I am looking for a shapefile for met2013 for the period 2005-2015. Is it available from your website? or should I use PUMA 2010 for getting met2013 period 2010-2015 and PUMA 2000 for period 2005-2010? Thank you
IPUMS does not have a shapefile readily available for the MET2013 variable. The MET2013 variable was created based on the 2013 MSA boundaries defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). I’ve done some preliminary searching on their website and it seems like they may have what you are looking for.
Using the PUMA variable and corresponding shafefile (available here) may, however, be the best way forward. The primary reason is that since 1990, the only sub-state-level geographic information available in census PUMS data is associated with PUMAs. These geographic areas occasionally straddle official metro area boundaries and therefore the MET2013 variable cannot identify the exact set of households residing in each metro area. Much more on this can be read in the MET2013 documentation page.
Shapefiles for 2013 metro areas (i.e., core based statististical areas, or CBSAs) are available via NHGIS, another MPC/IPUMS data site, or via the original Census TIGER/Line Shapefiles. The main difference between the two sources is that the NHGIS boundaries are clipped at the coastline, whereas the original TIGER/Line boundaries extend some distance out to sea and over the Great Lakes.