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IPUMS NHGIS Shapefile Metadata
An NHGIS shapefile is a geometry file for geographic information systems (GIS) in shapefile format. An in-depth introduction is availble on the NHGIS website.
Get a List of All Shapefiles
This API call will return a list of all available shapefiles.
my_headers = {"Authorization": my_key}
url = "https://api.ipums.org/metadata/nhgis/shapefiles?version=2"
nhgis_metadata = requests.get(url, headers=my_headers)
pprint(nhgis_metadata.json())
# Results
{ 'data': [ { 'basis': '2000 TIGER/Line +',
'extent': 'United States',
'geographicLevel': 'State',
'name': 'us_state_1790_tl2000',
'sequence': 1,
'year': '1790'},
{ 'basis': '2000 TIGER/Line +',
'extent': 'United States',
'geographicLevel': 'County',
'name': 'us_county_1790_tl2000',
'sequence': 2,
'year': '1790'},
{ 'basis': '2008 TIGER/Line +',
'extent': 'United States',
'geographicLevel': 'County',
'name': 'us_county_1790_tl2008',
'sequence': 3,
'year': '1790'},
[SNIP]
{ 'basis': '2010 TIGER/Line +',
'extent': 'Nebraska',
'geographicLevel': 'Block',
'name': '310_block_2000_tl2010',
'sequence': 498,
'year': '2000'},
{ 'basis': '2010 TIGER/Line +',
'extent': 'Nevada',
'geographicLevel': 'Block',
'name': '320_block_2000_tl2010',
'sequence': 499,
'year': '2000'},
{ 'basis': '2010 TIGER/Line +',
'extent': 'New Hampshire',
'geographicLevel': 'Block',
'name': '330_block_2000_tl2010',
'sequence': 500,
'year': '2000'}],
'links': { 'nextPage': 'https://api.ipums.org/metadata/nhgis/shapefiles?pageNumber=2&pageSize=500&version=2',
'previousPage': None},
'pageNumber': 1,
'pageSize': 500,
'totalCount': 1858}url <- "https://api.ipums.org/metadata/nhgis/shapefiles?version=2"
result <- GET(url, add_headers(Authorization = my_key))
res_df <- content(result, "parsed", simplifyDataFrame = TRUE)
head(res_df, n = 20L) # Contains metadata
# Results
$data
name year geographicLevel extent
1 us_state_1790_tl2000 1790 State United States
2 us_county_1790_tl2000 1790 County United States
3 us_county_1790_tl2008 1790 County United States
4 us_state_1800_tl2000 1800 State United States
5 us_county_1800_tl2000 1800 County United States
6 us_county_1800_tl2008 1800 County United States
7 us_state_1810_tl2000 1810 State United States
8 us_county_1810_tl2000 1810 County United States
9 us_county_1810_tl2008 1810 County United States
10 us_state_1820_tl2000 1820 State United States
11 us_county_1820_tl2000 1820 County United States
12 us_county_1820_tl2008 1820 County United States
13 us_state_1830_tl2000 1830 State United States
14 us_county_1830_tl2000 1830 County United States
15 us_county_1830_tl2008 1830 County United States
16 us_state_1840_tl2000 1840 State United States
17 us_county_1840_tl2000 1840 County United States
18 us_county_1840_tl2008 1840 County United States
19 us_state_1850_tl2000 1850 State United States
20 us_county_1850_tl2000 1850 County United States
21 us_county_1850_tl2008 1850 County United States
22 us_state_1860_tl2000 1860 State United States
23 us_county_1860_tl2000 1860 County United States
24 us_county_1860_tl2008 1860 County United States
25 us_state_1870_tl2000 1870 State United States
26 us_county_1870_tl2000 1870 County United States
27 us_county_1870_tl2008 1870 County United States
28 us_state_1880_tl2000 1880 State United States
29 us_county_1880_tl2000 1880 County United States
30 us_county_1880_tl2008 1880 County United States
31 us_state_1890_tl2000 1890 State United States
32 us_county_1890_tl2000 1890 County United States
33 us_county_1890_tl2008 1890 County United States
34 us_state_1900_tl2000 1900 State United States
35 us_county_1900_tl2000 1900 County United States
36 us_county_1900_tl2008 1900 County United States
37 us_place_point_1900_tlgnis 1900 Place (Points) United States
