Open Data by the Numbers

Throughout this report, we have communicated that Open Data plays an important role in understanding our city. In this section, we showcase the some of the data about Open Data to help us understand the impact of this service impacts those who use it.

All numbers are from fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024), unless otherwise stated.

Open Data Help Desk

Public Inquiries per Month Since 2019

Anyone and everyone can submit a question, share feedback about an existing dataset, or request a new dataset via the Open Data help desk. An Open Data Team member reads every submission, assigns it to the appropriate agency, and then collaborates with that agency to return a timely and thorough response to the inquirer. This fiscal year, we received a total of 1,035 inquiries, only 2 more than FY23. NYC Open Data users are consistent!

This Year’s Top Help Desk Statistics

1,035 total inquiries

186 total datasets inquired about

52 agencies inquired about


Top 5 Datasets Inquired About This Year

Dataset Agency
OATH Hearings Division Case Status Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH)
DOB NOW: Build - Job Application Filings Department of Buildings (DOB)
Open Parking and Camera Violations Department of Finance (DOF)
311 Service Requests from 2010 to Present Office of Technology and Innovation (OTI)
SBS Certified Business List Department of Small Business Services (SBS)

Audience

Geographic Location

We have users from all across the globe. This interactive map shows the number of unique users of NYC Open Data around the world. After the United States, the most visitors come from India, China, Canada, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan.

NYC Open Data Users, Globally

Out of the 801,291 global Open Data users, almost 83% are in the United States. Out of US users, 65% are in New York State, where 91% of Open Data users are located in New York City.

Breakdown of NYC Open Data Users

While New York is the clear frontrunner, here are the other states where NYC Open Data is most popular:

Top 10 US States by Open Data Users, After New York

State Users
New Jersey 28,379
Virginia 22,534
Florida 19,135
California 18,140
Pennsylvania 14,915
Georgia 14,365
Massachusetts 13,262
Texas 12,333
North Carolina 11,564
Ohio 10,930

Inventory

How is NYC Open Data accessed? Open Data Users can access datasets, collections, and visualizations through three access avenues: viewing through the website, downloading data locally, and calling data with an API. Each access type is suited to different use cases, making Open Data accessible for a range of inquiry types.



Any time you look on Open Data for a dataset’s basic information, to examine its rows and columns, or to analyze it as a map or chart, your action counts as a view. You can see the most viewed datasets in 2024 below or browse the most viewed datasets of all time at find those datasets and more here.



While NYC Open Data now allows you to filter, aggregate, pivot, or visualize a dataset, many people who are looking to conduct more advanced analyses will export and download a dataset so it can be used in another program. For large datasets, filter them before downloading to only export the portion of the dataset you’re interested in. You can find about the different formats that exported data is available in at https://support.socrata.com/hc/en-us/articles/202949658-Export-formats-for-downloading-data.



Anyone who wants to see how data changes over time can make a direct connection to the dataset Application Programming Interface (API). While downloading a dataset will provide you with the current data at the time you download it, the API connection allows you to see new data as the dataset gets updated. While an API connection can be created in nearly any program, it’s most often used by people who are building a tool or application based on Open Data. Want to learn more? Each dataset on Open Data has its own easy-to-connect-to API link. Find out how you can make your own connection at https://dev.socrata.com/docs/endpoints.html.


Community-Made Assets

Want to see film permits for just your neighborhood? Restaurant inspections limited to a specific cuisine? NYC Open Data allows any registered user to create and save a custom filtered version of any dataset. Each saved version counts as a “community-made asset.” Get started by signing up for an account.

2,048 Community-Made Assets created in FY24

25,968 total Community-Made Assets


Dataset Name Community-Made Assets
Motor Vehicle Collisions - Crashes 351
311 Service Requests from 2010 to Present 231
COVID-19 Daily Counts of Cases, Hospitalizations, and Deaths 57
Open Parking and Camera Violations 46
For Hire Vehicles (FHV) - Active 46

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