The United States government offers dozens of websites and data resources at no cost to the general public. We have currated a list of resources to help you find what is relevant for your research project.

Agriculture

AGRICOLA (U.S. Government - National Agricultural Library)
Index to publications and resources encompassing all aspects of agriculture and allied disciplines. Open access database produced by the National Agricultural Library.

Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) Research Projects
Information about research projects conducted by the Agricultural Research Service.

Alternative Farming Systems Information Center (U.S. Government - National Agricultural Library)
Search or browse resources about sustainable food systems and practices in support of USDA's effort to ensure a sustainable future for agriculture and farmers worldwide. Contains book and article citations and abstracts, research project descriptions, full-text documents and spreadsheets, organizational contact information, plant and animal production information, and/or other kinds of data. Free online access and downloading for most resources.

Annual Water Data Reports (U.S. Government - Geological Survey)
Water resources data are published annually for use by engineers, scientists, managers, educators, and the general public.

 CRIS - Current Research Information System (U.S. Government - Agriculture Department)
The Current Research Information System (CRIS) provides documentation and reporting for ongoing agricultural, food science, human nutrition, and forestry research, education and extension activities for the United States Department of Agriculture; with a focus on the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) grant programs.

Food Safety Research Projects Database (U.S. Government - National Agricultural Library)
The food safety Research Projects Database provides users with information on research projects from both U.S. and international government and non-government organizations.

FoodData Central (U.S. Government - Agriculture Department)
FoodData Central is an integrated data system that provides expanded nutrient profile data and links to related agricultural and experimental research.

Global Agricultural Trade System (U.S. Government - Foreign Agricultural Service)
GATS includes international agricultural, fish, forest and textile products trade statistics dating from the inception of the Harmonized coding system in 1989 to present. Trade data from U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division.

National Invasive Species Information Center (U.S. Government - National Agricultural Library)
Gateway to invasive species information; covering Federal, State, local, and international sources.

Pesticide Properties Database (U.S. Government - Agricultural Research Service)
Provides detailed information (heat of vaporization, water solubility, soil sorption) for more than 300 pesticides.

PLANTS Database (U.S. Government - Natural Resources Conservation Service)
The PLANTS Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories.

Production, Supply, and Distribution (U.S. Government - Foreign Agricultural Service)
This database contains current and historical official USDA data on production, supply and distribution of agricultural commodities for the United States and key producing and consuming countries.

Water Quality Information Center (U.S. Government - National Agricultural Library)
Search or browse information on water quality and agriculture. The center collects, organizes, and communicates the scientific findings, educational methodologies, and public policy issues related to water quality and agriculture.

Web Soil Survey (U.S. Government - Natural Resources Conservation Service)
WSS provides soil data and information produced by the National Cooperative Soil Survey. It provides access to the largest natural resource information system in the world. NRCS has soil maps and data available online for more than 95 percent of the nation’s counties and anticipates having 100 percent in the near future. The site is updated and maintained online as the single authoritative source of soil survey information.

 

Commerce and Business

Copyright Office Records (U.S. Government - Copyright Office)
Search records since January 1, 1978 of registered books, music, art, and periodicals, and other works. Includes copyright ownership documents.

Economic Analysis Bureau (U.S. Government - Bureau of Economic Analysis)
BEA promotes a better understanding of the U.S. economy by providing the most timely, relevant, and accurate economic accounts data in an objective and cost-effective manner.

EDGAR SEC Database (U.S. Government - Securities and Exchange Commission)
Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system of the Securities and Exchange Commission. In 1984, EDGAR began collecting electronic documents to help investors get information. You can search information collected by the SEC several ways. The full-text search feature allows searches of the full text of all EDGAR filings submitted electronically in the last 4 years.

Export.gov (U.S. Government)
Export.gov brings together resources from across the U.S. Government to assist American businesses in planning their international sales strategies and succeed in today’s global marketplace.

FED In Print (U.S. Government - Federal Reserve System)
This database provides access to research published by the Board of Governors and all 12 Federal Reserve Banks. Coverage includes the core economic reviews, as well as specialized regional and international publications, working papers, and annual report essays. Also included are selected speeches, community development publications, and conference papers.

Federal Reserve Archival System for Economic Research (U.S. Government - Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
FRASER is a project of the Center for Economic Documents Digitization (CEDD) at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The Center seeks to preserve and provide access to the nation's economic history through digitization of original documents and to provide timely and convenient data to scholars, analysts, students, and interested observers of the U.S. economy.

Federal Reserve Economic Data --FRED (U.S. Government - Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis)
FRED is a database of over 41,000 economic time series from 39 sources. With FRED, you can download data in Microsoft Excel and text formats and view charts of data series.

