get_census_data: Multilevel Census data download function.

In wru: Who are You? Bayesian Prediction of Racial Category Using Surname, First Name, Middle Name, and Geolocation

Multilevel Census data download function.

Description

get_census_data returns county-, tract-, and block-level Census data for specified state(s). Using this function to download Census data in advance can save considerable time when running predict_race and census_helper.

Usage

get_census_data(
  key = NULL,
  states,
  age = FALSE,
  sex = FALSE,
  year = "2010",
  census.geo = "block",
  retry = 3,
  county.list = NULL
)

Arguments

key	A required character object containing a valid Census API key, which can be requested here.
states	which states to extract Census data for, e.g., c("NJ", "NY").
age	A TRUE/FALSE object indicating whether to condition on age or not. If FALSE (default), function will return Pr(Geolocation | Race). If TRUE, function will return Pr(Geolocation, Age | Race). If sex is also TRUE, function will return Pr(Geolocation, Age, Sex | Race).
sex	A TRUE/FALSE object indicating whether to condition on sex or not. If FALSE (default), function will return Pr(Geolocation | Race). If TRUE, function will return Pr(Geolocation, Sex | Race). If age is also TRUE, function will return Pr(Geolocation, Age, Sex | Race).
year	A character object specifying the year of U.S. Census data to be downloaded. Use "2010", or "2020". Default is "2010". Warning: 2020 U.S. Census data is downloaded only when age and sex are both FALSE.
census.geo	An optional character vector specifying what level of geography to use to merge in U.S. Census 2010 geographic data. Currently "county", "tract", "block", and "place" are supported.
retry	The number of retries at the census website if network interruption occurs.
county.list	A named list of character vectors of counties present in your voter.file, per state.

Value

Output will be an object of class list indexed by state. Output will contain a subset of the following elements: state, age, sex, county, tract, block_group, block, and place.

Examples

## Not run: get_census_data(key = "...", states = c("NJ", "NY"), age = TRUE, sex = FALSE)
## Not run: get_census_data(key = "...", states = "MN", age = FALSE, sex = FALSE, year = "2020")

wru documentation built on Oct. 22, 2022, 1:05 a.m.