38 us_state_1910_tl2000 1910 State United States
39 us_county_1910_tl2000 1910 County United States
40 us_county_1910_tl2008 1910 County United States
41 us_tract_1910_tl2000 1910 Census Tract United States
42 us_tract_1910_tl2008 1910 Census Tract United States
43 us_place_point_1910_tlgnis 1910 Place (Points) United States
44 us_state_1920_tl2000 1920 State United States
45 us_county_1920_tl2000 1920 County United States
46 us_county_1920_tl2008 1920 County United States
47 us_tract_1920_tl2000 1920 Census Tract United States
48 us_tract_1920_tl2008 1920 Census Tract United States
49 us_place_point_1920_tlgnis 1920 Place (Points) United States
50 us_state_1930_tl2000 1930 State United States
51 us_county_1930_tl2000 1930 County United States
52 us_county_1930_tl2008 1930 County United States
53 us_tract_1930_tl2000 1930 Census Tract United States
54 us_tract_1930_tl2008 1930 Census Tract United States
55 us_place_point_1930_tlgnis 1930 Place (Points) United States
56 us_state_1940_tl2000 1940 State United States
57 us_county_1940_tl2000 1940 County United States
58 us_county_1940_tl2008 1940 County United States
59 us_tract_1940_tl2000 1940 Census Tract United States
60 us_tract_1940_tl2008 1940 Census Tract United States
61 us_place_point_1940_tlgnis 1940 Place (Points) United States
62 us_state_1950_tl2000 1950 State United States
63 us_county_1950_tl2000 1950 County United States
64 us_county_1950_tl2008 1950 County United States
65 us_tract_1950_tl2000 1950 Census Tract United States
66 us_tract_1950_tl2008 1950 Census Tract United States
67 us_place_point_1950_tlgnis 1950 Place (Points) United States
68 us_smsa_1950_tl2000 1950 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area United States
69 us_state_1960_tl2000 1960 State United States
70 us_county_1960_tl2000 1960 County United States
71 us_county_1960_tl2008 1960 County United States
72 us_tract_1960_tl2000 1960 Census Tract United States
73 us_tract_1960_tl2008 1960 Census Tract United States
74 us_place_point_1960_tlgnis 1960 Place (Points) United States
75 us_smsa_1960_tl2000 1960 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area United States
76 us_state_1970_tl2000 1970 State United States
77 us_county_1970_tl2000 1970 County United States
78 us_county_1970_tl2008 1970 County United States
79 us_tract_1970_tl2000 1970 Census Tract United States
80 us_tract_1970_tl2008 1970 Census Tract United States
81 us_place_point_1970_tlgnis 1970 Place (Points) United States
82 us_smsa_1970_tl2000 1970 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area United States
83 us_smsa_03097_1970_tl2000 1970 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (by State) United States
84 us_state_1980_tl2000 1980 State United States
85 us_county_1980_tl2000 1980 County United States
86 us_county_1980_tl2008 1980 County United States
87 us_tract_1980_tl2000 1980 Census Tract United States
88 us_tract_1980_tl2008 1980 Census Tract United States
89 us_cty_sub_1980_tl2000 1980 County Subdivision United States
90 us_place_1980_tl2000 1980 Place United States
91 us_place_point_1980_tlgnis 1980 Place (Points) United States
92 us_smsa_1980_tl2000 1980 Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area United States
93 us_scsa_1980_tl2000 1980 Standard Consolidated Statistical Area United States
94 us_state_1990_tl2000 1990 State United States
95 us_county_1990_tl2000 1990 County United States
96 us_county_1990_tl2008 1990 County United States
97 us_tract_1990_tl2000 1990 Census Tract United States
98 us_tract_1990_tl2008 1990 Census Tract United States
99 us_cty_sub_1990_tl2000 1990 County Subdivision United States
100 us_votedist_1990_tl2000 1990 Voting District United States
101 us_place_1990_tl2000 1990 Place United States
