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IPUMS USA provides PUMS, full‑count historical microdata and PUMA geography tools
Summary
Jonathan Schroeder described IPUMS USA holdings (decennial samples, ACS, and restricted full‑count microdata for years 1950 and earlier), explained PUMA size rules (minimum ~100,000 residents) and the project's work producing COMSPUMA consistent footprints across decades.
Schroeder summarized IPUMS USA microdata products: public use microdata samples (PUMS) for decennial censuses and the American Community Survey and full‑count microdata for historical years available through restricted channels. He explained that PUMAs must include at least 100,000 residents (public‑use minimums) and that IPUMS creates 1960 PUMAs and COMSPUMA variables to make PUMA footprints more comparable across decades.
He cautioned that microdata often has restricted geographic detail for recent years and that the best geographic joins use population‑weighted methods and auxiliary variables. "The public use microdata samples or PUMS include regions, divisions, states, and public use microdata areas or PUMAs," Schroeder said, and he pointed attendees to IPUMS USA pages for geographic variables and matching guidance.
