Data set on metropolitan area populations, from the 2019 US Census. This includes metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, although the COVIDcast API only supports fetching data from metropolitan statistical areas.
msa_censusA data frame with 2797 rows, each representing one core-based statistical area (including metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas, county or county equivalents, and metropolitan divisions). There are many columns. The most crucial are:
Core Based Statistical Area code. These are unique identifiers
used, for example, as the geo_values argument to covidcast_signal()
when requesting data from specific metro areas (with geo_type = 'msa').
Metropolitan Division code
State and county code
Name or title of the area.
Legal/Statistical Area Description, identifying if this is a metropolitan or micropolitan area, a metropolitan division, or a county.
State FIPS code.
Estimate of the area's resident population as of July 1, 2019.
United States Census Bureau, at https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2010-2019/metro/totals/cbsa-est2019-alldata.csv
Census Bureau documentation of all columns and their meaning: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2010-2019/metro/totals/cbsa-est2019-alldata.pdf