Open Dataset Starting Points

The sources below are starting points you might consider for your own dashboard analysis. Choose one you find interesting that gives you a question to investigate.

Area	Dataset / source	Why it could work
Local / Durham	Durham Trees & Planting Sites	Local, visual, structured; good for maps, filtering, dashboards, and ecosystem-benefit examples.
Parks / time series	NPS Visitor Use Statistics	Annual and monthly park visitation data; good for trends, seasonality, and comparison across places.
Higher ed	College Scorecard	Institutions, costs, programs, outcomes, debt, and earnings; strong for education dashboards.
Research / scholarly metadata	OpenAlex	Works, authors, institutions, sources, and topics; good for analyzing research trends.
Weather / climate	National Weather Service API	Forecasts, alerts, and observations; good for API and local dashboard examples.
Census / demographics	Census Data API	Population, housing, income, commuting, and education data; useful for maps and public data lessons.
Environment / health	CDC PLACES	Local health indicators by county, place, census tract, and ZIP Code Tabulation Area.
Arts / culture	Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection API	Public art collection data; good for search, filters, categories, dates, and maps.
Playful / animals	2018 Central Park Squirrel Census	Fun and approachable; good for categories, maps, filtering, and counts.
Playful / media	Bob Ross Painting Elements	Small and easy to understand; good for categorical summaries of trees, mountains, clouds, cabins, lakes, and other painting elements.

Before building, write down the dashboard question in one sentence. Then inspect the source enough to confirm the data has the fields, license, and access pattern your dashboard needs.