Methodology
How Profiles Are Generated
CountyPulse generates county profiles using a three-step process:
- Data collection — We fetch data from 8-10 federal agencies via their public APIs and bulk data downloads.
- Data merging — Data from all sources is normalized to FIPS county codes, validated, and merged into a single dataset per county.
- AI narrative generation — An AI model (Claude by Anthropic) generates a narrative summary based solely on the merged data. The model is instructed to cite every data point and avoid subjective characterizations.
Data Sources
| Source | Data | Update Cadence |
|---|---|---|
| Census ACS 5-Year | Population, income, housing, education, demographics | Annual |
| BLS LAUS | Unemployment, employment, labor force | Monthly |
| CDC PLACES | Health outcomes (obesity, diabetes, mental health, etc.) | Annual |
| HUD | Fair Market Rents by bedroom count | Annual |
| FEMA OpenFEMA | Disaster declarations and history | Ongoing |
| IRS SOI | Income, AGI, tax returns | Annual (2-3yr lag) |
| FDIC | Bank branches, deposits | Quarterly |
| NOAA CDO | Temperature, precipitation, snowfall | Annual |
| SSA | Social Security beneficiaries | Annual |
| USDA QuickStats | Agricultural data (farms, land, market value) | Census years |
AI Generation Guidelines
- Every data point must cite its source and year
- No subjective characterizations — comparisons use data ("12% above state average")
- Missing data is explicitly acknowledged, never fabricated
- County types (parish, borough, independent city) are referenced correctly
- Quality gates reject narratives that are too short or contain forbidden subjective phrases
Update Schedule
Data is refreshed monthly. Narratives are regenerated only when underlying data changes materially (e.g., population changes by more than 1%, unemployment rate shifts by more than 1 percentage point).
Limitations
- Data lags: Most federal data has a 1-3 year lag from the current year
- Small-county suppression: Some agencies suppress data for counties with small populations to protect privacy
- AI limitations: Narrative generation may occasionally produce imprecise phrasing. Every effort is made to validate output.
- Not a government resource: This site is independently operated and not affiliated with any government agency
Report an Error
If you find inaccurate data or misleading content, please email us. We take data accuracy seriously and will investigate all reports.