census_population
Get total population for a US geography (state, county, ZIP/ZCTA, city, census tract, MSA, or national). Returns total, male, female, and median age. Used for market sizing, location intelligence, demographic analysis.
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-blackboxfoundry-livedatalink/census-population.md
What census_population does on Livedatalink
AI agents call census_population to retrieve information from Livedatalink without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
msa | string | — | 5-digit Metropolitan Statistical Area code. Required for msa level. |
year | number | — | ACS 5-year endpoint year (default 2023). |
zcta | string | — | 5-digit ZIP Code Tabulation Area. Required for zcta level. |
level | string | Yes | Geography level: 'us', 'state', 'county', 'zcta' (ZIP), 'place' (city), 'tract', 'msa'. |
place | string | — | Census place FIPS (city). Required for place level. |
state | string | — | 2-letter state code (e.g. 'TX') or 2-digit FIPS. Required for state/county/place/tract levels. |
tract | string | — | 6-digit census tract code. Use '*' for all tracts in a county. |
county | string | — | 3-digit county FIPS. Use '*' for all counties in a state. Required for county/tract levels. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why census_population is rated Low
This tool retrieves demographic data from US Census sources without side effects. It queries and returns population statistics for various geographic levels. The stated use cases (market sizing, location intelligence, demographic analysis) are all read-only analytical activities. There is no capability to modify, delete, or execute operations.
From the tool's definition Tool description states 'Get total population for a US geography' and lists return values as 'total, male, female, and median age' - all retrieval operations with no mention of modification, deletion, or execution capabilities.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs census_population safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Livedatalink, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For census_population, this is the rule to start with:
census_population is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Livedatalink, apply this rule, and every census_population call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about census_population
Get total population for a US geography (state, county, ZIP/ZCTA, city, census tract, MSA, or national). Returns total, male, female, and median age. Used for market sizing, location intelligence, demographic analysis. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Livedatalink MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
census_population accepts 8 parameters: msa, year, zcta, level, place, state, tract, county. Required: level. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Livedatalink MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for census_population: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Livedatalink. Nothing to install.
census_population is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the census_population rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for census_population. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
census_population is provided by the Livedatalink MCP server (https://livedatalink.ai/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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