diff --git a/R/crosswalk_data.R b/R/crosswalk_data.R
index 1e9d118..3685764 100644
--- a/R/crosswalk_data.R
+++ b/R/crosswalk_data.R
@@ -31,7 +31,9 @@
 #' @param weight Character. Weighting variable for Geocorr crosswalks when fetching.
 #'    One of c("population", "housing", "land"). Default is "population".
 #' @param cache Directory path or NULL. Where to cache fetched crosswalks. If NULL
-#'    (default), crosswalk is fetched but not saved to disk.
+#'    (default), crosswalk is fetched but not saved to disk. The directory must
+#'    already exist; a non-existent path raises an error rather than being
+#'    created silently.
 #' @param geoid_column Character. The name of the column in `data` containing
 #'    the source geography identifiers (GEOIDs). Default is "source_geoid".
 #' @param count_columns Character vector or NULL. Column names in `data` that represent
@@ -199,6 +201,8 @@ crosswalk_data <- function(
   old_opts <- options(crosswalk.silent = silent)
   on.exit(options(old_opts), add = TRUE)
 
+  validate_cache_dir(cache)
+
   # When silent, suppress join quality regardless of show_join_quality
   if (silent) show_join_quality <- FALSE
 
diff --git a/R/get_crosswalk.R b/R/get_crosswalk.R
index 483700b..f94c662 100644
--- a/R/get_crosswalk.R
+++ b/R/get_crosswalk.R
@@ -61,7 +61,8 @@
 #'    c("population", "housing", "land").
 #' @param cache Directory path. Where to download the crosswalk to. If NULL (default),
 #'    crosswalk is returned but not saved to disk. Individual component crosswalks
-#'    are cached separately when provided.
+#'    are cached separately when provided. The directory must already exist;
+#'    a non-existent path raises an error rather than being created silently.
 #' @param silent Logical. If `TRUE`, suppresses all informational messages and
 #'    warnings. Defaults to `getOption("crosswalk.silent", FALSE)`. Set
 #'    `options(crosswalk.silent = TRUE)` to silence all calls by default.
@@ -149,6 +150,8 @@ get_crosswalk <- function(
   old_opts <- options(crosswalk.silent = silent)
   on.exit(options(old_opts), add = TRUE)
 
+  validate_cache_dir(cache)
+
   # Check for nested geographies (no crosswalk needed)
   # Determine if years match (both NULL, or both non-NULL and equal)
   years_match <- (is.null(source_year) && is.null(target_year)) ||
diff --git a/R/get_ctdata_crosswalk.R b/R/get_ctdata_crosswalk.R
index b4ef83c..ccb7701 100644
--- a/R/get_ctdata_crosswalk.R
+++ b/R/get_ctdata_crosswalk.R
@@ -359,9 +359,6 @@ Only block, block_group, and tract geographies support the 2022 -> 2020 directio
   # ===========================================================================
 
   if (!is.null(cache)) {
-    if (!dir.exists(cache_path)) {
-      dir.create(cache_path, recursive = TRUE)
-    }
     readr::write_csv(result, csv_path)
     cw_message(stringr::str_c("Cached to: ", csv_path))
   }
diff --git a/R/get_geocorr_crosswalk.R b/R/get_geocorr_crosswalk.R
index bc760e0..85bc8f5 100644
--- a/R/get_geocorr_crosswalk.R
+++ b/R/get_geocorr_crosswalk.R
@@ -267,8 +267,15 @@ get_geocorr_crosswalk <- function(
     list(abbr = "Wv", fips = "54"),
     list(abbr = "Wi", fips = "55"),
     list(abbr = "Wy", fips = "56"),
-    list(abbr = "Pr", fips = "72")) |>
-    purrr::map_chr(~ paste0(.x$abbr, .x$fips))
+    list(abbr = "Pr", fips = "72"))
+
+  ## stab (uppercase 2-letter abbreviation) → 2-char state FIPS lookup; used as
+  ## a fallback when GeoCorr returns `stab` but neither `state` nor `county`
+  state_fips_lookup <- tibble::tibble(
+    stab = purrr::map_chr(states_data, ~ toupper(.x$abbr)),
+    state = purrr::map_chr(states_data, ~ .x$fips))
+
+  states_data <- purrr::map_chr(states_data, ~ paste0(.x$abbr, .x$fips))
 
