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Know Your Community

Understand who lives in your community – and why it matters

Get a clearer picture of the people in your region – their demographics, education levels, language preferences, civic engagement habits, and more. It’s a starting point for making more informed decisions about your organization’s strategy, who your newsroom could serve more effectively, and how to understand your community, including its similarities and its differences, more deeply.


Get the data

Find data for your community by ZIP code, county, and/or state:

Summary Data:
  •   Community Summary
  • Demographics:
  •   Population & Poverty
  •   Household Income
  •   Education Levels
  •   Race & Ethnicity
  •   Languages Spoken
  • Connectivity:
  •   Household internet and broadband access
  • Civic Engagement:
  •   Voter turnout (coming soon)
  •   Volunteering rates (coming soon)
  • Population Trends:
  •   Shifts over time, where available (coming soon)
  • Find My Twin:
  •   Find communities with similar characteristics to yours (coming soon)
  • Media Engagement:
  •   How people get news and connect with media (coming soon)
  • More Data:
  •   Civic Information Index
  •   Census Reporter

  • Interpret the Data

     
    Use our Interpretation Guide to turn your data into action. The guide provides a series of prompt questions covering key areas (organizational focus, editorial priorities, messaging to funders, learning from others) addressed by the data and will better enable you to:

    ➡   Clarify strategic focus: Determine what really matters, where to invest limited resources, and what to let go.

    Tell a more powerful story to funders: Show why your work matters, how it’s connected to community needs, and where it’s making a difference.

    ➡   Challenge assumptions: Compare internal beliefs with external realities to test whether current approaches still make sense.

    ➡   Identify gaps and opportunities: Spot who’s missing from your audience or coverage, and explore new ways to reach and serve them.

    ➡   Strengthen equity and representation: Ensure the organization reflects the full diversity of the community – not just the audiences already engaged.

    ➡   Learn from and collaborate with peers: Identify other communities with similar characteristics and learn what’s working in those places.
     
     
    Get the Interpretation Guide
     


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