Forgotten Empire: The Territory-Sized Hole in American Data by Citizen Codex

The five U.S. territories—Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands—face a critical data deficit. The federal government collects far less economic and social data from these territories compared to the 50 states, leaving local governments without essential information during crises. This lack of data not only hampers disaster response and requests for federal aid but also obscures the humanitarian challenges faced by millions of residents from the public eye.

Our analysis leveraged The New York Times’ API to compare media coverage of U.S. territories with states of equivalent populations. The results were striking: territories have historically received only half the media attention of their state counterparts. Coupled with limited census data, this media invisibility compounds the territories’ marginalization.

This project highlights the urgent need for equitable data collection and media attention, emphasizing how these gaps perpetuate systemic neglect of American territories and their residents. Without reliable data and media coverage, these territories continue to exist only in the periphery of the nation's interests.