How to integrate Census bureau MCP with Autogen

This guide walks you through connecting Census bureau to AutoGen using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Census bureau agent that can get latest population estimate for los angeles county, list top industries in texas by employment, fetch 5-year acs median income for chicago through natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to give your AutoGen agent real control over a Census bureau account through Composio's Census bureau MCP server. Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

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Api Key

Census bureau is the U.S. Census Bureau’s official data API, offering access to nationwide demographic, economic, and geographic statistics. It lets you power your applications and automations with up-to-date, authoritative U.S. data.

81 Tools

Introduction

This guide walks you through connecting Census bureau to AutoGen using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Census bureau agent that can get latest population estimate for los angeles county, list top industries in texas by employment, fetch 5-year acs median income for chicago through natural language commands.

This guide will help you understand how to give your AutoGen agent real control over a Census bureau account through Composio's Census bureau MCP server.

Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved.

Also integrate Census bureau with

OpenAI Agents SDKClaude Agent SDKClaude CodeClaude CoworkCodexOpenClawHermesCLIGoogle ADKLangChainVercel AI SDKMastra AILlamaIndexCrewAI

TL;DR

Here's what you'll learn:
  • Get and set up your OpenAI and Composio API keys
  • Install the required dependencies for Autogen and Composio
  • Initialize Composio and create a Tool Router session for Census bureau
  • Wire that MCP URL into Autogen using McpWorkbench and StreamableHttpServerParams
  • Configure an Autogen AssistantAgent that can call Census bureau tools
  • Run a live chat loop where you ask the agent to perform Census bureau operations

What is AutoGen?

Autogen is a framework for building multi-agent conversational AI systems from Microsoft. It enables you to create agents that can collaborate, use tools, and maintain complex workflows.

Key features include:

  • Multi-Agent Systems: Build collaborative agent workflows
  • MCP Workbench: Native support for Model Context Protocol tools
  • Streaming HTTP: Connect to external services through streamable HTTP
  • AssistantAgent: Pre-built agent class for tool-using assistants

What is the Census bureau MCP server, and what's possible with it?

The Census bureau MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to Census Bureau data resources. It provides structured and secure access to a wide range of U.S. demographic, business, and community datasets, so your agent can retrieve population statistics, analyze survey results, fetch business patterns, and explore census variables on your behalf.

  • Retrieve up-to-date population estimates: Have your agent pull the latest demographic and population data for specific states, counties, or cities using the Population Estimates Program (PEP).
  • Analyze American Community Survey results: Access detailed ACS 1-year and 5-year estimates for any geography, helping you understand community trends, housing, and economic data.
  • Explore business statistics by region: Automatically fetch County Business Patterns (CBP) and Annual Business Survey (ABS) data to examine local industry and employment trends.
  • Access decennial census data: Let your agent retrieve variables and statistics from the decennial census by vintage and dataset for deep historical and demographic analysis.
  • Investigate variable metadata and definitions: Effortlessly obtain detailed information about any census variable, including descriptions, data types, and valid values for more informed analysis.

What is the Composio tool router, and how does it fit here?

What is Composio SDK?

Composio's Composio SDK helps agents find the right tools for a task at runtime. You can plug in multiple toolkits (like Gmail, HubSpot, and GitHub), and the agent will identify the relevant app and action to complete multi-step workflows. This can reduce token usage and improve the reliability of tool calls. Read more here: Getting started with Composio SDK

The tool router generates a secure MCP URL that your agents can access to perform actions.

How the Composio SDK works

The Composio SDK follows a three-phase workflow:

  1. Discovery: Searches for tools matching your task and returns relevant toolkits with their details.
  2. Authentication: Checks for active connections. If missing, creates an auth config and returns a connection URL via Auth Link.
  3. Execution: Executes the action using the authenticated connection.

Step-by-step Guide

Step by step08 STEPS
1

Prerequisites

You will need:

  • A Composio API key
  • An OpenAI API key (used by Autogen's OpenAIChatCompletionClient)
  • A Census bureau account you can connect to Composio
  • Some basic familiarity with Autogen and Python async
2

Getting API Keys for OpenAI and Composio

OpenAI API Key
  • Go to the OpenAI dashboard and create an API key. You'll need credits to use the models, or you can connect to another model provider.
  • Keep the API key safe.
Composio API Key
  • Log in to the Composio dashboard.
  • Navigate to your API settings and generate a new API key.
  • Store this key securely as you'll need it for authentication.
3

Install dependencies

bash
pip install composio python-dotenv
pip install autogen-agentchat autogen-ext-openai autogen-ext-tools

Install Composio, Autogen extensions, and dotenv.