102 us_place_point_1990_tlgnis 1990 Place (Points) United States
103 us_cd103rd_1990_tl2000 1990 Congressional District (1993-1995, 103rd Congress) United States
104 us_cd101st_1990_tl2000 1990 Congressional District (1987-1993, 100th-102nd Congress) United States
105 us_aianhh_1990_tl2000 1990 American Indian Area/Alaska Native Area/Hawaiian Home Land United States
106 us_msa_cmsa_1990_tl2000 1990 Metropolitan Statistical Area/Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area United States
107 us_pmsa_1990_tl2000 1990 Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area--Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area United States
108 us_necma_1990_tl2000 1990 New England County Metropolitan Area United States
109 us_urb_area_1990_tl2000 1990 Urbanized Area United States
110 us_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group United States
111 010_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Alabama
112 020_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Alaska
113 040_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Arizona
114 050_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Arkansas
115 060_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group California
116 080_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Colorado
117 090_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Connecticut
118 100_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Delaware
119 110_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group District Of Columbia
120 120_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Florida
121 130_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Georgia
122 150_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Hawaii
123 160_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Idaho
124 170_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Illinois
125 180_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Indiana
126 190_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Iowa
127 200_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Kansas
128 210_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Kentucky
129 220_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Louisiana
130 230_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Maine
131 240_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Maryland
132 250_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Massachusetts
133 260_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Michigan
134 270_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Minnesota
135 280_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Mississippi
136 290_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Missouri
137 300_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Montana
138 310_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Nebraska
139 320_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Nevada
140 330_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group New Hampshire
141 340_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group New Jersey
142 350_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group New Mexico
143 360_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group New York
144 370_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group North Carolina
145 380_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group North Dakota
146 390_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Ohio
147 400_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Oklahoma
148 410_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Oregon
149 420_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Pennsylvania
150 440_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Rhode Island
