Provides information, research reports and statistics on the California economy and public policy issues. Also provides access to selected policy reports, statistics, and information at the national and international scale.
US Census data. Fact sheets offer quick and easy profiles of counties, cities, & zip codes. For more detailed information, you can access data tables (links to a great guide created by CSU Northridge)
A comprehensive summary of statistics on the social, political, and economic organization of the United States. Updated annually. Covers a much broader range of topics than the census data (American Factfinder), but the data is not as detailed.
From the USC School of Policy, Planning & Development
Pew Research Center
From the center's website, "The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan 'fact tank' that provides
information on the issues, attitudes and trends shaping America and the
world." This is an amazing resource for current statistics--especially those related to technology use.
Researching a Demographic Community
Population overviews are a great place to start. Then get a sense of the numbers by checking out sources of demographic data.
Most importantly, however, you need to learn about the experiences of the population group you're researching. Ideally, you'll need to talk to members of the community, but you'll also need to consult the planning literature, including:
Books
Journal Articles
Newspaper Articles
Government Documents
Go to the library's Planner's Toolkit research guide for assistance with searching for any of these types of resources.