What's happening:

  • composio connects your agent to Census bureau via MCP
  • autogen-agentchat provides the AssistantAgent class
  • autogen-ext-openai provides the OpenAI model client
  • autogen-ext-tools provides MCP workbench support

4

Set up environment variables

bash
COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your-composio-api-key
OPENAI_API_KEY=your-openai-api-key
USER_ID=your-user-identifier@example.com

Create a .env file in your project folder.

What's happening:

  • COMPOSIO_API_KEY is required to talk to Composio
  • OPENAI_API_KEY is used by Autogen's OpenAI client
  • USER_ID is how Composio identifies which user's Census bureau connections to use
5

Import dependencies and create Tool Router session

python
import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from composio import Composio

from autogen_agentchat.agents import AssistantAgent
from autogen_ext.models.openai import OpenAIChatCompletionClient
from autogen_ext.tools.mcp import McpWorkbench, StreamableHttpServerParams

load_dotenv()

async def main():
    # Initialize Composio and create a Census bureau session
    composio = Composio(api_key=os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY"))
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=os.getenv("USER_ID"),
        toolkits=["census_bureau"]
    )
    url = session.mcp.url
What's happening:
  • load_dotenv() reads your .env file
  • Composio(api_key=...) initializes the SDK
  • create(...) creates a Tool Router session that exposes Census bureau tools
  • session.mcp.url is the MCP endpoint that Autogen will connect to
6

Configure MCP parameters for Autogen

python
# Configure MCP server parameters for Streamable HTTP
server_params = StreamableHttpServerParams(
    url=url,
    timeout=30.0,
    sse_read_timeout=300.0,
    terminate_on_close=True,
    headers={"x-api-key": os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")}
)

Autogen expects parameters describing how to talk to the MCP server. That is what StreamableHttpServerParams is for.

What's happening:

  • url points to the Tool Router MCP endpoint from Composio
  • timeout is the HTTP timeout for requests
  • sse_read_timeout controls how long to wait when streaming responses
  • terminate_on_close=True cleans up the MCP server process when the workbench is closed
7

Create the model client and agent

python
# Create model client
model_client = OpenAIChatCompletionClient(
    model="gpt-5",
    api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")
)

# Use McpWorkbench as context manager
async with McpWorkbench(server_params) as workbench:
    # Create Census bureau assistant agent with MCP tools
    agent = AssistantAgent(
        name="census_bureau_assistant",
        description="An AI assistant that helps with Census bureau operations.",
        model_client=model_client,
        workbench=workbench,
        model_client_stream=True,
        max_tool_iterations=10
    )

What's happening:

  • OpenAIChatCompletionClient wraps the OpenAI model for Autogen
  • McpWorkbench connects the agent to the MCP tools
  • AssistantAgent is configured with the Census bureau tools from the workbench
8

Run the interactive chat loop

python
print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end the conversation.\n")
print("Ask any Census bureau related question or task to the agent.\n")

# Conversation loop
while True:
    user_input = input("You: ").strip()

    if user_input.lower() in ["exit", "quit", "bye"]:
        print("\nGoodbye!")
        break

    if not user_input:
        continue

    print("\nAgent is thinking...\n")

    # Run the agent with streaming
    try:
        response_text = ""
        async for message in agent.run_stream(task=user_input):
            if hasattr(message, "content") and message.content:
                response_text = message.content

        # Print the final response
        if response_text:
            print(f"Agent: {response_text}\n")
        else:
            print("Agent: I encountered an issue processing your request.\n")

    except Exception as e:
        print(f"Agent: Sorry, I encountered an error: {str(e)}\n")
What's happening:
  • The script prompts you in a loop with You:
  • Autogen passes your input to the model, which decides which Census bureau tools to call via MCP
  • agent.run_stream(...) yields streaming messages as the agent thinks and calls tools
  • Typing exit, quit, or bye ends the loop

