Deloitte, MIT Macro Connections Group, and Datawheel release Data USA 

Deloitte, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Macro Connections Group and Datawheel today launched Data USA, a free and open platform that collects, analyzes, and visualizes shared US government data to help executives, policymakers, and citizens better understand critical issues in areas like jobs, skills, education, and health.

Data USA is among the most comprehensive visualization engine for shared US government data to date, aggregating, and visualizing publicly available data from multiple sources including the Department of Labor, Department of Commerce, and Department of Education. The platform allows all users to browse and filter data and create visualizations to enhance their understanding of national, regional, and local issues, reveal patterns, and make more informed decisions about their lives, their work and their community.

Data USA’s ability to frame and filter data in categories such as location, occupation, education, and industry has practical applications for a variety of audiences. For example:

• Business owners can view regional data to determine which locations would be effective for opening a new office by pinpointing areas with the most skilled workforce along with affordable real estate
• Students can view income statistics to determine careers with highest earning potential or cities with the top job market for their earned degree
• Policymakers can quickly create maps, charts, and graphs that illustrate regional, national, and hyper-local data on gender wage gaps, population trends, immigration, and poverty
• Public health professionals can work with Data USA to explore behavioral disease patterns across the country

“The US government offers almost 200,000 data sets for public use, often out of reach for the average citizen,” said César Hidalgo, professor at the MIT Media Lab and director of Macro Connections. “Data USA transforms these datasets into stories, pioneering a new breed of user-friendly government data sites that we urgently need.”

Data USA is freely available and users can browse the data and gain insights using filters or target their view using search tools. The code is open source, and the platform is scalable, allowing for new data to be added. Application developers can build on the Data USA platform using the API and integrate additional data for custom use.

“Accessible, easy-to-use open government data can have significant economic and societal benefits,” said Dr. Patricia Buckley, director of economics at Deloitte Services LP. “Data USA provides the tools to transform data into millions of stories about America–its people, places, industries, occupations, skill sets, and educational institutions–to better understand our populations, visualize critical national issues, and improve how we live and work both today and in the future.”

Source: Deloitte

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