Federal and public datasets for rural innovation research
Annual demographic, economic, social, and housing survey of ~3.5 million U.S. households. A primary federal source for community-level characteristics not captured by administrative data — educational attainment, income, housing costs, work-from-home rates, self-employment, and more.
Annual measures of establishment entry, exit, and job flows from 1978 to present, derived from longitudinal business records. One of the primary federal sources for tracking entrepreneurial dynamism, firm lifecycle, and the churn beneath aggregate employment levels.
Monthly and annual counts of business applications (EIN filings) at the county, state, and national level. A leading indicator of entrepreneurial intent that provides an early signal of business formation activity before it appears in BDS or QCEW.
Annual county-level population estimates and components of change — births, deaths, and migration — from the U.S. Census Bureau. The standard source for intercensal population data between decennial census years.
Broadband infrastructure availability data from the FCC National Broadband Map (2022–present) and its predecessor Form 477 (2014–2021). The primary federal source for tracking fixed broadband infrastructure availability at the location, census block, and county level.
County-level employment and wage data covering roughly 95% of U.S. wage and salary employment, primarily derived from unemployment insurance administrative records. A core federal source for local labor market analysis at the county level.