151 450_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group South Carolina
152 460_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group South Dakota
153 470_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Tennessee
154 480_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Texas
155 490_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Utah
156 500_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Vermont
157 510_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Virginia
158 530_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Washington
159 540_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group West Virginia
160 550_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Wisconsin
161 560_blck_grp_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Group Wyoming
162 010_block_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Alabama
163 020_block_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Alaska
164 040_block_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Arizona
165 050_block_1990_tl2000 1990 Block Arkansas
166 060_block_1990_tl2000 1990 Block California
basis sequence
1 2000 TIGER/Line + 1
2 2000 TIGER/Line + 2
3 2008 TIGER/Line + 3
4 2000 TIGER/Line + 4
5 2000 TIGER/Line + 5
6 2008 TIGER/Line + 6
7 2000 TIGER/Line + 7
8 2000 TIGER/Line + 8
9 2008 TIGER/Line + 9
10 2000 TIGER/Line + 10
11 2000 TIGER/Line + 11
12 2008 TIGER/Line + 12
13 2000 TIGER/Line + 13
14 2000 TIGER/Line + 14
15 2008 TIGER/Line + 15
16 2000 TIGER/Line + 16
17 2000 TIGER/Line + 17
18 2008 TIGER/Line + 18
19 2000 TIGER/Line + 19
20 2000 TIGER/Line + 20
21 2008 TIGER/Line + 21
22 2000 TIGER/Line + 22
23 2000 TIGER/Line + 23
24 2008 TIGER/Line + 24
25 2000 TIGER/Line + 25
26 2000 TIGER/Line + 26
27 2008 TIGER/Line + 27
28 2000 TIGER/Line + 28
29 2000 TIGER/Line + 29
30 2008 TIGER/Line + 30
31 2000 TIGER/Line + 31
32 2000 TIGER/Line + 32
33 2008 TIGER/Line + 33
34 2000 TIGER/Line + 34
35 2000 TIGER/Line + 35
36 2008 TIGER/Line + 36
37 GNIS, TIGER/Line & Census Maps 37
38 2000 TIGER/Line + 38
39 2000 TIGER/Line + 39
40 2008 TIGER/Line + 40
41 2000 TIGER/Line + 41
42 2008 TIGER/Line + 42
43 GNIS, TIGER/Line & Census Maps 43
44 2000 TIGER/Line + 44
45 2000 TIGER/Line + 45
46 2008 TIGER/Line + 46
47 2000 TIGER/Line + 47
48 2008 TIGER/Line + 48
49 GNIS, TIGER/Line & Census Maps 49
50 2000 TIGER/Line + 50
51 2000 TIGER/Line + 51
52 2008 TIGER/Line + 52
53 2000 TIGER/Line + 53
54 2008 TIGER/Line + 54
55 GNIS, TIGER/Line & Census Maps 55
56 2000 TIGER/Line + 56
57 2000 TIGER/Line + 57
58 2008 TIGER/Line + 58
59 2000 TIGER/Line + 59
60 2008 TIGER/Line + 60
61 GNIS, TIGER/Line & Census Maps 61
62 2000 TIGER/Line + 62
63 2000 TIGER/Line + 63
64 2008 TIGER/Line + 64
65 2000 TIGER/Line + 65
66 2008 TIGER/Line + 66
67 GNIS, TIGER/Line & Census Maps 67
68 2000 TIGER/Line + 68
69 2000 TIGER/Line + 69
70 2000 TIGER/Line + 70
71 2008 TIGER/Line + 71
72 2000 TIGER/Line + 72
73 2008 TIGER/Line + 73
74 GNIS, TIGER/Line & Census Maps 74
75 2000 TIGER/Line + 75
76 2000 TIGER/Line + 76
77 2000 TIGER/Line + 77
78 2008 TIGER/Line + 78
79 2000 TIGER/Line + 79
80 2008 TIGER/Line + 80
81 GNIS, TIGER/Line & Census Maps 81
82 2000 TIGER/Line + 82
83 2000 TIGER/Line + 83
84 2000 TIGER/Line + 84
85 2000 TIGER/Line + 85
86 2008 TIGER/Line + 86
87 2000 TIGER/Line + 87
88 2008 TIGER/Line + 88
89 1992 TIGER/Line + 89
90 1992 TIGER/Line + 90
91 GNIS, TIGER/Line & Census Maps 91
92 2000 TIGER/Line + 92
93 2000 TIGER/Line + 93
94 2000 TIGER/Line + 94
95 2000 TIGER/Line + 95
96 2008 TIGER/Line + 96
97 2000 TIGER/Line + 97
98 2008 TIGER/Line + 98
99 2000 TIGER/Line + 99
100 2000 TIGER/Line + 100
101 2000 TIGER/Line + 101
102 GNIS, TIGER/Line & Census Maps 102
103 2000 TIGER/Line + 103
104 2000 TIGER/Line + 104
105 2000 TIGER/Line + 105
