Census Bureau Data API

The Census Bureau Data API is the machine-access path to Census products, and this slice names it in two places. The CBP / Economic Census / Wholesale Trade record bundles three programs behind one interface. Separately, the Housing Vacancies and Homeownership (CPS-HVS) record states the access conditions: "The Census Data API requires a free integration key issued at api.census.gov and is subject to Census Bureau API terms of use." Its data_formats field reads "API (JSON)" and its estimated_size notes that "Census API series covers all published quarters." That combination — one JSON interface, key-gated data queries, complete published series — is what separates the API from the portal-style sources it alternates with in this catalog.

The API is the machine-readable alternative to portal downloads, and choosing wrong costs integration time. Its record bundles CBP, the Economic Census and Wholesale Trade, and the HVS series through it covers all published quarters, so depth is not the constraint — the key and the terms of use are. 574 of the catalog's 1,744 datasets expose an official API; this is the Census entry in that group.

Use these checks before you rely on a source's treatment of this term:

1. Confirm the programs you need are in the API's catalog record — CBP, the Economic Census and Wholesale Trade are bundled in one entry here.
2. Check format and depth before integrating: the HVS record lists data_formats as API (JSON) and notes the series covers all published quarters.
3. Budget for the credential and terms: a free integration key issued at api.census.gov is required and use is subject to Census Bureau API terms of use.
4. Compare against portal-style sources in the same industry to see whether scheduled API pulls or manual downloads fit the workflow better.

Where to see it in context: financial-exchanges-data data, home-improvement-retail data.

• bulk-download — the key-free alternative access path for the same Census programs.
• county-business-patterns — one of the three programs bundled in the API's catalog record.
• cps-hvs — the Housing Vacancy Survey whose published quarters are all served through the API.
• data-gov-catalog — the federated catalog where Census records sit alongside other agency sources.