How do I convert .dta.gz into readable data for Stata

1

I recently got some data off of IPUMS in .dta.gz format but Stata can’t use the file.

Specifically Stata reads:
“file V:\Downloads\cps_00002.dta.gz not Stata format”

I am using Stata 16, so I am not sure what is going wrong.

2

IPUMS data are delivered as a compressed file (a Stata file would be *.dta.gz). You will need to decompress or unzip them before using them. I recommend 7zip as a free decompression software for Windows; the Archive Utility on a Mac will take care of this as well.