106 2000 TIGER/Line + 106
107 2000 TIGER/Line + 107
108 2000 TIGER/Line + 108
109 2000 TIGER/Line + 109
110 2000 TIGER/Line + 110
111 2000 TIGER/Line + 111
112 2000 TIGER/Line + 112
113 2000 TIGER/Line + 113
114 2000 TIGER/Line + 114
115 2000 TIGER/Line + 115
116 2000 TIGER/Line + 116
117 2000 TIGER/Line + 117
118 2000 TIGER/Line + 118
119 2000 TIGER/Line + 119
120 2000 TIGER/Line + 120
121 2000 TIGER/Line + 121
122 2000 TIGER/Line + 122
123 2000 TIGER/Line + 123
124 2000 TIGER/Line + 124
125 2000 TIGER/Line + 125
126 2000 TIGER/Line + 126
127 2000 TIGER/Line + 127
128 2000 TIGER/Line + 128
129 2000 TIGER/Line + 129
130 2000 TIGER/Line + 130
131 2000 TIGER/Line + 131
132 2000 TIGER/Line + 132
133 2000 TIGER/Line + 133
134 2000 TIGER/Line + 134
135 2000 TIGER/Line + 135
136 2000 TIGER/Line + 136
137 2000 TIGER/Line + 137
138 2000 TIGER/Line + 138
139 2000 TIGER/Line + 139
140 2000 TIGER/Line + 140
141 2000 TIGER/Line + 141
142 2000 TIGER/Line + 142
143 2000 TIGER/Line + 143
144 2000 TIGER/Line + 144
145 2000 TIGER/Line + 145
146 2000 TIGER/Line + 146
147 2000 TIGER/Line + 147
148 2000 TIGER/Line + 148
149 2000 TIGER/Line + 149
150 2000 TIGER/Line + 150
151 2000 TIGER/Line + 151
152 2000 TIGER/Line + 152
153 2000 TIGER/Line + 153
154 2000 TIGER/Line + 154
155 2000 TIGER/Line + 155
156 2000 TIGER/Line + 156
157 2000 TIGER/Line + 157
158 2000 TIGER/Line + 158
159 2000 TIGER/Line + 159
160 2000 TIGER/Line + 160
161 2000 TIGER/Line + 161
162 2000 TIGER/Line + 162
163 2000 TIGER/Line + 163
164 2000 TIGER/Line + 164
165 2000 TIGER/Line + 165
166 2000 TIGER/Line + 166
[ reached 'max' / getOption("max.print") -- omitted 334 rows ]
$pageNumber
[1] 1
$pageSize
[1] 500
$totalCount
[1] 1858
$links
$links$previousPage
NULL
$links$nextPage
[1] "https://api.ipums.org/metadata/nhgis/shapefiles?pageNumber=2&pageSize=500&version=2"curl -X GET \
"https://api.ipums.org/metadata/nhgis/shapefiles?version=2" \
-H "Authorization: $MY_KEY" | jq
# Results
{
"data": [
{
"name": "us_state_1790_tl2000",
"year": "1790",
"geographicLevel": "State",
"extent": "United States",
"basis": "2000 TIGER/Line +",
"sequence": 1
},
{
"name": "us_county_1790_tl2000",
"year": "1790",
"geographicLevel": "County",
"extent": "United States",
"basis": "2000 TIGER/Line +",
"sequence": 2
},
{
"name": "us_county_1790_tl2008",
"year": "1790",
"geographicLevel": "County",
"extent": "United States",
"basis": "2008 TIGER/Line +",
"sequence": 3
},
[SNIP]
{
"name": "310_block_2000_tl2010",
"year": "2000",
"geographicLevel": "Block",
"extent": "Nebraska",
"basis": "2010 TIGER/Line +",
"sequence": 498
},
{
"name": "320_block_2000_tl2010",
"year": "2000",
"geographicLevel": "Block",
"extent": "Nevada",
"basis": "2010 TIGER/Line +",
"sequence": 499
},
{
"name": "330_block_2000_tl2010",
"year": "2000",
"geographicLevel": "Block",
"extent": "New Hampshire",
"basis": "2010 TIGER/Line +",
"sequence": 500
}
],
"pageNumber": 1,
"pageSize": 500,
"totalCount": 1858,
"links": {
"previousPage": null,
"nextPage": "https://api.ipums.org/metadata/nhgis/shapefiles?pageNumber=2&pageSize=500&version=2"
}
}Note that this is a paginated endpoint. The default page size is 500 items. As there are more than 500 items in this example, the links->nextPage field contains the URL to retrieve the next page of results.
Shapefile Attributes
name: The unique identifier of the time series table.year: The survey year in which the file’s represented areas were used for tabulations, which may be different than the vintage of the represented areas. See .geographic_level: The geographic level of the shapefile.extent: The geographic extent which is covered by the shapefile.basis: The derivation source of the shapefile.sequence: The order the shapefile in which appears in the metadata API.