Awesome Public Datasets – Government: U.S. Federal Government Agencies

An Awesome catalog entry referencing Data.gov’s official Metrics section, summarizing open data usage across U.S. federal government agencies.

• Name: Awesome Public Datasets – Government: U.S. Federal Government Agencies
• Source: Data.gov Metrics
• Category: Themed directories
• Tags: government, datasets, open-data
• Brand: us-federal-government

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Overview

This entry points to Data.gov’s monthly metrics dashboard for U.S. federal open data. The metrics describe how the Data.gov catalog is used: overall traffic, device breakdowns, and which datasets and external links are most frequently accessed.

The metrics page is an official U.S. government (.gov) site served over HTTPS, indicating it is an authoritative source on U.S. federal open data usage.

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Features

1. Monthly Sitewide Metrics

• Metrics are reported for a specific calendar month, ending at the stated Report Date (e.g., 2025‑11‑30).
• Data is refreshed at the beginning of each new month to show the previous calendar month.
• Includes an overall Total Pageviews value (e.g., 3,900,633 for the sample month).

2. Users by Device Type

• Breaks down Data.gov usage by device category:
  • Desktop
  • Mobile
  • Tablet
  • Smart TV
• Shows for each device category:
  • Number of users
  • Percentage of total users
• Example for the reference month:
  • Desktop: 2,941,955 users (98.35%)
  • Mobile: 47,467 users (1.59%)
  • Tablet: 2,011 users (0.07%)
  • Smart TV: 16 users (0.00%)
• Provides a downloadable CSV report for full device data:
  • global__device_category__last30.YYYY-MM-DD.csv

3. Most Downloaded Dataset Files

• Lists the Top 10 most downloaded dataset files for the month.
• For each file, the table includes:
  • File URL (direct download endpoint, usually CSV or similar)
  • Page title in the Data.gov catalog
  • Download count for the period
• Example entries include datasets on:
  • Electric Vehicle Population Data
  • Crime Data from 2020 to Present
  • Supply Chain Greenhouse Gas Emission Factors (NAICS-6)
  • Lottery Powerball Winning Numbers
  • U.S. Chronic Disease Indicators
  • Warehouse and Retail Sales
  • Drug overdose death rates by drug type and demographics
  • Motor Vehicle Collisions – Crashes
• Provides a downloadable CSV for the complete most-downloaded list:
  • global__download_requests__last30.YYYY-MM-DD.csv

4. Most Clicked Outbound Links

• Tracks the Top 10 outbound link clicks from Data.gov to external domains.
• For each outbound link, the table includes:
  • Link URL (external site)
  • Page title from which the link was clicked
  • Click count
• Provides a downloadable CSV for full outbound link metrics:
  • global__link_requests__last30.YYYY-MM-DD.csv

5. Organizational Metrics Context (Implied)

• Section header “Metrics by Organization” indicates data can be broken down by federal organizations or agencies, though detailed org-level rows are not shown in the provided excerpt.
• Intended to help understand open data publication and access across U.S. federal government agencies.

6. Security and Authenticity Indicators

• Identifies the site as an official U.S. government website (.gov domain).
• Explains that:
  • .gov or .mil endings indicate federal sites.
  • https:// ensures an encrypted and secure connection.
• Aimed at assuring users they are viewing authoritative government metrics.

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Data Format & Access

• Metrics are primarily presented as HTML tables on the metrics page.
• Full underlying datasets are provided as CSV files for:
  • Users by Device Type
  • Most Downloaded Dataset Files
  • Most Clicked Outbound Links
• Files are hosted on an official government S3-compatible storage (s3-us-gov-west-1.amazonaws.com).

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Use Cases

• Researchers and analysts: Track trends in public interest and usage of specific federal datasets.
• Government agencies: Monitor engagement with their published open data assets.
• Open data advocates / journalists: Identify highly used datasets and topics of public interest.
• Developers and data product teams: Understand the demand for certain file formats and subject areas.

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Pricing

• Access to the Data.gov metrics and associated CSV reports is free as part of the U.S. federal government’s open data initiative. No paid plans or pricing tiers are specified.