Patent Full-Text Databases (U.S. Government - Patent & Trademark Office)
Includes the full text of all patents granted since 1976, and the patent number, issue date, and current US classification for all patents granted from 1790 through 1975. At the top of each text display page is a button marked "Images". Clicking on that button will display the full-page image of the first printed page of that particular patent, along with navigational tools allowing the viewing of all the other pages.

Trademark Electronic Search System (U.S. Government - Patent & Trademark Office)
Search the USPTO's database of registered trademarks and prior pending applications.

Data & Statistics

Data.gov (U.S. Government)
The purpose of Data.gov is to increase public access to high value, machine readable datasets generated by the Executive Branch of the Federal Government.

Interactive Tariff and Trade DataWeb (U.S. Government - International Trade Commission)
U.S. import statistics, U.S. export statistics, U.S. tariffs, U.S. future tariffs and U.S. tariff preference information are available on a self-service, interactive basis. The USITC DataWeb responds to user-defined queries integrating international trade statistics with complex tariff and customs treatment, and allows both expert and non-expert users to create and save customized country and product lists for future re-use from anywhere in the world.

Labor Statistics Bureau (U.S. Government - Bureau of Labor Statistics)
BLS is the principal Federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. It collects, analyzes, and disseminates essential economic information to support public and private decision-making. As an independent statistical agency, BLS serves its diverse user communities by providing products and services that are objective, timely, accurate, and relevant.

National Hydrography Dataset (U.S. Government - Geological Survey)
NHD is a digital vector dataset used by geographic information systems (GIS). It contains features such as lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, canals, dams and streamgages. These data are designed to be used in general mapping and in the analysis of surface-water systems. In mapping, the NHD is used with other data themes such as elevation, boundaries, and transportation to produce general reference maps.

National Center for Education Statistics (U.S. Government - Dept. of Education)  
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.

National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (U.S. Government - National Science Foundation)
NCSES designs, supports, and directs periodic national surveys and performs a variety of other data collections and research.

National Geologic Map Database (U.S. Government - Geological Survey) 
Your Geoscience resource for maps and related data about geology, hazards, earth resources, geophysics, geochemistry, geochronology, paleontology, and marine geology.

TradeStats Express (U.S. Government - Dept. of Commerce)
Trade Stats Express is a service provided by the International Trade Administration (ITA) of the Dept. of Commerce. Includes the latest annual and quarterly trade data of the US.

Transtats (U.S. Government - Transportation Department)
Find transportation data by mode or subject.

WebCASPAR Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System (U.S. Government - National Science Foundation)
The WebCASPAR database provides easy access to a large body of statistical data resources for science and engineering (S&E) at U.S. academic institutions. WebCASPAR emphasizes S&E, but its data resources also provide information on non-S&E fields and higher education in general.

 

Education

ERIC - Education Resource Information Center (U.S. Government - Education Department)
Index to education-related resources including journal and non-journal literature and reports. Provides full-text of ERIC documents, and some journal articles. 1966-present. An initiative of the US Dept of Education.

Health and Welfare

ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. Government - National Institutes of Health)
ClinicalTrials.gov is a registry and results database of federally and privately supported clinical trials conducted in the United States and around the world. ClinicalTrials.gov gives you information about a trial's purpose, who may participate, locations, and phone numbers for more details.

Computer Access to Research on Dietary Supplements (U.S. Government - National Institutes of Health)
CARDS is a database of federally funded research projects pertaining to dietary supplements.

Dietary Supplements Labels Database (U.S. Government - National Library of Medicine)
Information about label ingredients in more than 6,000 selected brands of dietary supplements. Users can compare label ingredients in different brands. Information is also provided on the "structure/function" claims made by manufacturers. The database can be searched by brand names, uses noted on product labels, specific active ingredients, and manufacturers.

ECOTOX (U.S. Government - Environmental Protection Agency)  
The ECOTOX (ECOTOXicology) database provides single chemical toxicity information for aquatic and terrestrial life.

HHS Gateway to Data and Statistics (U.S. Government - Health & Human Services Department)
This web-based tool provides easy access to HHS data and statistics and also brings together key federal health and human services related data and statistics from other sources. It is designed to help users locate health-related data, statistical information and reports collected from various government resources in one convenient location.

Health and Environmental Research Online (U.S. Government - Environmental Protection Agency)
HERO provides an easy way to view the scientific literature behind EPA science assessments. The database includes more than 300,000 scientific articles from the peer-reviewed literature used by EPA to develop its Integrated Science Assessments (ISA). It also includes references and data from the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS). Risk assessments characterize the nature and magnitude of health risks to humans and the ecosystem from pollutants and chemicals in the environment.