   # GeoCorr 2018 does not support Puerto Rico
   if (!config$include_pr) {
@@ -358,11 +365,22 @@ get_geocorr_crosswalk <- function(
       .cols = dplyr::matches(weight_rename_pattern),
       .fn = ~ stringr::str_replace_all(.x, config$weight_rename))
 
+  ## Ensure a 2-char `state` FIPS column exists. GeoCorr's response varies by
+  ## query: sometimes `state` is returned directly; sometimes it's only
+  ## available as the leading 2 chars of a 5-char `county` (SSCCC) field;
+  ## sometimes (e.g., place/zcta/puma sources targeting aiannh) neither is
+  ## present and we must derive it from `stab` (state abbreviation).
   if (!"state" %in% colnames(df2)) {
-    df2 = df2 |>
-      dplyr::mutate(
-       state = stringr::str_sub(county, 1, 2),
-       county = stringr::str_sub(county, 3, 5)) }
+    if ("county" %in% colnames(df2)) {
+      df2 = df2 |>
+        dplyr::mutate(
+          state = stringr::str_sub(county, 1, 2),
+          county = stringr::str_sub(county, 3, 5))
+    } else if ("stab" %in% colnames(df2)) {
+      df2 = df2 |>
+        dplyr::left_join(state_fips_lookup, by = "stab")
+    }
+  }
 
   # Build the blockgroup column name used by the API for this version
   bg_api_col <- config$geography_api_codes[["blockgroup"]]
@@ -512,13 +530,8 @@ get_geocorr_crosswalk <- function(
     df2 <- df2 |> dplyr::filter(!is.na(target_geoid))
   }
 
-  if (!is.null(cache)) {
-    ## if the file does not already exist and cache is TRUE
-    if (!file.exists(outpath) & !is.null(cache)) {
-      ## if the specified cache directory doesn't yet exist, create it
-      if (!dir.exists(cache)) { dir.create(cache) }
-      readr::write_csv(df2, outpath)
-    }
+  if (!is.null(cache) && !file.exists(outpath)) {
+    readr::write_csv(df2, outpath)
   }
 
   # Attach metadata to result
diff --git a/R/get_nhgis_crosswalk.R b/R/get_nhgis_crosswalk.R
index 9d792b2..e74c2dd 100644
--- a/R/get_nhgis_crosswalk.R
+++ b/R/get_nhgis_crosswalk.R
@@ -878,11 +878,7 @@ variable. Get your key at https://account.ipums.org/api_keys") }
       dplyr::mutate(target_geoid = stringr::str_pad(target_geoid, 11, "right", "0"))
   }
 
-    ## if the file does not already exist and cache is not NULL
-    if (!file.exists(csv_path) & !is.null(cache)) {
-      if (!dir.exists(cache)) {
-        dir.create(cache, recursive = TRUE)
-      }
+    if (!is.null(cache) && !file.exists(csv_path)) {
       readr::write_csv(crosswalk_df, csv_path)
     }
 
diff --git a/R/utils.R b/R/utils.R
index 8c7e710..384284d 100644
--- a/R/utils.R
+++ b/R/utils.R
@@ -23,3 +23,28 @@ cw_message <- function(...) {
 cw_warning <- function(..., call. = TRUE, immediate. = FALSE) {
   if (!getOption("crosswalk.silent", FALSE)) warning(..., call. = call., immediate. = immediate.)
 }
+
+#' Validate a User-Provided Cache Directory
+#'
+#' Errors if `cache` is non-NULL and does not refer to an existing directory.
+#' Users must create the directory themselves; the package will not create it
+#' silently, so a typo in the path is surfaced rather than producing an
+#' unexpected new directory.
+#'
+#' @param cache The user-supplied cache path (or NULL).
+#' @keywords internal
+#' @noRd
+validate_cache_dir <- function(cache) {
+  if (is.null(cache)) return(invisible(NULL))
+  if (!is.character(cache) || length(cache) != 1L || is.na(cache) || !nzchar(cache)) {
+    stop("`cache` must be NULL or a single non-empty character path.", call. = FALSE)
+  }
+  if (!dir.exists(cache)) {
+    stop(
+      "The cache directory does not exist: '", cache, "'. ",
+      "Create it (e.g., `dir.create(\"", cache, "\", recursive = TRUE)`) ",
+      "or pass `cache = NULL` to skip caching.",
+      call. = FALSE)
+  }
+  invisible(NULL)
+}