This directory contains spatial data files and the scripts that produce them. The data files are linked both to their GitHub repository location and a raw version to facilitate easy download. Scripts to produce the datasets can be found in the ./scripts subdirectory of the repository.

Data

File name	Script	Language	Description
neighborcounties.csv [Raw]	neighborcounties.py	Python 3.5	Long data file that lists all adjacent counties (2010)
county_centers.csv [Raw]	popcenters.r	R 3.2.3	Geocoordinates for geographic and population-weighted centers in all counties (2000 and 2010)
nearest_hei.csv [Raw]	nearesthei.r	R 3.2.3	Nearest higher education institution (HEI) to every county, by sector (2010-2014)

Detail

neighborcounties.csv [Raw]

This long file links every county in the United States (as of the 2010 Census) with all of its contiguous counties. Five-digit county-level FIPS codes are used to identify the counties. These codes uniquely identify each county and can be used to link with other datasets such as the American Community Survey.

COLUMNS

Name	Description
orgfips	Origin county FIPS code
adjfips	Adjacent county FIPS code
instate	==1 if adjacent county is in the same state

county_centers.csv [Raw]

This wide file gives the latitude and longitude for the spatial and population centers of every county in the United States for the Census years 2000 and 2010. These coordinates are given by the U.S. Census; this file simply collects them in a single easy-to-use file. Five-digit county-level FIPS codes are used to identify the counties.

COLUMNS

Name	Description
fips	Unique county-level five-digit FIPS code
clon00	Longitude of spatial center, 2000
clat00	Latitude of spatial center, 2000
clon10	Longitude of spatial center, 2010
clat10	Latitude of spatial center, 2010
pclon00	Longitude of population-weighted center, 2000
pclat00	Latitude of population-weighted center, 2000
pclon10	Longitude of population-weighted center, 2010
pclat10	Latitude of population-weighted center, 2010

nearest_hei.csv [Raw]

This long file gives the nearest highest education institution (HEI) to each county population center across a number of years and higher education sectors. Each row gives the nearest institution's IPEDS unique unitid, the distance in miles, and indicators for the year and subset of included schools (e.g., nearest public four-year, nearest public two-year, etc.).

COLUMNS

Name	Description
fips	Unique county-level five-digit FIPS code
unitid	Unique IPEDS identifier for nearest HEI
miles	Distance in miles between county population center and nearest HEI
limit_instate	==1 if sample of schools is limited to those in same state as county
year	Year of match
any	==1 if any type of HEI is included in sample
limit_fouryr	==1 if only four-year HEIs are included in sample
limit_twoyr	==1 if only two-year HEIS are included in sample
limit_pub	==1 if only public HEIs are included in sample
limit_pnp	==1 if only private, non-profit HEIs are included in sample
limit_pfp	==1 if only private, for-profit HEIs are inluced in sample

EXAMPLES

Absolute nearest HEI (regardless of sector and crossing state lines)

• Rows in which limit_instate == 0 and any == 1

Nearest instate public four-year HEI

• Rows in which limit_instate == 1 and limit_fouryr == 1 and limit_pub == 1

Nearest instate private, for-profit two-year HEI

• Rows in which limit_instate == 1 and limit_twoyr == 1 and limit_pfp == 1