Native Economic Trends brings together decades of data to visualize socioeconomic change over time—for individual Native places and for Indian Country as a whole. Drawing from publicly available data, this interactive tool enables users to explore patterns in population, infrastructure, and economic measures for Native geographies and communities.
In the tool’s Compare mode, choose a focus geography, a measure of interest, and one or more relevant comparison geographies to view trendlines that put local shifts in context. In Combine mode, group multiple geographies into one unit and examine up to two measures for them. In either mode, hover over individual data points for additional explanation. To share or download information, click the icons or spreadsheet link at the bottom of the data window.
Source and definition details are provided in About the Data. For current snapshots that are more detailed, see our companion data resource Native Community Data Profiles. For an overview of historical and legal definitions of land areas associated with Indian Country, see What is Indian Country?
Data notes
Demographic information reflects individuals’ self-identification on the U.S. Census Bureau’s decennial census and American Community Survey questionnaires. Data are reported for the following categories:
- AIANa: American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) alone, with no other race self-identified;
- NHOPIa: Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (NHOPI) alone, with no other race self-identified;
- AIANac: AIAN alone or in combination with one or more other races; and
- NHOPIac: NHOPI alone or in combination with one or more other races.
A majority of Native census respondents self-identify as more than one race. Where possible, we use the broader AIANac and NHOPIac definitions.
Native communities are represented geographically using what Census defines as American Indian/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Areas. This definition includes several types of Native geographies but does not comprehensively represent the locations of all Native communities. The Center for Indian Country Development (CICD) acknowledges that Native geographies tabulated by Census and displayed in this tool do not encompass all geographies having current or historical associations with Native nations.
The Harvard Project on Indigenous Governance and Development offers analysis of national-level trends in the data used here.
For full details on data assembly, see About the Data. CICD plans to update this tool annually.