Google has recently launched a new search feature that makes it easy to find and compare public data.
From the Google Blog:
If you go to Google.com and type in [unemployment rate] or [population] followed by a U.S. state or county, you will see the most recent estimates.
Once you click the link, you’ll go to an interactive chart that lets you add and remove data for different geographical areas.
I ran a sample search for “umemployment rate Wisconsin” which produced an interactive chart. I then added Michigan which added those statistics to the chart.
More from the Google Blog:
The data we’re including in this first launch represents just a small fraction of all the interesting public data available on the web. There are statistics for prices of cookies, CO2 emissions, asthma frequency, high school graduation rates, bakers’ salaries, number of wildfires, and the list goes on.