The Data Center

What The Data Center does

The Data Center is an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) research organization founded in 1997 and headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana. It produces and freely publishes demographic, economic, and social data on Southeast Louisiana, with audiences spanning community organizations, media, government agencies, businesses, and academic researchers. The organization was founded by Allison Plyer, who serves as Chief Demographer, and the research staff includes PhD-level analysts such as Robert Habans.

Its core product suite consists of the New Orleans Index (co-published with the Brookings Institution since the early 2000s and now in its 20th edition), the Coastal Index, a Youth Dashboard, Local Wealth Profiles (developed with the National Urban League's SEE Change Collective), the Coastwide Connection coastal data hub, and Pathways to Prosperity: Louisiana reports. Methodologically, The Data Center applies multilevel regression and poststratification (MRP) to survey microdata in order to produce community-level estimates — a capability that is uncommon among regional data shops. Underlying platforms include hosted interactive dashboards and downloadable datasets, and all outputs are published without paywalls, with monthly readership cited at over 100,000.

The business model is grant-funded philanthropy rather than commercial revenue: The Data Center raises operating support from a diversified roster of major U.S. foundations including the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation, Greater New Orleans Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies (via the Black Wealth Data Center / Greenwood Initiative), the Knight Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation, among others. It also participates in multi-institutional data initiatives such as the Data You Can Trust collaborative. There are no pricing tiers, no customer contracts, and no disclosed revenue — funding flows are project- and operations-oriented rather than transactional, which means scale and sustainability are tied to continued philanthropic engagement rather than ARR mechanics.

Name

The Data Center

Legal name

The Data Center

Website

https://datacenterresearch.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Data Center is a New Orleans-based independent nonprofit research organization founded in 1997 that publishes free demographic, economic, and coastal data on Southeast Louisiana for media, government, community groups, and researchers, using proprietary multilevel regression methodology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Socioeconomic Research and Data Analytics

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Computer Processing & Data Preparation (7374)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Platforms & Modern Data Stack Services (Lakehouse, DW, MDM) (BPAEAHAC)

Keywords

• Socioeconomic research
• Regional data analysis
• Demographic data resources
• Wealth estimation methodology
• Community research nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation grants and philanthropic funding: Primary funding source from foundations including W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, National Conference on Citizenship, J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation, United Way of Southeast Louisiana, RosaMary Foundation, and Keller Family Foundation. Also supported by Black Wealth Data Center (Bloomberg Philanthropies Greenwood Initiative).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Data Center is an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit research organization that conducts socioeconomic research and produces data products for Southeast Louisiana. It publishes regional indices, dashboards, and topical reports, and provides free technical assistance to organizations seeking to use data for decision-making. Its core analytical asset is a proprietary methodology for producing model-based local wealth estimates that are not otherwise publicly available.

Product overview

The Data Center is a nonprofit research organization offering a portfolio of research publications, data resources, and analytical services focused on Southeast Louisiana. The organization produces the New Orleans Index (in partnership with Brookings Institution), the Coastal Index, the Prosperity Index, and Pathways to Prosperity reports as its core publications. It maintains data resources including the New Orleans Youth Dashboard and neighborhood data, complemented by an Ask an Expert technical assistance service and the Numbers Talk newsletter. These offerings are free public resources designed to support informed decision-making for government, business, nonprofit, and community stakeholders in the region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The New Orleans Index

Quantifiable outcome

• Reaches over 100,000 individuals monthly with reports and publications
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Brookings InstitutioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration on the New Orleans Index, a biennial publication developed in collaboration with Brookings Institution tracking progress toward prosperity using over 30 indicators measuring economic growth, sustainability, inclusive growth, and quality of life. The Brookings Institution also contributed to the New Orleans Index at Twenty Collection.
• National Conference on CitizenshipmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with National Conference on Citizenship to assemble and analyze metrics for Pathways to Prosperity reports, providing comprehensive data on extreme weather shocks, adaptation activities, economic opportunities, and civic health.
• Urban League of LouisianamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngaged The Data Center to provide data and research support for the SEE Change Collective initiative, an effort to build Black and Latino wealth in the Greater New Orleans area. The Data Center developed local wealth estimates in response to this engagement.
• Urban InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferenced as collaborator in wealth data efforts; The Data Center's methods contribute to broader efforts to make information on the racial wealth gap more locally relevant and actionable, aligned with Urban Institute's Financial Health and Wealth Dashboard.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Pew Research Center: Nationally recognized data-driven research organization producing demographic and economic analyses. Operates a far broader geographic footprint but similar methodology and free public-access distribution model.
• RAND Corporation: Large, established nonprofit research institution with broader scope but comparable socioeconomic, demographic, and policy research methodology. Represents the 'scaled-up' version of The Data Center's model.

Others

• U.S. Census Bureau: Primary upstream data provider whose ACS, SIPP, and decennial products underpin The Data Center's analyses. Not a competitor but a critical ecosystem dependency and benchmark for statistical methodology.

Direct peers

• Brookings Institution: Long-standing collaborative partner on the New Orleans Index. Brookings is a comparable socioeconomic research organization that publishes policy-driven data and indices; methodology and audience overlap significantly with The Data Center.
• Urban Institute: Policy research organization whose Financial Health and Wealth Dashboard is cited alongside The Data Center's wealth methodology work. Both produce equity-focused socioeconomic research for civic decision-makers.
• Data Driven Detroit: Community data intermediary serving Southeast Michigan. Operates the same community-data-center model as The Data Center, producing regional demographic and equity research with similar GTM and funding structure.
• Measure of America: A project of the Social Science Research Council that produces human development and well-being indices at sub-national levels using similar statistical approaches. Directly comparable methodology and audience.
• National Conference on Citizenship: Partner on the Pathways to Prosperity reports. NCoC is a civic data and research organization focused on civic health indicators — overlapping methodology and audience with The Data Center's work.
• Black Wealth Data Center: Bloomberg Philanthropies Greenwood Initiative project focused on racially disaggregated wealth data — the same niche The Data Center addresses locally. Direct topical peer and existing funding partner.

Regional players

• Foundation for Louisiana: Louisiana-focused philanthropic partner that funds The Data Center's research. Operates in the same regional civic ecosystem and frequently co-commissions research on Louisiana equity and resilience topics.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/noladatacenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/The-Data-Center-1016974801718118
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/greater-new-orleans-community-data-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/noladatacenter

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Data Center