tigris is an R package that allows users to directly download and use TIGER/Line shapefiles (https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger-line.html) from the US Census Bureau.
To install the package from CRAN, issue the following command in R:
install.packages('tigris')
Or, get the development version from GitHub:
devtools::install_github('walkerke/tigris')
As of version 0.9.1, tigris defaults to the 2018 TIGER/Line and Cartographic Boundary shapefiles.
To learn how to use the package, I'd recommend the following materials:
- My article in The R Journal, "tigris: An R Package to Access and Work with Geographic Data from the US Census Bureau"
- A webinar I gave with Ari Lamstein on tigris in April 2017
Available datasets:
Please note: cartographic boundary files in tigris are not available for 2011 and 2012, and have not yet been released for 2019.
Function | Datasets available | Years available |
---|---|---|
nation | cartographic (1:5m; 1:20m) | 2013-2019 |
divisions | cartographic (1:500k; 1:5m; 1:20m) | 2013-2019 |
regions | cartographic (1:500k; 1:5m; 1:20m) | 2013-2019 |
states | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k; 1:5m; 1:20m) | 1990, 2000, 2010-2019 |
counties | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k; 1:5m; 1:20m) | 1990, 2000, 2010-2019 |
tracts | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k) | 1990, 2000, 2010-2019 |
block_groups | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k) | 1990, 2000, 2010-2019 |
blocks | TIGER/Line | 2000, 2010-2019 |
places | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k) | 2011-2019 |
pumas | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k) | 2012-2019 |
school_districts | TIGER/Line | 2011-2019 |
zctas | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k) | 2000, 2010, 2012-2019 |
congressional_districts | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k; 1:5m; 1:20m) | 2011-2019 |
state_legislative_districts | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k) | 2011-2019 |
voting_districts | TIGER/Line | 2012 |
area_water | TIGER/Line | 2011-2019 |
linear_water | TIGER/Line | 2011-2019 |
coastline | TIGER/Line | 2013-2019 |
core_based_statistical_areas | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k; 1:5m; 1:20m) | 2011-2019 |
combined_statistical_areas | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k; 1:5m; 1:20m) | 2011-2019 |
metro_divisions | TIGER/Line | 2011-2019 |
new_england | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k) | 2011-2019 |
county_subdivisions | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k) | 2011-2019 |
urban_areas | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k) | 2012-2019 |
primary_roads | TIGER/Line | 2011-2019 |
primary_secondary_roads | TIGER/Line | 2011-2019 |
roads | TIGER/Line | 2011-2019 |
rails | TIGER/Line | 2011-2019 |
native_areas | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k) | 2011-2019 |
alaska_native_regional_corporations | TIGER/Line; cartographic (1:500k) | 2011-2019 |
tribal_block_groups | TIGER/Line | 2011-2019 |
tribal_census_tracts | TIGER/Line | 2011-2019 |
tribal_subdivisions_national | TIGER/Line | 2011-2019 |
landmarks | TIGER/Line | 2011-2019 |
military | TIGER/Line | 2011-2019 |