Step 1: Go to www.ipums.org
You will have several options for data samples, but for US Census Data, select “IPUMS-USA”
Step 2: Log in or create account
If you do not have an IPUMS account, at this point you should create an account. Otherwise, log in to your account.
Step 3: “Get Data”
Click “Get Data” in the blue box in the middle of the page, or “Browse and Select Data” under the Data Heading on the left hand side.
Step 4: Select Samples
Uncheck the box that says “Default sample from each year,” and select the sample you would like. For example, select ACS 2016.
Step 5: Select Variables
At this point, you may select the different variables you would like to use. There are several ways to do this. You can either use the click down menus under Household and Person, view variables alphabetically, or search. I would recommend clicking around under Household and Person, but when you are more familiar and know which variables you want, it may be easier to look alphabetically.
Let’s select household income (HHINCOME), educational attainment (EDUC), age (AGE), and sex (SEX) (gender is not an available variable).
Step 6: Create Data Extract
Once you have added all of the variables, click “View Cart.” If you want to narrow down your sample size, click “custom sample sizes.” It likely won’t let you shrink the sample too small, but let’s type 10 for number of households. Click Submit.
Step 7: Change data to .dta
Before you press the “Submit Extract” button, make sure you check your Data Format. If it is not a .dta (the format compatible with Stata), you should change your data to a .dta
Step 8: Submit Extraction
Now you are ready to click “Submit Extract.” You will get an email when your data is ready.
Step 9: De-compress and open in Stata
Once you download the data, it will need to be de-compressed. Most computers will do this for you, but if your computer is not automatically doing it, you can download a free software to decompress. Visit Cate in Palmer 118 if you are having trouble with this.
Your data is now ready to open in Stata!