Complete Code

Here's the complete code to get you started with Census bureau and AutoGen:

python
import asyncio
import os
from dotenv import load_dotenv
from composio import Composio

from autogen_agentchat.agents import AssistantAgent
from autogen_ext.models.openai import OpenAIChatCompletionClient
from autogen_ext.tools.mcp import McpWorkbench, StreamableHttpServerParams

load_dotenv()

async def main():
    # Initialize Composio and create a Census bureau session
    composio = Composio(api_key=os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY"))
    session = composio.create(
        user_id=os.getenv("USER_ID"),
        toolkits=["census_bureau"]
    )
    url = session.mcp.url

    # Configure MCP server parameters for Streamable HTTP
    server_params = StreamableHttpServerParams(
        url=url,
        timeout=30.0,
        sse_read_timeout=300.0,
        terminate_on_close=True,
        headers={"x-api-key": os.getenv("COMPOSIO_API_KEY")}
    )

    # Create model client
    model_client = OpenAIChatCompletionClient(
        model="gpt-5",
        api_key=os.getenv("OPENAI_API_KEY")
    )

    # Use McpWorkbench as context manager
    async with McpWorkbench(server_params) as workbench:
        # Create Census bureau assistant agent with MCP tools
        agent = AssistantAgent(
            name="census_bureau_assistant",
            description="An AI assistant that helps with Census bureau operations.",
            model_client=model_client,
            workbench=workbench,
            model_client_stream=True,
            max_tool_iterations=10
        )

        print("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end the conversation.\n")
        print("Ask any Census bureau related question or task to the agent.\n")

        # Conversation loop
        while True:
            user_input = input("You: ").strip()

            if user_input.lower() in ['exit', 'quit', 'bye']:
                print("\nGoodbye!")
                break

            if not user_input:
                continue

            print("\nAgent is thinking...\n")

            # Run the agent with streaming
            try:
                response_text = ""
                async for message in agent.run_stream(task=user_input):
                    if hasattr(message, 'content') and message.content:
                        response_text = message.content

                # Print the final response
                if response_text:
                    print(f"Agent: {response_text}\n")
                else:
                    print("Agent: I encountered an issue processing your request.\n")

            except Exception as e:
                print(f"Agent: Sorry, I encountered an error: {str(e)}\n")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    asyncio.run(main())

Conclusion

You now have an Autogen assistant wired into Census bureau through Composio's Tool Router and MCP. From here you can:
  • Add more toolkits to the toolkits list, for example notion or hubspot
  • Refine the agent description to point it at specific workflows
  • Wrap this script behind a UI, Slack bot, or internal tool
Once the pattern is clear for Census bureau, you can reuse the same structure for other MCP-enabled apps with minimal code changes.
TOOLS

Supported Tools

Every Census bureau action and event your agent gets out of the box.

Geocode Address

Tool to geocode a single address to get latitude/longitude coordinates.

Geocode Address for Census Geographies

Geocode an address and return Census geography identifiers including state, county, tract, block group, and block FIPS codes.

Geocode Address Parts

Tool to geocode an address using separate components (street, city, state, ZIP) to get latitude/longitude coordinates.

Geocode Address with Geography

Tool to geocode an address and return both coordinates and Census geography information.

Geocode Coordinates

Reverse geocode latitude/longitude coordinates to Census geographic areas.

Geocode Puerto Rico Address with Geography

Tool to geocode a Puerto Rico address and return coordinates plus Census geography data.

Batch Geocode Addresses with Geographies

Batch geocode multiple addresses from a CSV file and return Census geography codes.

Geocode Puerto Rico Address

Tool to geocode a Puerto Rico address with urbanization to latitude/longitude coordinates.

Get ACS 1-Year Estimates

Tool to retrieve 1-year American Community Survey (ACS) estimates for a specified geography.

Get ACS 5-Year Estimates

Retrieve 5-year American Community Survey (ACS) estimates from the U.

Get Community Resilience Estimates

Retrieve U.

Get County Business Patterns

Tool to retrieve County Business Patterns (CBP) data for a specified year.

Get Dataset Examples HTML

Tool to retrieve example queries for a Census dataset in HTML format.

Get Dataset Examples JSON

Tool to retrieve example API query patterns for a specific Census dataset and vintage.

Get Dataset Examples (XML)

Tool to retrieve example queries for a Census Bureau dataset in XML format.

