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JOURNALISTS, RESEARCHERS DATA GATHERING MADE SIMPLER BY MapsStats Website Provides "One Click" Access to State, "Two Click" Access to County and City Data

WASHINGTON - Thanks to a partnership between the Department of Housing and Urban Development, FedStats and the U.S. Census Bureau, finding key government-wide statistical data and information about cities, counties, states and the nation just became markedly simpler with the activation of an enhanced MapsStats section of the FedStats website -- www.fedstats.gov -- a one-stop site for community stakeholders, journalists, researchers, students and everyday data users.

MapStats eliminates the need to search multiple sites to get information on births and deaths, income, poverty, housing, crime, employment, retail sales, education levels, travel time to work, minority owned firms, weather and many other community indicators. The website links two award-winning Internet applications to data and other information across federal agencies to provide easy access to the latest government statistics.

MapStats, when used with HUD's State of the Cities Data System, provides users with a powerful tool for accessing detailed demographic and business information for cities. Data from the State of the Cities Data System are available for four decades, enabling users to research trends.

Mapstats also provides a number of helpful tools and links. For example, if you don't know a county name but know a place or ZIP Code, MapStats "place search" function will tell you the county and will link directly to the statistics page for that county, or state or city. Clicking on the "?" to the left of any data item provides an easy to read explanation, documentation and hyperlinks to other resources. Thematic mapping is also available for some data, and for hard-core data aficionados, Federal Information Processing Standard codes - often referred to as FIPS codes - for states, counties and cities are referenced at the bottom of every page.

HUD and FedStats officials say future enhancements will be based on user feedback.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.