MedlinePlus (U.S. Government - National Library of Medicine)
Information about diseases, conditions, and wellness issues for patients and their families and friends in language you can understand. Offers reliable, up-to-date health information. Learn about the latest treatments, look up information on a drug or supplement, find out the meanings of words, or view medical videos or illustrations. Also links to the latest medical research on your topic or find out about clinical trials on a disease or condition.

National Prevention Information Network (U.S. Government - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
The CDC National Prevention Information Network (NPIN) is the U.S. reference and referral service for information on HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and tuberculosis (TB). NPIN collects and disseminates data and materials to support the work of HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, STD, and TB prevention organizations and workers in international, national, state, and local settings.

National Toxicology Program (U.S. Government - Health and Human Services Department)
Search for chemicals registered for use in the United States for use in such everyday items as foods, personal care products, prescription drugs, household cleaners, and lawn care products. The NTP’s mission is to evaluate agents of public health concern by developing and applying tools of modern toxicology and molecular biology. The program maintains an objective, science-based approach in dealing with critical issues in toxicology.

Opioid & Health Indicators Database (U.S. Government - Health and Human Services
Opioid & Health Indicators database is a free web platform designed to support communities, lawmakers, and advocates in making informed decisions about the opioid epidemic and its impact on HIV and hepatitis C.

Orange Book: Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations (U.S. Government - Food and Drug Administration)  
Electronic Orange Book is updated daily as new generic approvals occur. Search by Active Ingredient, Applicant Holder, Proprietary Name, Application Number, or Patent.

PubMed (U.S. Government - National Library of Medicine)
PubMed comprises more than 21 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full-text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites.

WONDER (U.S. Government - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
WONDER – Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research – is an easy-to-use, menu-driven system that makes the information resources of the CDC available to public health professionals and the public at large. It provides access to a wide array of public health information.

History

FBI Records: The Vault (U.S. Government - Federal Bureau of Investigation)
Search or browse an electronic reading room containing more than 3,000 documents from all time periods of FBI history.

 

Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Publications, 1895-1976 (ProQuest)
Provides access to citations for materials published by the United States federal government. Describing over 1.2 million items published between January 1895 and June 1976.

National Historical Geographic Information System
Provides aggregate census data and GIS-compatible boundary files for the United States between 1790 and 2011

National Register of Historic Places Database (U.S. Government - National Park Service)
Since its inception in 1966, more than 80,000 properties have been listed in the National Register. Together these records hold information on more than 1.4 million individual resources--buildings, sites, districts, structures, and objects--and therefore provide a link to the country's heritage at the national, state, and local levels.

Law & Crime

Congress.gov

The official website for U.S. federal legislative information including House and Senate bills, Congressional Record, Committee documents, navigating a bill, and more.

GovInfo.gov
This site provides access to the United States Code, Statutes at Large, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, Papers of the Presidents, Congressional hearings and debates, and other materials. Use Browse by A to Z or search to locate the publication you need.

NCJRS Abstracts Database (U.S. Government - Justice Department)
The National Criminal Justice Reference Service Virtual Library contains more than 3,500 full text publications and summaries of more than 210,000 criminal justice, juvenile justice, and substance abuse resources housed in the NCJRS Library collection.

National Criminal Justice Reference Service (U.S. Government - Justice Department)
Contains more than 3,500 full text publications and summaries of more than 210,000 criminal justice, juvenile justice, and substance abuse resources housed in the NCJRS Library collection.

Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics (U.S. Government - Federal Bureau of Investigation)
The UCR Program collects statistics for violent crime (murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) and property crime (burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft). By using the table-building tool, users can specify offenses, locality (city, state), and year(s). Data to 2014.

United States Courts
The U.S. Courts are an independent, national judiciary providing fair and impartial justice within the jurisdiction conferred by the Constitution and Congress.

United States Reports: Cases Adjudged in the Supreme Court
The bound volumes of the United States Reports contain the final generation of the Court's opinions.

Politics and Government

Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets (U.S. Government - State Department)  
Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets include facts about the land, people, history, government, political conditions, economy, and foreign relations of independent states, some dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty.

Congressional Research Service Reports and Issue Briefs (U.S. Government - Library of Congress)
Provides CRS reports back to 1999. Search or browse by date, region or topic.

Foreign Relations of the United States (U.S. Government - State Department)
The Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) series presents the official documentary historical record of major U.S. foreign policy decisions and significant diplomatic activity. Search within the volumes, or browse them by title or administration back to 1945.

Govinfo.gov
This site contains the U.S. Code, Statutes at Large, Federal Register, and many congressional documents. Search or browse by the title of the publication.  Content is regularly updated.

Institute of Peace Publications & Tools (U.S. Government - Institute of Peace)
USIP Publications and Tools provide the latest analysis of international developments and policy recommendations on world affairs issues, particularly the prevention and resolution of conflict.

