fred_search

Search across all 800,000+ FRED series using powerful text search, tag filtering, and attribute filters.

Overview

The fred_search tool enables sophisticated searching across FRED’s vast database. Use it to:

Find series by keywords in titles and descriptions
Filter by tags like “gdp”, “monthly”, “seasonally adjusted”
Combine multiple search criteria
Filter by frequency, units, or seasonal adjustment
Sort by relevance, popularity, or recency

Parameters

search_text

string

Text to search for in series titles and descriptions.Search tips:

Use specific terms like “unemployment rate” or “consumer price index”
Searches are case-insensitive
Multiple words are searched as phrases
Partial matches are included

search_type

string

default:"full_text"

Type of search to perform.Options:

full_text: Search titles and descriptions
series_id: Search by exact series ID match

tag_names

string

Comma-separated list of tags to filter by. All specified tags must be present.Common tags:

Geographic: usa, state, county, msa
Frequency: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual
Adjustment: sa (seasonally adjusted), nsa (not seasonally adjusted)
Topic: gdp, inflation, employment, housing, interest rate

Example: "monthly,sa,employment"

exclude_tag_names

string

Comma-separated list of tags to exclude. Series with these tags will be filtered out.Example: "discontinued,projection"

limit

number

default:"25"

Maximum number of results to return (1-1000).

offset

number

default:"0"

Number of results to skip for pagination.

order_by

string

default:"search_rank"

Field to order results by.Options:

search_rank: Relevance to search terms
series_id: Alphabetical by ID
title: Alphabetical by title
popularity: Most accessed series first
last_updated: Most recently updated
observation_start: Earliest data first
observation_end: Latest data first
frequency: Grouped by frequency
units: Grouped by units

sort_order

string

default:"desc"

Sort order for results.Options:

asc: Ascending order
desc: Descending order

filter_variable

string

Variable to filter by.Options:

frequency: Filter by data frequency
units: Filter by measurement units
seasonal_adjustment: Filter by adjustment type

filter_value

string

Value to filter the variable by. Must be used with filter_variable.Frequency values:

d: Daily
w: Weekly
m: Monthly
q: Quarterly
a: Annual

Units values:

lin: Levels
pch: Percent change
pc1: Percent change from year ago
index: Index values

Seasonal adjustment values:

sa: Seasonally adjusted
nsa: Not seasonally adjusted

Examples

Basic Keyword Search

{
  "tool": "fred_search",
  "params": {
    "search_text": "unemployment rate",
    "limit": 5
  }
}

Search with Tag Filtering

{
  "tool": "fred_search",
  "params": {
    "search_text": "inflation",
    "tag_names": "usa,monthly,sa",
    "limit": 3
  }
}

Filter by Frequency

{
  "tool": "fred_search",
  "params": {
    "search_text": "gdp",
    "filter_variable": "frequency",
    "filter_value": "q",
    "order_by": "popularity",
    "limit": 5
  }
}

Search by Series ID

{
  "tool": "fred_search",
  "params": {
    "search_text": "DGS10",
    "search_type": "series_id"
  }
}

Exclude Discontinued Series

{
  "tool": "fred_search",
  "params": {
    "search_text": "federal funds",
    "exclude_tag_names": "discontinued",
    "limit": 5
  }
}

Search Strategies

Finding Economic Indicators

GDP & Growth
Inflation
Employment
Housing

{
  "search_text": "gross domestic product",
  "tag_names": "usa,gdp",
  "filter_variable": "frequency",
  "filter_value": "q"
}

Key Series:

GDP: Nominal GDP
GDPC1: Real GDP
GDPPOT: Potential GDP
NYGDPMKTPCDWLD: World GDP Per Capita

{
  "search_text": "consumer price",
  "tag_names": "usa,monthly,inflation",
  "order_by": "popularity"
}

Key Series:

CPIAUCSL: CPI All Items
CPILFESL: Core CPI
PCEPI: PCE Price Index
DFEDTARU: Fed Target Rate

{
  "search_text": "employment",
  "tag_names": "usa,monthly,sa",
  "exclude_tag_names": "discontinued"
}

Key Series:

PAYEMS: Nonfarm Payrolls
UNRATE: Unemployment Rate
CIVPART: Labor Force Participation
EMRATIO: Employment-Population Ratio

{
  "search_text": "housing",
  "tag_names": "usa,monthly",
  "filter_variable": "seasonal_adjustment",
  "filter_value": "sa"
}

Key Series:

HOUST: Housing Starts
PERMIT: Building Permits
CSUSHPISA: Case-Shiller Index
MORTGAGE30US: 30-Year Mortgage Rate

