TigerFetch.jl

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Public Interface ​

TigerFetch Module ​

TigerFetch.tigerdownload Function
julia
tigerdownload(type::String, year::Int=2024;
             state::String="", county::String="",
             output::String=pwd(), force::Bool=false,
             verbose::Bool=false)

Download TIGER/Line shapefiles from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Arguments

  • type::String: Geography type. Available options: place, county, tract, urbanarea, primaryroads, rails, cousub, consolidatedcity, linearwater, metrodivision, state, cbsa, primarysecondaryroads, road, zipcode, csa, areawater.

  • year::Int=2024: Data year. Census typically provides shapefiles from 2000 onward.

Keyword Arguments

  • state::String="": State identifier (name, abbreviation, or FIPS code).

  • county::String="": County identifier (name or FIPS code). Requires state to be specified.

  • output::String=pwd(): Directory where shapefiles will be saved.

  • force::Bool=false: If true, redownload files even if they already exist.

  • verbose::Bool=false: If true, display more detailed progress information.

Returns

  • Vector{String}: Paths to downloaded files.

Examples

julia
# Download state boundaries for the entire USA
tigerdownload("state")

# Download county subdivisions for California
tigerdownload("cousub", state="CA")

# Download census tracts for Los Angeles County, California
tigerdownload("tract", state="California", county="Los Angeles")

# Download with custom output directory and force redownload
tigerdownload("county", output="/path/to/data", force=true)

Notes

  • Geography types follow a hierarchy: national-level (state, county), state-level (cousub, place), and county-level (tract, areawater).

  • For national-level geographies, the state and county arguments are ignored.

  • For state-level geographies, the county argument is ignored.

  • For county-level geographies, both state and county are used when provided.

  • If no state is specified when downloading state or county-level geographies, all states will be downloaded.

  • TIGER/Line shapefiles are downloaded as ZIP archives containing multiple files (.shp, .dbf, .prj, etc.).

See Also

source