Deloitte, MIT Macro Connections Group and Datawheel Release Data USA, the Most Comprehensive Visualization of US Public Data

Data USA is among the most comprehensive visualization engine for shared U.S. 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 U.S. 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."

About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax, and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including 80 percent of the Fortune 500. Our people work across more than 20 industry sectors to deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to make their most challenging business decisions with confidence, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society.

About the MIT Media Lab
The Media Lab is a place where the future is created, not just imagined. The Lab applies unorthodox research approaches for envisioning the impact of emerging technologies on everyday life – technologies that promise to fundamentally transform our most basic notions of human capabilities. Unconstrained by traditional disciplines, lab designers, engineers, artists and scientists work atelier-style, conducting more than 350 projects that range from digital approaches for treating neurological disorders, to new tools for learning, to innovative modes of transportation for sustainable cities. Lab researchers foster a unique culture of learning-by-creating, developing technologies that empower people of all ages, from all walks of life, in all societies, to design and invent new possibilities for themselves and their communities.

About Datawheel
Datawheel is a small but mighty crew of programmers and designers with a passion for crafting data into predictive, decision-making and storytelling tools. Every visualization platform they build is a tailored solution that marries the needs of users and the data supporting it. Learn more at www.datawheel.us.

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

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SOURCE Deloitte

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