Hi there - I'm trying to download a broad array of demographic data by MSA or zip code from the ACS through data.census.gov (e.g. age distribution for each MSA, gender makeup of each MSA). Does anyone know an efficient way to do this?
One option: Instead of using data.census.gov, you could go through IPUMS NHGIS, where you can select and download as many ACS tables as you like for any levels that you like, all in one request.
Alternatively, you could use the ACS API to specify a broad set of variables across many years and geographic levels. You can submit a query using the API and save the output as a json file that can be read into R, Python, State, etc.
www.census.gov/.../data-sets.html