The 2025 SSDAN Webinar Series: Analyzing 2020 Census, 2023 ACS Data, and Mapping with R
The 2025 SSDAN webinar series will be February 5th, 12th, and 26th, 12-3 PM ET. The webinar series will be conducted by Professor Kyle Walker, Director of the Center for Urban Studies at Texas Christian University and author of Analyzing US Census Data: Methods, Maps and Models in R.
During these 3 FREE virtual workshops, participants will learn how to use R to analyze census data for use in courses and research in sociology, economics, public policy, urban studies and related disciplines.
This webinar series will be recorded and posted here and YouTube following the event.
Webinar 1
Analyzing Data from the 2023 American Community Survey in R
Wednesday, February 5, 2025 12-3 PM ET
The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) is the best resource for detailed demographic data on the United States population, and is used widely across industries for up-to-date local insights. In this workshop, participants will learn how to use the latest data from the 2023 ACS using R and the tidycensus R package.
Workshop participants will learn the fundamentals of working with both the 1-year and 5-year ACS datasets; how to analyze ACS data using the tidyverse, a popular framework in R for data wrangling and management; and how to create demographic data visualizations. No prior experience with R or Census data is required to participate.
Applicable Links for Webinar 1
- Code
GitHub – Webinar 1 Code and Materials Repository
Source code, scripts, and data files for this workshop - Slides
Webinar 1 Presentation Slides – Use arrow keys to navigate
Slide deck covering workshop concepts and examples - Tool
TigerWeb – Census Bureau Interactive Geographic Data Viewer
Explore Census geographic boundaries and TIGER/Line data on an interactive map - Tutorial
Walker Data – Wrangling Census Data with tidyverse Tools
A practical guide to cleaning and managing ACS data using R’s tidyverse framework - Data
IPUMS – Integrated Public Use Microdata Series
Harmonized Census and survey microdata for social and economic research
Webinar 2
Working with Decennial Census Data in R
Wednesday, February 12, 2025 12 – 3 PM ET
Decennial Census data are essential for analysts across a wide variety of fields. In 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau released the final datasets from the 2020 Decennial Census, offering insights about detailed demographic groups and geographies as small as the Census block level.
This workshop will introduce participants to the range of data available in the 2020 Decennial Census and teach methods for analysis and visualization of these datasets. Participants will also learn how to access and use past decennial Census datasets and gain insights into best practices for analyzing decennial Census data over time.
Applicable Links for Webinar 2
- Slides
Webinar 2 Presentation Slides – Use keyboard arrows to navigate
Slide deck covering 2020 Decennial Census data, analysis methods, and visualizations - Code
GitHub – Webinar 2 Code and Materials Repository
Source code, scripts, and data files for this workshop - Tool
Posit – RStudio and R Development Environment
The home of RStudio and tools for data science in R, including the tidyverse - Tutorial
Walker Data – Analyzing 2020 Decennial Census Data in R
Practical tutorials for accessing, analyzing, and visualizing decennial Census data
Webinar 3:
Mapping and Spatial Analysis with US Census Data in R
Wednesday, February 26, 2025 12 – 3 PM ET
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R includes powerful tools for making informative maps and revealing patterns in datasets with spatial analysis. Participants in this workshop will learn how to use GIS tools in R to make both static and interactive maps with a variety of datasets from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The workshop will include tips and tricks for customizing map appearance; automating map production; creating unique visualizations like dot-density and migration flow maps; and building interactive reports and dashboards to share analytical results.
Links and Information for Webinar 3
- Slides
Webinar 3 Presentation Slides – Use keyboard arrows to navigate
Slide deck covering GIS mapping tools, visualizations, and dashboards in R
- Code
GitHub – Webinar 3 Code and Materials Repository
Source code, scripts, and data files for this workshop - Mailing List
Kyle Walker – Join Mailing List for Census Data Updates
Stay informed about new workshops, tutorials, and tidycensus package updates - API
Request a Free Census Bureau API Key
Required to access Census and ACS data through R packages like tidycensus - Tool
- R Code
Install the terra package (automatically installed with mapgl, but can be run manually if needed):
install.packages("terra")
Save a dot-density map as a standalone HTML file:
library(htmlwidgets)
saveWidget(dot_density_map2, "mapping/dot_density_map.html")
Load the tidyverse for data wrangling:
library(tidyverse)