Get Dataset Geography HTML

Tool to retrieve available geographies for a Census dataset in HTML format.

Get Dataset Geography JSON

Tool to get the list of supported geography levels for a specific Census dataset with their hierarchy and required predicates.

Get Dataset Geography XML

Tool to retrieve available geographies for a Census Bureau dataset in XML format.

Get Dataset Groups

Tool to retrieve the list of table groups for a Census dataset and vintage.

Get Dataset Sorts

Tool to list available sort options for a specific Census dataset and vintage.

Get Dataset Tags

Tool to list available tags/keywords for a specific Census dataset and vintage.

Get Dataset Variables JSON

Tool to retrieve the complete list of available variables for a specific Census dataset.

Get Decennial Census Data

Retrieve Decennial Census data (population, demographics, housing) from the U.

Get Planning Database Data

Get Planning Database (PDB) data containing Census tract and block group level data useful for planning.

Get Population Estimates

Retrieves Population Estimates Program (PEP) data from the US Census Bureau API.

Get TIGERweb ACS Generalized Boundaries

Tool to access generalized ACS (American Community Survey) boundary services from TIGERweb for specific survey years (2012-2024).

Get TIGERweb Map Service Metadata

Tool to retrieve TIGERweb MapServer service metadata including available layers, capabilities, and spatial reference information.

Get Timeseries Examples HTML

Tool to retrieve HTML-formatted example queries for a Census Bureau timeseries dataset.

Get Timeseries Examples JSON

Tool to get example queries for a timeseries dataset in JSON format.

Get Timeseries Examples XML

Tool to retrieve example queries for a Census Bureau timeseries dataset in XML format.

Get Timeseries Geography HTML

Tool to retrieve available FIPS geographies for a timeseries dataset in HTML format.

Get Timeseries Geography JSON

Tool to get available geographies for a timeseries dataset in JSON format.

Get Timeseries Geography XML

Tool to retrieve available geographies for a Census Bureau timeseries dataset in XML format.

Get Timeseries Variables HTML

Tool to retrieve a list of available variables for a Census timeseries dataset in HTML format.

Get Timeseries Variables JSON

Tool to get a list of variables available for a timeseries dataset in JSON format.

Get Timeseries Variables XML

Tool to get a list of variables available for a timeseries dataset in XML format.

Get Variable Details

Tool to retrieve metadata for a specific variable in a Census dataset for a given year.

List Available Datasets

Lists all available Census Bureau datasets with their metadata, vintages, and API endpoints.

List Datasets HTML

Tool to retrieve a complete HTML listing of all available (non-timeseries) Census Bureau datasets.

List Datasets XML

Tool to retrieve a list of all available Census Bureau datasets in XML format.

List Geocoder Benchmarks

List all available benchmark versions for the Census Bureau geocoding service.

List Geocoder Vintages

Tool to list available geography vintages for a given Census geocoder benchmark.

List TIGERweb Services

Tool to discover all available TIGERweb map services for Census geographic boundaries.

List Timeseries Datasets (HTML)

Tool to retrieve a list of all available timeseries datasets from the US Census Bureau API in HTML format.

List Timeseries Datasets (JSON)

Tool to list all available timeseries datasets from the US Census Bureau API.

List Timeseries Datasets (XML)

Tool to retrieve a list of all available Census Bureau timeseries datasets in XML format.

Query ACS Supplemental Estimates

Query ACS Supplemental Estimates data by variables and geography.

Query ACS Comparison Profiles

Query ACS Comparison Profiles data by variables and geography.

Query ACS Migration Flows

Tool to query American Community Survey (ACS) Migration Flows data by variables and geography.

Query ACS Data Profile

Tool to query ACS Data Profiles by variables and geography.

Query ACS Selected Population Profiles

Tool to query ACS Selected Population Profiles (SPP) data by variables and geography for specific population groups.

Query ACS Subject Tables

Tool to query ACS Subject Tables data by variables and geography.

Query Annual Business Survey

Tool to query Annual Business Survey Company Summary (abscs) data with demographic filters.

Query Commodity Flow Survey

Query Commodity Flow Survey data on freight shipments by origin, destination, mode, and commodity.

Query CPS Survey Data

Tool to query Current Population Survey (CPS) microdata including basic monthly employment data and supplemental surveys.

Query Decennial DHC

Tool to query Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC) data by variables and geography.

