Cite Data Commons

This page provides guidelines to ensure that appropriate credit is given to the original providers whose data is made accessible through Data Commons. Proper citation ensures transparency and recognizes the effort of these organizations.

If you are building a site or app using Data Commons data and APIs, you must follow these guidelines. If you are using an agent to build the site or app, make sure you feed this document to the agent.

Tip: If your application uses Data Commons Web Components for visualizations, the attributions are already provided so you don’t need to provide them yourself.

Cite Data Commons data

All uses of Data Commons data must be accompanied by a citation that provides a clear path for users to trace the data back to Data Commons, the data aggregator. Data Commons provides links back to the original source, associated metadata, and deeper exploration.

Citations from a public web page

If you use Data Commons data in a public website, the citation should appear on the same page where the data information is presented. The citation can be either directly next to the data or on a second line after the data is presented, using a reference number or link via an icon. The citation can be displayed behind a modal pop-in via an icon or a footnote on the same page.

The link should go to a Data Commons page which contains the same graph seen on the referring site. This is typically a set of URL parameters on the explore endpoint (the natural search query interface in datacommons.org); for example, https://datacommons.org/explore?#q=population%20of%20Vietnam%20since%201955. All charts in Data Commons come with an About this data pop-up-link that displays all the associated metadata, including the URL for the original source.

Citations from a document

When referencing a specific data point within a written document, report, or presentation, you must include an in-text citation. The citation must include the following:

  • Source (name of the data provider / organization)
  • Data range (year or years of data)
  • (Optional) Dataset name
  • Text “With minor processing by Data Commons”, ideally with a deep link that goes to the actual data in Data Commons

In the example below, the source and year are both placed inline in the sentence.

According to the US Census Bureau, the median income for households in Santa Clara County was $130,875 in 2021 (source: U.S. Census Population, 2021-2022, with minor processing by Data Commons).

Note that adding the word “source” is optional, and left to the discretion of the editor/user.

Cite Data Commons papers

See Papers for details on published papers.

Page last updated: August 24, 2026 • Send feedback about this page