Regulations.gov (U.S. Government)
Regulations.gov is your online source for U.S. government regulations from nearly 300 Federal agencies. Search for a regulation such as a proposed rule, final rule or Federal Register (FR) notice. Submit a comment on a regulation or on another comment. Access regulations that are popular, newly posted or closing soon.

 

Sciences

Climate Data Online (U.S. Government - National Climatic Data Center) 
The National Climatic Data Center Online Document Library is the world's largest active archive of weather data.

DOE Data Explorer (U.S. Government - Energy Department)
Use the DOE Data Explorer (DDE) to find scientific research data such as computer simulations, numeric data files, figures and plots, interactive maps, multimedia, and scientific images generated in the course of DOE-sponsored research in various science disciplines.

DOepatents (U.S. Government - Energy Department)
DOepatents is the U.S. Department of Energy's central collection of patent information, where research and development intersect with innovation and invention.

Energy Information Administration Reports (U.S. Government - Energy Department)
Energy Information Administration reports and publications. Search by sources, uses, topics, or geography.

Energy Information Administration: Renewable and Alternative Fuels
Wind energy statistics and analysis

Integrated Science and Engineering Resources Data System (U.S. Government - National Science Foundation)
The WebCASPAR database provides easy access to a large body of statistical data resources for science and engineering (S&E) at U.S. academic institutions. WebCASPAR emphasizes S&E, but its data resources also provide information on non-S&E fields and higher education in general.

NIST Chemistry WebBook (U.S. Government - National Institute of Standards and Technology)
This site provides thermochemical, thermophysical, and ion energetics data compiled by NIST under the Standard Reference Data Program.

NIST Data Gateway (U.S. Government - National Institute of Standards and Technology)
NIST Data Gateway-provides easy access to many (currently over 80) of the NIST scientific and technical databases. These databases cover a broad range of substances and properties from many different scientific disciplines.

NREL Publications Database (U.S. Government - Energy Department)
Bibliographic information about publications developed or written by NREL staff and subcontractors. Search the database for publications from 1977 to the present on subjects related to renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies. Many publications are available as PDFs.

NTIS Database (U.S. Government - National Technical Information Service)
The largest central resource for government-funded scientific, technical, engineering, and business related information. Publications, audiovisual materials, computer data files, and software originating from U.S. federal agencies, industry and university contractors with the federal government, and research and development organizations.

National Center for Biotechnology Information Databases (U.S. Government - National Library of Medicine)
The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.

Science.gov (U.S. Government)
Science.gov searches over 50 databases and over 2100 selected websites from 14 federal agencies, offering 200 million pages of authoritative U.S. government science information including research and development results.

Science Inventory (U.S. Government - Environmental Protection Agency)
The Science Inventory is a searchable database of EPA science activities and scientific and technical products conducted by EPA and through EPA-funded assistance agreements. Science Inventory records provide descriptions of the activity or product, contact information, and links to available printed material or web sites.

ScienceBase (U.S. Government - Geological Survey)
ScienceBase provides a data cataloging and collaborative data management platform for USGS scientists and partners. ScienceBase provides a central search and discovery application along with Web services that facilitate other applications.

Transportation

Bureau of Transportation Statistics (U.S. Government - Dept. of Transportation)
Transportation statistics organized by mode, region, and subject.

Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Encyclopedia (U.S. Government - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
The Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) contains data on all vehicle crashes in the United States that occur on a public roadway and involve a fatality. The FARS Query System provides interactive public access to fatality data through this web interface.

Intermodal Transportation Database
Data on the volumes of freight and passenger movement by mode, origin, and destinations; location and connectivity of transportation facilities; and a national accounting of expenditures and capital stocks on each mode of transportation and intermodal combination.

National Transportation Atlas Database (U.S. Government - Transportation Department)
The National Transportation Atlas Database is a set of nationwide geographic databases of transportation facilities, transportation networks, and associated infrastructure. These datasets include spatial information for transportation modal networks and intermodal terminals, as well as the related attribute information for these features.

Office of Highway Policy Information
Publications include Highway Statistics Series, State Statistical Abstracts, Monthly Motor Fuel Reports, and more.

Transportation Energy Data Book  
Compendium of data on transportation with an emphasis on energy. Produced by Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy

Travel and Culture

National Gallery of Art (U.S. Government - National Gallery of Art)
Search by artist, title, subject, expanded search, provenance, or accession number for information from a database of the entire collection. Text and/or data on all of the more than 110,000 objects in the National Gallery's collection can be found using various search capabilities. Images of more than 6,000 objects in the collection and approximately 11,800 related details are available. Check images only to limit your search to objects for which images are available.

Smithsonian Institution Collections Search Center (U.S. Government - Smithsonian Institution) 
Search over 7.4 million records, with 568,100 images, video and sound files from Smithsonian museums, archives, and libraries.