Hello! I have been downloading block group part data from 2000 to merge to the crosswalk files, but whenever I download files in fixed format, the variable gisjoin is not included. I’m only able to access gisjoin by downloading files in text delimited (.csv). Is there a workaround? Thank you!
It’s true that the fixed width files don’t include the GISJOIN codes. Sorry for this inconvenience! It’s a limitation we hope to address soon.
The fixed width files should include all the component parts of GISJOIN codes, so you could construct a GISJOIN by concatenating those codes together, preceded by the character ‘G’. Note that NHGIS codes for states and counties correspond to the standard 2 and 3-digit FIPS codes, but NHGIS appends an extra digit, which we use to distinguish historical no-longer-existing territories and counties. For recent states and counties, the NHGIS code is simply the FIPS code plus ‘0’.
This section of the Geographic Crosswalks page shows how block GISJOIN codes are constructed. Block group part codes have a similar construction, beginning with a ‘G’ and concatenating a code for each unit listed in the complete block group part level hierarchy, as given in the table in this section.