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US CensusU.S. Census Bureau — State Population Estimates (2024 vintage)
U.S. Census Bureau · Tier-1 · research-only (never on individual profiles)
U.S. Census Bureau state population estimates (2024 vintage) are the canonical denominator for per-capita statistics across federal data. Used as the reference population for per-100k provider density calculations in our research.
How this source shows up on Fonteum.
Per-capita denominators in research studies (e.g. 'X dermatologists per 100,000 residents'). Tier-1 — appears in study tables and methodology, never on individual provider profiles.
What this source does NOT mean
Census state populations are demographic counts, not a measurement of healthcare access or service quality. A state with 1.75 dermatologists per 100k is not categorically 'better' than one with 0.40; the per-capita figure is a supply signal, not a quality signal.
Research and data questions this source supports.
- Compute per-100,000-population provider density by state using Census PEP V2025 denominators and NPPES provider counts as numerators.
- Power a health equity study that expresses HPSA shortage designations as provider shortfall per 100k residents by state.
- Normalize nursing home deficiency counts (from CMS NH Deficiencies data) to per-100k-population rates for cross-state comparison.
- Support a healthcare market size calculation that combines Census state population with BEA personal income data.
- Build a congressional-district-level provider access map using Census population estimates as the denominator.
Dataset size: Annual estimates for 51 states + DC + ~3,100 counties
What we can’t infer from this source.
- Population vintage matters; 2024 estimates are mid-year point-in-time projections from the 2020 decennial.
- Sub-state geographies (county / city) require Census Bureau Population Estimates Program separately.
- Tier-1 — never rendered on individual provider profiles.
Authority, license, refresh cadence.
Authority
U.S. Census Bureau
Tier
Tier-1 · research-only (never on individual profiles)
Refresh cadence
Annual — Census publishes state-population estimates each year for the most recent vintage.
License
U.S. government public-domain data. Free to use with attribution.
Attribution requirement
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Estimates · Vintage {YYYY}
What the source allows.
U.S. government public-domain works. Census publishes population estimates as bulk CSV. Redistribution permitted with attribution; please cite the vintage year. Fonteum uses state-level estimates as denominators in per-capita research.
What a single field looks like in the graph.
A worked example. Every field surfaced from this source carries this shape of provenance line — source · last checked · display rule · confidence (when applicable).
Field
State population (per-capita denominator, research-only)
Sample value
California: 39,431,263 (2024 vintage)
Provenance line
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Estimates · 2024 vintage · Display rule: research-only — appears in study tables and methodology
Official API, bulk download, and Fonteum endpoints.
Official API / download
Fonteum surface
Common questions about US Census.
- What is the Census Population Estimates Program (PEP) and which vintage does Fonteum use?
- The Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) produces annual resident population estimates for the nation, states, counties, and cities. PEP V2025 is the 2025 vintage — estimates anchored to the 2020 decennial census and extended forward with administrative data on births, deaths, and migration. Fonteum uses PEP V2025 to provide per-100k-population denominators for healthcare access studies.
- Where can I download Census state population estimates?
- The Census Bureau publishes state population estimates at census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/data-sets.html. Vintage-year estimates are released each December for the prior year. All Census data is U.S. government public-domain — free to use with attribution.
- Why does Fonteum use population estimates rather than decennial census counts?
- Decennial census counts are only available every 10 years and become stale quickly for rapidly growing or shrinking states. Population estimates are updated annually and are more accurate for current-year rate calculations. Fonteum uses the most recent PEP vintage (V2025) anchored to the 2020 census as the standard denominator.
- What is the difference between Census PEP and the American Community Survey (ACS)?
- PEP provides annual total resident population counts by state — the number of people living there, suitable for per-capita denominators. ACS provides demographic, income, and housing survey data collected continuously and published in 1-year and 5-year estimates. PEP denominators are better for provider density calculations; ACS is better for demographic context and income distribution.
- Does Fonteum use county-level or state-level population estimates?
- Fonteum's research studies currently use state-level PEP V2025 estimates as the primary denominator. County-level denominators are used for HRSA HPSA and access-gap studies where geography is a key variable. County population estimates are available from the same PEP release on the Census Bureau's data API.
Where this source already shows up.
Related sources in the graph
- /sources → The full source library — every dataset Fonteum cites.
- /data-provenance → The provider graph — pipeline diagram, source-family clusters, field-level provenance examples, display rules.
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