Regional Data Search

// State-level unemployment
{
  "search_text": "unemployment rate",
  "tag_names": "state,monthly",
  "limit": 50
}

// Metropolitan area GDP
{
  "search_text": "gdp",
  "tag_names": "msa,annual",
  "order_by": "title"
}

// County-level income
{
  "search_text": "personal income",
  "tag_names": "county,annual"
}

International Data Search

// Global inflation rates
{
  "search_text": "inflation",
  "tag_names": "international,monthly",
  "exclude_tag_names": "usa"
}

// Exchange rates
{
  "search_text": "exchange rate",
  "tag_names": "daily,currency"
}

// International GDP comparison
{
  "search_text": "gdp growth",
  "tag_names": "international,annual,oecd"
}

Common Tag Combinations

By Geography

Scope	Tags	Example Series
National	`usa`	UNRATE, GDP, CPIAUCSL
State	`state`	CAUNRATE, CASTPRHHRSA
Metro	`msa`	ATXURN, DALPRHHRSA
County	`county`	PCPI01001, CAUNTY01001
International	`international`	LRHUTTTTJPM156S

By Frequency

Frequency	Tag	Common Uses
Daily	`daily`	Interest rates, exchange rates
Weekly	`weekly`	Initial jobless claims
Monthly	`monthly`	CPI, employment, retail sales
Quarterly	`quarterly`	GDP, corporate profits
Annual	`annual`	Population, long-term trends

By Topic

Topic	Common Tags	Key Series
Monetary Policy	`fed, interest rate, monetary`	DFF, DFEDTARU
Inflation	`inflation, cpi, price`	CPIAUCSL, PCEPI
Labor Market	`employment, labor, unemployment`	UNRATE, PAYEMS
Financial Markets	`stock, bond, yield`	SP500, DGS10
Housing	`housing, real estate, mortgage`	HOUST, MORTGAGE30US

Advanced Search Patterns

Complex Queries

// Find all seasonally adjusted monthly employment data for California
{
  "search_text": "employment",
  "tag_names": "california,monthly,sa",
  "filter_variable": "units",
  "filter_value": "lin",
  "order_by": "popularity"
}

// Get high-frequency financial indicators
{
  "search_text": "financial",
  "tag_names": "daily",
  "exclude_tag_names": "discontinued,forecast",
  "order_by": "last_updated",
  "limit": 20
}

// Find recession indicators
{
  "search_text": "recession",
  "tag_names": "usa,monthly",
  "order_by": "popularity",
  "limit": 10
}

Pagination for Large Results

// First page
{
  "search_text": "interest rate",
  "limit": 100,
  "offset": 0
}

// Second page
{
  "search_text": "interest rate",
  "limit": 100,
  "offset": 100
}

// Third page
{
  "search_text": "interest rate",
  "limit": 100,
  "offset": 200
}

Error Handling

Common Errors

Error	Cause	Solution
`No results found`	Search too specific	Broaden search terms or remove filters
`Invalid tag_names`	Malformed tag list	Use comma-separated values without spaces
`Invalid filter_value`	Wrong value for filter_variable	Check valid values for the filter type
`Limit exceeds maximum`	limit > 1000	Use limit ≤ 1000 and pagination

Best Practices

Start Broad

Begin with general terms and progressively add filters

Use Tags Effectively

Combine geographic, frequency, and topic tags for precision

Sort by Popularity

Popular series are often the most reliable and widely used

Exclude Discontinued

Add exclude_tag_names: "discontinued" for active series only

Check Metadata

Review frequency, units, and seasonal adjustment before using data

fred_browse

Browse categories systematically

fred_get_series

Retrieve data for found series

API Tools

​fred_search

​Overview

​Parameters

​Examples

​Basic Keyword Search

​Search with Tag Filtering

​Filter by Frequency

​Search by Series ID

​Exclude Discontinued Series

​Search Strategies

​Finding Economic Indicators

​Regional Data Search

​International Data Search

​Common Tag Combinations

​By Geography

​By Frequency

​By Topic

​Advanced Search Patterns

​Complex Queries

​Pagination for Large Results

​Error Handling

​Common Errors

​Best Practices

​Related Tools

fred_browse

fred_get_series

fred_search

Overview

Parameters

Examples

Basic Keyword Search

Search with Tag Filtering

Filter by Frequency

Search by Series ID

Exclude Discontinued Series

Search Strategies

Finding Economic Indicators

Regional Data Search

International Data Search

Common Tag Combinations

By Geography

By Frequency

By Topic

Advanced Search Patterns

Complex Queries

Pagination for Large Results

Error Handling

Common Errors

Best Practices

Related Tools