USAFacts’ Strong Growth Reveals Sharp Increase in Demand for Government Facts

BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Since former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer founded USAFacts in 2016, the not-for-profit, nonpartisan civic initiative has worked consistently to make government data easy for Americans to access and understand. Today, USAFacts reports that 2020 was its most successful year.

Said USAFacts President Poppy MacDonald, “I am extremely proud of our small, mighty team for putting facts at people’s fingertips throughout 2020. By all accounts, it has been a record year. Website traffic, audience growth and engagement, and media mentions hit record highs. We forged partnerships with other truth-seeking organizations committed to promoting facts. It’s clear that Americans were hungry for reliable government data: our audience grew over 1000%. Coronavirus-related page views have already exceeded 10 million.”

Much of USAFacts’ growth this year can be attributed to the essential role the organization played in getting Americans timely government facts on the impact of COVID-19, plus this year’s national and location elections.

Groups and organizations ranging from the CDC to the White House Coronavirus Task Force to Feeding America have accessed USAFacts COVID-19 data offerings to plan their efforts.

2019-2020 Growth
Website Traffic	12M Users 16M+ Visits
Page views	28M
Audience Growth	1023%
Media Mentions	40 stories, 5,370 mentions, billions of impressions
New Partnerships	32

The organization achieved other significant milestones beyond its oft-cited coronavirus case map.

In February, Senators Mitt Romney (R) and Chuck Schumer (D) collaborated on USAFacts’ State of the Union in Numbers initiative. From March onward, the organization has introduced other timely fact resources, including USAFacts’ fourth-annual Government 10-K, its first State of the Earth Report, a COVID-19 Impact and Recovery Hub in addition to the map, and its 2020 Voter Center.

USAFacts also attributes part of the spike in traffic this year to its major investments in PR, social media, paid content and advertising, including its first ever cross-screen advertising campaign, Change the Story. According to TV Rev, USAFacts ads had the most airtime during the debates, ensuring nonpartisan facts got a voice.

As USAFacts plans for 2021, the team is focused on ensuring that its data efforts are aligned with the factual needs and rights of all 328 million Americans.

For more information, please visit www.usafacts.org.

USAFACTS

USAFacts is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan civic initiative making government data easy for all Americans to access and understand. USAFacts provides engaging visuals on data and trends in US spending, revenue, demographics and policy outcomes — all aimed at helping to ground our public debate in facts. It produces topical content throughout the year and has produced annual reports and 10-Ks on the nation. Follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at @USAFacts, and sign up for the data-driven newsletter at www.usafacts.org.