geography.json: List available geographies

API: census.gov:census-data-api
Endpoint: /data/{year}/{dataset}/geography.json
Response format: application/json
Auth: unknown
Method: GET
Last Status: 200
Latency: 590ms

Description

Returns the complete geographic hierarchy available for the dataset, from national ('us') down to block group level. Each entry shows the geoLevelDisplay code, required parent geographies, and wildcard support. Use this to understand what geographic granularities are available and what parent levels must be specified.

From spec: Returns all geographic levels available for a dataset (e.g., state, county, tract, block group). Shows required and optional geographic parameters for each level.

Usage Tips

- 'requires' indicates mandatory parent geographic levels - 'wildcard' shows which parent levels support '*' for all values - Geographic codes follow FIPS standards (state=2 digits, county=3 digits, etc.) - Some levels are only available for certain datasets or years

Parameters (2)

dataset (string, path, required)

Dataset path. Common values: 'acs/acs5' (ACS 5-year), 'acs/acs1' (ACS 1-year), 'dec/sf1' (Decennial Summary File 1), 'cbp' (County Business Patterns)

year (string, path, required)

Vintage (year) of the dataset. Examples: 2022, 2020, 2010

Constraints: {'pattern': '^\\d{4}$'}

Examples (2)

List geographic levels for 2022 ACS 5-Year data probe-gate

Demonstrates retrieving all available geographic hierarchy levels for querying ACS data, from national down to block group.

curl 'https://api.census.gov/data/2022/acs/acs5/geography.json'
import requests

resp = requests.get("https://api.census.gov/data/2022/acs/acs5/geography.json")
data = resp.json()
import zingu_apis

api = zingu_apis.api("census-data")
result = api.fetch("data/{year}/{dataset}/geography.json")

for item in result:
    print(item)
const resp = await fetch("https://api.census.gov/data/2022/acs/acs5/geography.json");
const data = await resp.json();
List geographic levels for 2021 ACS 1-Year data probe-gate

Shows geographic availability for the 1-year ACS estimates, which have broader geographic coverage than detailed small-area data.

curl 'https://api.census.gov/data/2021/acs/acs1/geography.json'
import requests

resp = requests.get("https://api.census.gov/data/2021/acs/acs1/geography.json")
data = resp.json()
import zingu_apis

api = zingu_apis.api("census-data")
result = api.fetch("data/{year}/{dataset}/geography.json")

for item in result:
    print(item)
const resp = await fetch("https://api.census.gov/data/2021/acs/acs1/geography.json");
const data = await resp.json();

Probe History

Latency

Status Codes

TimeStatusLatencySize
2026-04-16 03:48:00.398103 200 590ms
2026-04-16 00:37:56.952730 200 474ms
2026-04-15 02:51:47.171103 200 1976ms
2026-04-15 02:01:20.615670 200 479ms
2026-04-14 02:29:28.707217 200 474ms
2026-04-14 01:10:45.260685 200 478ms
2026-04-12 13:42:25.102511 200 1826ms
2026-04-12 12:34:30.913842 200 486ms
2026-04-10 03:25:51.750079 200 440ms
2026-04-10 01:49:59.967072 200 1230ms