Query Decennial Census Demographic Profile

Tool to query Decennial Census Demographic Profile data by variables and geography.

Query Decennial Census P.L. Redistricting Data

Tool to query Decennial Census P.

Query Economic Census Data

Tool to query Economic Census data including establishments, employment, payroll, and receipts by geography and industry (NAICS).

Query International Trade Timeseries

Tool to query International Trade timeseries data from Census Bureau API.

Query Nonemployer Statistics

Tool to query Nonemployer Statistics data covering businesses with no paid employees.

Query PEP CharAgeGroups

Query population estimates by age groups, sex, race, and Hispanic origin from the Census Bureau PEP CharAgeGroups dataset.

Query PEP Components

Query components of population change from the Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP).

Query PEP Housing Estimates

Query housing unit estimates from the US Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP).

Query Population Projections

Query population projections from the Census Bureau API.

Query Surname Data

Query surname frequency data from the U.

Query TIGERweb Layer

Tool to query TIGERweb GeoServices for Census geographic boundaries and features.

Query Business Dynamics Statistics

Query Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS) time series data from the Census Bureau.

Query Timeseries Data

Query Census timeseries datasets containing longitudinal data for multiple time periods.

Query Economic Indicators Time Series

Tool to query Economic Indicators Time Series (EITS) data from the US Census Bureau.

Query Residential Construction Stats

Tool to query Residential Construction statistics from Census Bureau Economic Indicators Time Series (EITS).

Query Residential Sales Data

Query Residential Sales statistics from Census Bureau's Economic Indicator Time Series (EITS).

Query Health Insurance Estimates

Query Small Area Health Insurance Estimates (SAHIE) from the Census Bureau timeseries API.

Query Household Pulse Survey Timeseries

Tool to query Household Pulse Survey (HPS) timeseries data measuring household experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Query International Database

Query International Database (IDB) demographic data for 227 countries and areas worldwide.

Query Timeseries International Trade Exports by HS

Tool to query international trade exports by Harmonized System code from Census Bureau time series API.

Query Timeseries International Trade Imports by End Use

Query international trade imports by end-use category from Census Bureau timeseries data.

Query Timeseries Poverty

Query poverty statistics from the Census Bureau's timeseries poverty datasets.

Query QWI Timeseries Data

Query Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) timeseries data on employment, earnings, and job flows.

Query Timeseries QWI State/Area

Query Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI) State/Area characteristics from the Census Bureau's time series API.

Query ZIP Business Patterns

Tool to query ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP) data including establishments and employment by ZIP code and industry.

FRAMEWORKS

How to build Census bureau MCP Agent with another framework

OpenAI Agents SDK logo

OpenAI Agents SDK

Use Census bureau MCP with OpenAI Agents SDK

Claude Agent SDK logo

Claude Agent SDK

Use Census bureau MCP with Claude Agent SDK

Claude Code logo

Claude Code

Use Census bureau MCP with Claude Code

Claude Cowork logo

Claude Cowork

Use Census bureau MCP with Claude Cowork

Codex logo

Codex

Use Census bureau MCP with Codex

OpenClaw logo

OpenClaw

Use Census bureau MCP with OpenClaw

Hermes logo

Hermes

Use Census bureau MCP with Hermes

CLI logo

CLI

Use Census bureau MCP with CLI

Google ADK logo

Google ADK

Use Census bureau MCP with Google ADK

LangChain logo

LangChain

Use Census bureau MCP with LangChain

Vercel AI SDK logo

Vercel AI SDK

Use Census bureau MCP with Vercel AI SDK

Mastra AI logo

Mastra AI

Use Census bureau MCP with Mastra AI

LlamaIndex logo

LlamaIndex

Use Census bureau MCP with LlamaIndex

CrewAI logo

CrewAI

Use Census bureau MCP with CrewAI

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

With a standalone Census bureau MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Census bureau tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Census bureau and many other apps based on the task at hand, all through a single MCP endpoint.

Yes, you can. Autogen fully supports MCP integration. You get structured tool calling, message history handling, and model orchestration while Tool Router takes care of discovering and serving the right Census bureau tools.

Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Census bureau scopes and actions are allowed when connecting your account to Composio. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials or API configuration so you keep full control over what the agent can do.

All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Census bureau data and credentials are handled as safely as possible.

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