# Measures Functions [Data Observatory Measures](/cartodb-platform/dataobservatory/overview/#measures-methods) are the numerical location data you can access. The Measure Functions allow you to access individual measures to augment your own data or integrate in your analysis workflows. Measures are used by sending an identifier or a geometry (Point or Polygon) and receiving back a Measure (an absolute value) for that location. There are hundreds of Measures and the list is growing with each release. You can currently discover and learn about measures contained in the Data Observatory by downloading our [Data Catalog](https://cartodb.github.io/bigmetadata/observatory.pdf). We show here how you can access Measures through the CartoDB Editor. The same methods will work if you are using the CartoDB Platform to develop your application. We encourage you to use table modifying methods (UPDATE and INSERT) over dynamic methods (SELECT). ## OBS_GetUSCensusMeasure(point geometry, measure_name text); The ```OBS_GetUSCensusMeasure(point_geometry, measure_name)``` function returns a measure based on a subset of the US Census variables at a point location. The ```OBS_GetUSCensusMeasure``` function is limited to only a subset of all Measures that are available in the Data Observatory, to access the full list, use the ```OBS_GetMeasure``` function below. #### Arguments Name |Description --- | --- point_geometry | a WGS84 point geometry (the_geom) measure_name | a human readable name of a US Census variable. The list of measure_names is [available in the glossary](/cartodb-platform/dataobservatory/glossary/#obsgetuscensusmeasure-names-table). normalize | for measures that are are **sums** (e.g. population) the default normalization is 'area' and response comes back as a rate per square kilometer. Other options are 'denominator', which will use the denominator specified in the #### Returns A NUMERIC value containing the following properties Key | Description --- | --- value | the raw or normalized measure #### Example Add a Measure to an empty column based on point locations in your table ```SQL UPDATE tablename SET local_male_population = OBS_GetUSCensusMeasure(the_geom, 'Male Population') ``` ## OBS_GetUSCensusMeasure(polygon_geometry, measure_name); The ```OBS_GetUSCensusMeasure(point_geometry, measure_name)``` function returns a measure based on a subset of the US Census variables within a given polygon. The ```OBS_GetUSCensusMeasure``` function is limited to only a subset of all measures that are available in the Data Observatory, to access the full list, use the ```OBS_GetUSCensusMeasure``` function below. #### Arguments Name |Description --- | --- point_geometry | a WGS84 polygon geometry (the_geom) measure_name | a human readable string name of a US Census variable. The list of measure_names is [available in the glossary](/cartodb-platform/dataobservatory/glossary/#obsgetuscensusmeasure-names-table). normalize | for measures that are are **sums** (e.g. population) the default normalization is 'none' and response comes back as a raw value. Other options are 'denominator', which will use the denominator specified in the [Data Catalog](https://cartodb.github.io/bigmetadata/observatory.pdf) (optional) #### Returns A NUMERIC value Key | Description --- | --- value | the raw or normalized measure #### Example Add a Measure to an empty column based on polygons in your table ```SQL UPDATE tablename SET local_male_population = OBS_GetUSCensusMeasure(the_geom, 'Male Population') ``` Get a measure at a single polygon ```SQL SELECT OBS_GetMeasure(ST_Buffer(CDB_LatLng(40.7, -73.9),0.001), 'Male Population') ``` ## OBS_GetUSCensusCategory(point_geometry, measure_name); The ```OBS_GetUSCensusCategory(point_geometry, category_name)``` function returns a categorical measure based on a subset of the US Census variables at a point location. It requires a different function from ```OBS_GetUSCensusMeasure``` because this function will always return TEXT, whereas ```OBS_GetUSCensusMeasure``` will always returna NUMERIC value. #### Arguments Name | Description --- | --- point_geometry | a WGS84 point geometry (the_geom) measure_name | a human readable string name of a US Census variable. The list of measure_names is [available in the glossary](/cartodb-platform/dataobservatory/glossary/#obsgetuscensusmeasure-names-table). #### Returns A NUMERIC value containing the following properties Key | Description --- | --- value | the raw or normalized measure #### Example Add a Measure to an empty column based on point locations in your table ```SQL UPDATE tablename SET local_male_population = OBS_GetUSCensusCategory(the_geom, 'Spielman Singleton Category 10') ``` Get a measure at a single point location ```SQL SELECT OBS_GetUSCensusCategory(CDB_LatLng(40.7, -73.9), 'Spielman Singleton Category 10') ``` ## OBS_GetMeasure(point_geometry, measure_id); The ```OBS_GetMeasure(point_geometry, measure_id)``` function returns any Data Observatory measure at a point location. #### Arguments Name |Description --- | --- point_geometry | a WGS84 point geometry (the_geom) measure_id | a measure identifier from the Data Observatory ([see available measures](https://cartodb.github.io/bigmetadata/observatory.pdf)) normalize | for measures that are are **sums** (e.g. population) the default normalization is 'area' and response comes back as a rate per square kilometer. Other options are 'denominator', which will use the denominator specified in the [Data Catalog](https://cartodb.github.io/bigmetadata/observatory.pdf) and 'none' which will return a raw value. (optional) #### Returns A NUMERIC value Key | Description --- | --- value | the raw or normalized measure #### Example Add a Measure to an empty column based on point locations in your table ```SQL UPDATE tablename SET local_male_population = OBS_GetMeasure(the_geom, '"us.census.acs".B08134006') ``` Get a measure at a single point location ```SQL SELECT OBS_GetMeasure(CDB_LatLng(40.7, -73.9), '"us.census.acs".B08134006') ``` ## OBS_GetMeasure(polygon_geometry, measure_id); The ```OBS_GetMeasure(polygon_geometry, measure_id)``` function returns any Data Observatory measure calculated within a polygon. #### Arguments Name |Description --- | --- polygon_geometry | a WGS84 polygon geometry (the_geom) measure_id | a measure identifier from the Data Observatory ([see available measures](https://cartodb.github.io/bigmetadata/observatory.pdf)) normalize | for measures that are are **sums** (e.g. population) the default normalization is 'none' and response comes back as a raw value. Other options are 'denominator', which will use the denominator specified in the [Data Catalog](https://cartodb.github.io/bigmetadata/observatory.pdf) (optional) #### Returns A NUMERIC value Key | Description --- | --- value | the raw or normalized measure #### Example Add a Measure to an empty column based on polygons in your table ```SQL UPDATE tablename SET local_male_population = OBS_GetMeasure(the_geom, '"us.census.acs".B08134006') ``` Get a measure within a polygon ```SQL SELECT OBS_GetMeasure(ST_Buffer(CDB_LatLng(40.7, -73.9),0.001), '"us.census.acs".B08134006') ```