censusgeocode
Thin Python wrapper for the US Census Geocoder
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need to geocode US addresses or map them to Census geographies. The package is stable, has low install friction, and directly wraps an official Census API. The GPLv3 license is a blocker for proprietary applications. Maintenance is aging (last release 187 days ago), so verify that Census API changes haven't broken the wrapper before deploying to production.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires network access to the US Census Geocoder API (http://geocoding.geo.census.gov/geocoder/); batch geocoding is limited to 10,000 rows per request.
- Low install friction with only two runtime dependencies (requests and requests-toolbelt).
- Maintenance is aging—last release was 187 days ago—but the repository remains active and the package supports current Python versions through 3.14.
License · maintenance · safety
copyleft license (copyleft) — Licensed under GPLv3 (copyleft). Any derivative work or distribution must also be open-source under GPLv3; proprietary applications cannot use this package without complying with copyleft obligations.
last release 2026-02-08 (187 days) · last repo commit 2026-02-08 · 81 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 219,749 downloads/mo, #9,320 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install censusgeocode
import censusgeocode as cg
result = cg.onelineaddress('1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC')
print(result.input, result)- Whether the Census Geocoder API requires authentication or has rate limits beyond the documented 10,000-row batch limit.
- Current availability and stability of Census Geocoder API benchmarks and vintages referenced in the package.
What it is and what it does
Censusgeocode is a lightweight Python wrapper around the US Census Geocoder API that lets you convert addresses to geographic coordinates and retrieve Census geographic data (blocks, tracts, counties, states) for those locations. It exposes the Census API through simple functions like onelineaddress(), address(), and coordinates(), and returns results as CensusResult objects that preserve the Census's interpretation of your query. The package also includes a command-line tool for geocoding single addresses or batch-processing CSV files.
The wrapper supports both "locations" mode (structured address data) and "geographies" mode (Census geographic boundaries and attributes). You can configure which Census benchmark and vintage to use via the CensusGeocode class if you need historical or alternative data. It depends only on requests and requests-toolbelt, making it lightweight to install and use.
Use it for
- Geocode a list of addresses in a CSV file to get latitude/longitude pairs and Census geographic identifiers for spatial analysis.
- Look up which Census block, tract, or county contains a given latitude/longitude coordinate.
- Batch-process up to 10,000 addresses from the command line to generate a CSV with parsed addresses and coordinates.
- Retrieve detailed Census geographic attributes (area, population codes, GEOID) for addresses in a Python script.
- Convert single addresses to coordinates programmatically for mapping or location-based applications.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need to geocode US addresses or map them to Census geographies.
The package is stable, has low install friction, and directly wraps an official Census API. The GPLv3 license is a blocker for proprietary applications. Maintenance is aging (last release 187 days ago), so verify that Census API changes haven't broken the wrapper before deploying to production.
Install
censusgeocode on PyPI
Before you install
Low install friction with only two runtime dependencies (requests and requests-toolbelt). Maintenance is aging—last release was 187 days ago—but the repository remains active and the package supports current Python versions through 3.14.
Requires network access to the US Census Geocoder API (http://geocoding.geo.census.gov/geocoder/); batch geocoding is limited to 10,000 rows per request.
License in practice
Licensed under GPLv3 (copyleft). Any derivative work or distribution must also be open-source under GPLv3; proprietary applications cannot use this package without complying with copyleft obligations.
Quickstart
pip install censusgeocode
import censusgeocode as cg
result = cg.onelineaddress('1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC')
print(result.input, result)Verify before relying
- Whether the Census Geocoder API requires authentication or has rate limits beyond the documented 10,000-row batch limit.
- Current availability and stability of Census Geocoder API benchmarks and vintages referenced in the package.
Package facts
| License | copyleft license copyleft |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release <4,>=3.8 |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagesrequestsrequests-toolbelt |
| Maintenance | Aging 187 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 219,749 / month, #9,320 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Development Status :: 4 - BetaIntended Audience :: DevelopersLicense :: OSI Approved :: GNU General Public License v3 (GPLv3)Natural Language :: EnglishOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9 |
Evidence: censusgeocode-0.5.3-py3-none-any.whl
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See also census · pygeocodio · geopy · geocoder · opencage · reverse_geocoder · spm-calculator · reverse-geocode · uszipcode · zipcodes