R is a powerful open-source programming language and software environment. It is used for statistical and graphical computation with a broad range of package add-ons for various applications, including geospatial.
If you are new to R you can get started by downloading the free R software package: Download R Here
Additionally, you can use R Notebook, an authoring framework that allows users to save, execute, and share code. To use the desktop version, you can download RStudio here: Download RStudio
Useful links to get started using R:
Introduction to R Tutorial that covers everything from installation to graphics creation.
R resources for everyone ranging from beginners to instructors.
Resources for geospatial analysis in R:
Geocomputation with R is a free e-book (also available as a hard copy) that provides background and example code for analyzing, visualizing, and modeling geographic data in R.
An overview of spatial data packages in R
Census geographic data and applications in R is one of a number of useful chapters for working with spatial US Census and ACS data in R.
Tutorial for working with Raster imagery in R produced by the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)
Example code
R script for mapping US Census data in Travis County
Adapted from https://walker-data.com/tidycensus/articles/spatial-data.html
As you can see, it is possible to create useful maps with just a few lines of code!