access to American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates for Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. The ACS is the premier source for detailed demographic, social, economic, and housing data about communities across the United States.

This dataset provides API access to 20,000+ variables covering topics including:

• Demographics (age, race, ethnicity, citizenship)
• Economics (income, poverty, employment, industry, occupation)
• Housing (tenure, value, costs, conditions, utilities)
• Education (enrollment, attainment)
• Transportation (commute mode, travel time, vehicle availability)
• Health Insurance coverage
• Veterans and military service
• Disability status
• Language spoken at home
• Ancestry and place of birth
• Computer and internet access

The ACS 5-Year Estimates combine 5 years of survey data to provide reliable estimates for small geographic areas. Data is updated annually (typically released in December). Census geography identifiers can be joined with Philadelphia boundary files for spatial analysis.

Available Geography Levels:

• County (Philadelphia County aggregate)
• Census Tract (408 tracts)
• Block Group (1,816 block groups)
• County Subdivision

Key Variable Examples:

• B01003_001E: Total Population
• B19013_001E: Median Household Income
• B17001_002E: Population Below Poverty Level
• B15003_022E: Bachelor’s Degree or Higher
• B25077_001E: Median Home Value
• B25064_001E: Median Gross Rent
• B08301: Means of Transportation to Work (multiple variables)
• B03002: Hispanic/Latino Origin by Race (multiple variables)
• B27001: Health Insurance Coverage (multiple variables)

The API examples below use the 2024 (2020-2024) release. To access other years, replace “2024” in the URL with the desired year (available annually from 2009 to 2024).

For complete variable lists and definitions, see the Census Variable Search Tool below. No API key required for basic use, but free registration provides higher rate limits.

Resources

• ACS Census Variable Search Tool (2020-2024) HTML (Details)
  Interactive tool to search and browse all 20,000+ available ACS variables. Essential for finding specific demographic, economic, or housing variables. Search by keyword or browse by topic.
• ACS 5-Year Population (2020-2024) - Philadelphia County Level API (Details)
  Census API endpoint for Philadelphia County aggregate data. Modify the get= parameter to include any ACS variables. Example returns total population (B01003_001E). Free access, no API key required for basic use.
• ACS 5-Year Population (2020-2024) - Census Tract Level API (Details)
  Census API endpoint for all Philadelphia census tracts. Returns data for 408 census tracts. Modify the get= parameter to query any ACS variables. Example includes total population (B01003_001E).
• ACS 5-Year Population (2020-2024) - Block Group Level API (Details)
  Census API endpoint for all Philadelphia block groups. Returns data for 1,816 block groups. Most granular geography available. Modify the get= parameter to query any ACS variables. Example includes total population (B01003_001E).
• Example - Economic Indicators by Tract API (Details)
  Example API query for multiple economic variables: median household income, poverty rate, employment status, and median home value (B19013_001E, B17001_001E, B17001_002E, B23025_003E, B25077_001E) by census tract.
• Example - Demographics by Tract API (Details)
  Example API query for demographic variables: total population, race/ethnicity breakdown by census tract. Includes White alone, Black alone, Asian alone, and Hispanic/Latino (B01003_001E, B03002_003E, B03002_004E, B03002_006E ,B03002_012E).
• Example - Housing Characteristics by Tract API (Details)
  Example API query for housing variables: total housing units, occupied units, median home value, median rent, owner vs renter occupied by census tract (B25001_001E, B25002_002E, B25077_001E, B25064_001E, B25003_001E, B25003_002E, B25003_003E&).
• Example - Commute Patterns by Tract (2020-2024) API (Details)
  Example API query for transportation data: means of transportation to work including car, public transit, walked, worked from home by census tract (B08301_001E, B08301_002E, B08301_010E, B08301_019E, B08301_021E&).
• Example - Education Attainment by Tract (2020-2024) API (Details)
  Example API query for educational attainment: population 25+ by educational level including less than high school, high school graduate, some college, bachelor's degree, graduate degree (B15003_001E, B15003_017E, B15003_018E, B15003_022E, B15003_023E).
• Census API User Guide HTML (Details)
  Comprehensive Census API documentation including query syntax, geography options, variable naming conventions, and usage examples. Includes information on obtaining a free API key for higher rate limits.
• ACS 5-Year Technical Documentation (2020-2024) HTML (Details)
  Detailed documentation for the ACS 5-Year dataset including all available geographies, groups, variables, and examples. Technical reference for advanced users.
• What is the American Community Survey? PDF (Details)
  Official ACS handbook with detailed information about survey methodology, data collection, estimation procedures, and how to properly interpret and use ACS data.
• Census API Examples (GitHub) HTML (Details)
  Python examples and Jupyter notebooks demonstrating how to access Census API data, perform analysis, and create visualizations. Includes examples for joining with geographic data.

Additional Info