# U.S. Census Income MCP

> U.S. Census Income—Median Income, Poverty & Economy provides access to deep economic indicators across America. Get median household income, poverty rates, educational attainment, business establishments, and payroll data for any state or county using structured queries. You can check local economies in counties (`get_income_by_county`) or analyze broad trends across states (`get_income_by_state`).

## Overview
- **Category:** data-analytics
- **Price:** Free
- **Tags:** economic-data, household-income, poverty-rates, business-patterns, educational-attainment, census-data

## Description

Listen up. This Census Income MCP Server gives you deep economic indicators across America. You can pull actionable metrics like median household income, poverty rates, educational attainment levels, and county-level business activity for any state or county. It's built for anyone who needs to check local economies or analyze big national trends.

If you wanna check overall state health, start with `get_income_by_state`. That tool grabs the total population poverty rate and the median household income for every entire U.S. state. You get a clean picture of general economic standing across all fifty states right out of the gate.

When you gotta compare apples to oranges—or, like, county A's economy to county B's—you use `get_income_by_county`. This lets you pull specific median household income figures and poverty rates for individual counties within a given state. It’s perfect when you need to drill down past the state average and see where the real economic disparity is happening.

To map out educational trends, run `get_education_by_state`. You'll get statistics on educational attainment, specifically counting how many states have hit benchmarks like a bachelor's degree or higher. This helps you quantify human capital across the country without needing to look at population data directly.

For understanding local commerce, execute `get_business_patterns`. This tool pulls Census Business Patterns (CBP) data for specific counties. You can count establishments, track employee numbers, and get payroll figures all within that county's boundaries. It tells you exactly how many businesses are operating and where the money’s flowing.

You can group your economic analysis by combining these sources. For example, you might pull a state's general income metrics using `get_income_by_state`, then use `get_business_patterns` on two specific counties within that state to see how the local job market compares to the overall state poverty rate.

If you want to analyze economic disparity across multiple areas, you can compare a county's median income from `get_income_by_county` against its employment data from `get_business_patterns`. You’re comparing the wealth of residents to the activity of businesses. It gives context.

When studying educational investment versus local growth, pair up `get_education_by_state` with `get_income_by_county`. You check if states that have high rates of bachelor's degrees also show corresponding median income gains in their counties. That's real data linkage.

For a full picture, you might run a statewide survey using `get_income_by_state`, then narrow your focus by checking the business density via `get_business_patterns` for key metro areas identified with high poverty rates from `get_income_by_county`. You're building a profile of economic stress points.

You can track how many states meet specific educational thresholds using `get_education_by_state`, and then cross-reference those same state names to pull their overall population poverty rate via `get_income_by_state`. This helps you see if high education attainment correlates with lower statewide poverty. You'll find the data points for median household income, total population poverty rates, establishment counts, employee numbers, payroll figures, and educational benchmarks—all structured and ready to use.

## Tools

### get_income_by_state
Gets the overall median household income and total population poverty rate for entire U.S. states.

### get_income_by_county
Pulls median household income and poverty rates for specific counties within a given state.

### get_education_by_state
Retrieves educational attainment statistics (bachelor's degree or higher) across all 50 states.

### get_business_patterns
Gets establishment counts, employee numbers, and payroll for specific counties using Census Business Patterns data.

## Prompt Examples

**Prompt:** 
```
What is the median household income in New York state?
```

**Response:** 
```
📊 **U.S. Census Bureau: Income & Poverty by State**

**New York (36):**
- Median Household Income: $79,557
- Total Population in Poverty: 2,750,917
- Poverty Rate: 13.9%
```

**Prompt:** 
```
Compare poverty levels down the counties of Illinois
```

**Response:** 
```
📊 **Income & Poverty — State 17**

- Cook County (17-031): Median Income $78,304 | Poverty Rate 14.2%
- DuPage County (17-043): Median Income $107,035 | Poverty Rate 6.5%
- Lake County (17-097): Median Income $104,553 | Poverty Rate 7.2%
```

**Prompt:** 
```
Show the business patterns for restaurants in Texas
```

**Response:** 
```
📊 **Business Patterns — State 48**

Data for Texas (48) Counties:
- Harris County: 110,482 establishments, 2,510,954 employees
- Dallas County: 72,111 establishments, 1,732,490 employees
- Travis County: 41,832 establishments, 856,120 employees
```

## Capabilities

### Check State Poverty Rates
Run `get_income_by_state` to fetch median household income and poverty rates for every state.

