Connect Census Bureau to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini, GitHub Copilot and any other MCP client, for your whole team. Metorial adds security, governance, and tracing, and gives everyone one Magic MCP URL to connect.
Ask your agent in plain language. Each of these maps to a real tool on the server.
Use the query geographic boundaries tool in Census Bureau
Use the lookup variables tool in Census Bureau
Use the get geocoder options tool in Census Bureau
Use the discover datasets tool in Census Bureau
Use the get supported geographies tool in Census Bureau
Use the query census data tool in Census Bureau
Supported Tools
query_geographic_boundaries
Query Geographic Boundaries
Query Census geographic boundaries and shapes from the TIGERweb GeoServices REST API. Retrieve boundary features for states, counties, tracts, and other Census geographic areas by FIPS code or spatial location.
Common service names:
- **TIGERweb/tigerWMS_Current** — Current TIGER/Line boundaries
- **TIGERweb/tigerWMS_ACS2022** — ACS 2022 vintage boundaries
- **TIGERweb/tigerWMS_Census2020** — Census 2020 boundaries
Layer IDs vary by service and vintage. Use Get Boundary Layers to discover the correct layer ID and available attribute fields.
lookup_variables
Lookup Variables
Look up available variables and variable groups for a Census Bureau dataset. Returns variable names, labels, and metadata needed to construct data queries.
Use this to find the correct variable names before querying census data. You can list all variables, search by keyword, list variable groups (tables), or get all variables in a specific group.
get_geocoder_options
Get Geocoder Options
Discover available Census Geocoder address benchmarks and, for a selected benchmark, compatible geography vintages. Use the returned names or IDs with Geocode Address.
discover_datasets
Discover Datasets
Search and browse available Census Bureau datasets. Returns dataset metadata including titles, descriptions, paths, and vintage years.
Use this tool to find the correct dataset path and vintage year before querying data. You can filter by vintage year and/or keyword to narrow results.
get_supported_geographies
Get Supported Geographies
Get the supported geography levels and their hierarchy for a Census Bureau dataset. Returns which geographic levels (state, county, tract, block group, etc.) are available for querying, along with the required parent geographies.
Use this to understand how to construct the `forGeography` and `inGeography` parameters for the Query Census Data tool.
query_census_data
Query Census Data
Query statistical data from the Census Bureau Data API. Retrieves variables (e.g., population, income, housing characteristics) from a specific dataset, filtered by geographic area using FIPS codes.
Common datasets include:
- **acs/acs5** — American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates
- **acs/acs1** — American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates
- **dec/pl** — Decennial Census Redistricting Data
- **dec/dhc** — Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics
- **pep/population** — Population Estimates
- **timeseries/poverty/saipe** — Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates
- **timeseries/healthins/sahie** — Small Area Health Insurance Estimates
Geography is specified using the `for` and `in` clause format, e.g., `county:*` for all counties, `state:06` for California.
get_boundary_layers
Get Boundary Layers
Discover geographic layers in a Census TIGERweb map service. Optionally inspect a layer to find its attribute fields, geometry type, maximum record count, and pagination support before querying boundaries.
geocode_address
Geocode Address
Convert a street address to geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude) and optionally identify which Census geographic areas it falls within (state, county, tract, block group, etc.).
Supports structured address input (street, city, state, zip) or a single-line address string. Coordinates can identify containing Census geographies; coordinate lookup does not return a street address.
Enable Census Bureau in Metorial. In your Metorial portal, enable the Census Bureau MCP server and sign in with the account that owns the data. Access stays governed by your team policies.
Add a custom connector. Open Customize, then Connectors. Select Add, then Custom, then Web.
Paste your Metorial MCP URL. Name it Metorial, paste your Magic MCP URL (<your-magic-mcp-url>) and continue.
Sign in. Select Add and sign in to load Census Bureau tools.
Enable Census Bureau in Metorial. In your Metorial portal, enable the Census Bureau MCP server and sign in with the account that owns the data. Access stays governed by your team policies.
Add a custom MCP server. On ChatGPT web, open Plugins, select +, then Add custom MCP server.
Paste your Metorial MCP URL. Name it Metorial, paste your Magic MCP URL (<your-magic-mcp-url>), choose OAuth and accept the risk notice.
Create and install the plugin. Select Create as a plugin, install it and sign in to load Census Bureau tools.
Enable Census Bureau in Metorial. In your Metorial portal, enable the Census Bureau MCP server and sign in with the account that owns the data. Access stays governed by your team policies.
Add Metorial to your MCP config. Use ~/.cursor/mcp.json for every project, or .cursor/mcp.json for one.
Sign in. Open Customize in the sidebar, find Metorial and sign in to load Census Bureau tools.
{
"mcpServers":{
"metorial":{
"url":"<your-magic-mcp-url>"
}
}
}
Enable Census Bureau in Metorial. In your Metorial portal, enable the Census Bureau MCP server and sign in with the account that owns the data. Access stays governed by your team policies.
Add the server over HTTP. Add --scope user to use it in every project.
Sign in. Run /mcp, select Metorial and sign in to load Census Bureau tools.
claude mcp add --transport http metorial <your-magic-mcp-url>
Enable Census Bureau in Metorial. In your Metorial portal, enable the Census Bureau MCP server and sign in with the account that owns the data. Access stays governed by your team policies.
Add the server and sign in. The Codex CLI, IDE extension and ChatGPT desktop app share this config.
Check the connection. Type /mcp in Codex to see Metorial and its Census Bureau tools.
codex mcp add metorial --url <your-magic-mcp-url>
codex mcp login metorial
Run Census Bureau through the Metorial gateway
One governed layer for every app your agents reach, not a separate connector per tool.
Give Census Bureau and every other app to your whole team through one MCP gateway, behind your SSO.
Scope which teams and agents can use Census Bureau tools with role-based access control, and trace every call.
Prefer to run it yourself? Metorial is open source and self-hostable.
Query raw statistical data from U.S. Census Bureau programs, including demographic, economic, housing, and geographic datasets. Retrieve population, income, housing characteristics, and other variables filtered by geographic area (state, county, tract, block group, etc.) and vintage year. Discover available datasets, variables, and supported geographies. Geocode addresses to latitude/longitude coordinates and identify Census geographic areas. Access geographic boundary shapes via TIGERweb. Query microdata for individual-level survey responses. Retrieve international demographic indicators for countries worldwide. Access economic time series data covering construction, trade, manufacturing, and more.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about connecting Census Bureau to AI agents with Metorial.
How many tools does the Census Bureau MCP server have?
The Census Bureau MCP server exposes 8 tools, including Query Geographic Boundaries, Lookup Variables, Get Geocoder Options. Each one is governed and traced through Metorial.
Does the Census Bureau MCP server support triggers?
Census Bureau exposes tools your agents call on demand; it does not publish event triggers yet. Everything still runs through one governed MCP URL.
Which AI clients can use the Census Bureau MCP server?
Any MCP client, including VS Code, Windsurf, Zed, OpenCode and Grok. Each one reaches the Census Bureau MCP server through the same Metorial URL.
How do I give only some teams access to Census Bureau?
Use role-based access control to decide which teams, users, and agents can use Census Bureau and which of its tools they can call.
Can I self-host the Census Bureau MCP server?
Yes. Metorial is open source, so you can run the Census Bureau MCP server yourself or use the hosted gateway.
Connect Census Bureau to production AI agents
See how Metorial gives your team governed access to Census Bureau, with tracing and security controls built in.