A Descriptive Analysis of DCAT-Compliant Data Catalogs: Characteristics and Themes Across Federal, State, County, City, and Territorial Entities in the United States

The increasing availability of government data has prompted efforts to standardize data cataloging practices for enhanced accessibility and usability. The primary aim of this study is to descriptively assess data catalog and referenced dataset volume, metadata utilization, and thematic composition of United States DCAT compliant data catalogs across Federal, State, County, City, and Territory entities. Data collection involved compiling a list of relevant government agencies and data resources to identify data catalogs. DCAT compliance was then assessed, and metadata from compliant catalogs was extracted. Thematic mapping utilized Python packages RegEx and FuzzyWuzzy to categorize themes into eight standard categories. A combination of descriptive statistics and 1-way ANOVA tests were conducted to analyze dataset volume, metadata utilization, and reported themes. Of the 305 data catalogs identified, 259 were found to be DCAT compliant. Federal entities exhibited the highest DCAT compliance rates (92.3%), followed by County (88.1%), City (86.9%), and State (77.0%), while Territory (0%) had no compliant data catalogs. Descriptive analysis revealed that federal DCAT compliant data catalogs (<italic>n</italic> = 59) had the highest average number of data assets across their data catalogs (<italic>μ</italic> = 1,133.2) with the predominant themes being transportation at 21.2% (<italic>n</italic> = 14,785) and geospatial at 15.4% (<italic>n</italic> = 10,761). While county data catalogs (<italic>n</italic> = 52) had the lowest average (<italic>μ</italic> = 232.6) with the most referenced themes being geospatial at 77.6% (<italic>n</italic> = 8450) and finance at 2.4% (<italic>n</italic> = 270). After applying thematic mapping to eight standard categories, the three most dominant themes across all entities were transportation at 38.1% (<italic>n</italic> = 16,504), natural resources with 19.6% (<italic>n</italic> = 8,501), and health and safety with 14.7% (<italic>n</italic> = 6,367). These findings underscore the widespread adoption of the DCAT standard across government entities, with notable gaps at the territorial level. Federal and state entities exhibited the highest data catalog and dataset volumes, while metadata utilization remained relatively consistent across all entity levels. The thematic analysis highlights the importance of standardization efforts to enhance thematic consistency and facilitate effective data interpretation. Further collaboration and investment are warranted to address gaps in catalog coverage and establish standardized data cataloging practices to maximize the accessibility and usability of these data catalogs along with their referenced datasets.