### Analyze County Economic Disparity
Use `get_income_by_county` to compare median income and poverty levels across individual counties.

### Map Educational Attainment
Run `get_education_by_state` to find out how many states hit specific educational attainment benchmarks (like bachelor's degrees).

### Track Local Business Activity
Execute `get_business_patterns` to count establishments, employees, and payroll within a county.

### Get State-Level Income Metrics
Access overall state economic health using the data provided by `get_income_by_state`.

## Use Cases

### Pinpointing a New Office Location
A company needs to know if Denver or Boulder is better for their next HQ. They ask their agent to run `get_income_by_county` on both locations. The agent returns median income and poverty rates side-by-side, letting them decide based on financial stability.

### Policy Advocacy for Education Funding
A non-profit group argues for federal funding changes. They use `get_education_by_state` to show the difference in bachelor's degree attainment between states, then combine that with poverty data from `get_income_by_state` to build a strong, data-backed case.

### Assessing Local Competition
A startup wants to expand into Texas. They ask the agent to run `get_business_patterns` on several counties in that state. The resulting employee and establishment counts tell them exactly which areas are already saturated.

### Quick State-to-State Comparison
A consulting firm needs a quick overview of the top 5 states for wealth and stability. They use `get_income_by_state` to get median income and poverty rates instantly, skipping weeks of manual data aggregation.

## Benefits

- See where money is actually going: Running `get_business_patterns` gives you raw numbers on payrolls and employees by county, letting you measure true economic weight.
- Compare communities directly: You don't have to guess. Use `get_income_by_county` to compare median income and poverty rates between specific counties for direct competitive analysis.
- Benchmark states against each other: `get_income_by_state` gives you the core metrics—median income and overall poverty rate—to quickly benchmark any two states in a single call.
- Measure human capital: Use `get_education_by_state` to quantify educational attainment (like bachelor's degree status) across state lines, which is key for workforce planning.
- Cut down on manual research: Instead of opening four different government websites and running separate queries, your agent runs the necessary tools in sequence.

## How It Works

The bottom line is that you get immediate, quantifiable economic facts without leaving your agent's conversation window.

1. First, specify the geographical scope—a single county or an entire state.
2. Next, call a specific tool (e.g., `get_business_patterns`) and provide the necessary parameters like the county code or time period.
3. Your AI client receives structured JSON data containing precise metrics: median income, poverty rate, employee counts, etc.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**How do I check business patterns using `get_business_patterns`?**
You must specify a county and a date range. The tool provides counts for establishments, employees, and payroll—it doesn't just give you one number.

**Can I use `get_income_by_county` to compare two different states?**
No. This tool only works within a single state. If you want cross-state comparisons, run `get_income_by_state` first for the overall picture.

**Is educational attainment data included in the general income metrics?**
No. Education is handled by `get_education_by_state`. That tool focuses specifically on degree completion rates, separate from current income levels.

**What's the difference between using `get_income_by_county` and `get_income_by_state`?**
The county tool provides granular data for local analysis. The state tool gives you a high-level summary of income and poverty across the whole state.

**What credentials do I need to use `get_income_by_state`?**
You must secure a free API key from the Census Bureau. Your AI client handles passing this credential when calling the tool, ensuring your requests are authenticated and processed correctly.

**Can I filter business types using `get_business_patterns`?**
Yes, you specify filters like NAICS codes or industry sectors in your prompt. This narrows down the results to specific business types, rather than providing a general count of all establishments.

**Does `get_income_by_county` provide historical data?**
No, this tool pulls the most current snapshot available from the Census. For historical income or poverty trends, you'll need to consult the specific archive sections of the Census Bureau website.

**What if I submit too many queries with `get_education_by_state`?**
You risk hitting rate limits imposed by the Census API. If this happens, your AI client will return a specific error code (usually 429), indicating you need to slow down or wait before making further calls.

**What is County Business Patterns (CBP)?**
CBP is an annual series that provides subnational economic data by industry. This server uses it to return total business establishments, employees, and annual payroll by county.

**Does income include taxes?**
Median household income reported by the Census represents pre-tax (gross) income from all sources.

**Can it separate individual vs household income?**
The primary metrics fetched here are Household metrics as they give the highest fidelity snapshot of local living conditions.