The TIGER/Line shapefiles and related database files (.dbf) are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). The MTDB represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between parts, however, each TIGER/Line shapefile is designed to stand alone as an independent data set, or they can be combined to cover the entire nation. After each decennial census, the Census Bureau delineates urban areas that represent densely developed territory, encompassing residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. In general, this territory consists of areas of high population density and urban land use resulting in a representation of the urban footprint. There are 2,645 Urban Areas (UAs) in this data release with either a minimum population of 5,000 or a housing unit count of 2,000 units. Each urban area is identified by a 5-character numeric census code that may contain leading zeroes.

The 2020 cartographic boundary shapefiles are simplified representations of selected geographic areas from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). These boundary files are specifically designed for small-scale thematic mapping. When possible, generalization is performed with the intent to maintain the hierarchical relationships among geographies and to maintain the alignment of geographies within a file set for a given year. Geographic areas may not align with the same areas from another year. Some geographies are available as nation-based files while others are available only as state-based files. After each decennial census, the Census Bureau delineates urban areas that represent densely developed territory, encompassing residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. In general, this territory consists of areas of high population density and urban land use resulting in a representation of the urban footprint. There are 2,644 Urban Areas (UAs) in this data release with either a minimum population of 5,000 or a housing unit count of 2,000 units. Each urban area is identified by a 5-character numeric census code that may contain leading zeroes. This file includes revisions made to the 2020 Census New Orleans, LA Urban Area where the territory originally delineated as the 2020 Census Laplace--Lutcher--Gramercy, LA Urban Area was combined with the 2020 Census New Orleans, LA Urban Area to form the current New Orleans, LA Urban Area. This file includes revisions made to the 2020 Census Atlanta, GA Urban Area and Gainesville, GA Urban Area, where some urban territory originally designated to the Gainesville, GA Urban Area was reassigned to the Atlanta, GA Urban Area.

Data Source:2020 Census Urban Area Shapefiles at Census Urban Areas 2020.

2020 Census Urban Area population at Census Urban Areas Population 2020.

FHWA Office of Planning performed the merge between the census public released Shapefiles and 2020 Census Spreadsheet files.

If you have any questions, please contact Supin Yoder.

The Census Bureau released revised delineations for urban areas on December 29, 2022. The new criteria (contained in this Federal Register Notice) is based primarily on housing unit density measured at the census block level. The minimum qualifying threshold for inclusion as an urban area is an area that contains at least 2,000 housing units or has a population of at least 5,000 persons. It also eliminates the classification of areas as “urban clusters/urbanized areas”. This represents a change from 2010, where urban areas were defined as areas consisting of 50,000 people or more and urban clusters consisted of at least 2,500 people but less than 50,000 people with at least 1,500 people living outside of group quarters. Due to the new population thresholds for urban areas, 36 urban clusters in California are no longer considered urban areas, leaving California with 193 urban areas after the new criteria was implemented.

The State of California experienced an increase of 1,885,884 in the total urban population, or 5.3%. However, the total urban area population as a percentage of the California total population went down from 95% to 94.2%. For more information about the mapped data, download the Excel spreadsheet here.

Please note that some of the 2020 urban areas have different names or additional place names as a result of the inclusion of housing unit counts as secondary naming criteria.

Please note there are four urban areas that cross state boundaries in Arizona and Nevada. For 2010, only the parts within California are displayed on the map; however, the population and housing estimates represent the entirety of the urban areas. For 2020, the population and housing unit estimates pertains to the areas within California only.

Data for this web application was derived from the 2010 and 2020 Censuses (2010 and 2020 Census Blocks, 2020 Urban Areas, and Counties) and the 2016-2020 American Community Survey (2010 -Urban Areas) and can be found at data.census.gov.

For more information about the urban area delineations, visit the Census Bureau's Urban and Rural webpage and FAQ.

To view more data from the State of California Department of Finance, visit the Demographic Research Unit Data Hub.

The Urban Areas dataset was compiled on January 01, 2025 from the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division and is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)/Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD). This resource is a member of a series. The TIGER/Line shapefiles and related database files (.dbf) are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) System (MTS). The MTS represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between parts, however, each TIGER/Line shapefile is designed to stand alone as an independent data set, or they can be combined to cover the entire nation. After each decennial census, the Census Bureau delineates urban areas that represent densely developed territory, encompassing residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. In general, this territory consists of areas of high population density and urban land use resulting in a representation of the urban footprint. There are 2,644 Urban Areas (UAs) in this data release with either a minimum population of 5,000 or a housing unit count of 2,000 units. Each urban area is identified by a five-character numeric census code that may contain leading zeros. A data dictionary, or other source of attribute information, is accessible at https://doi.org/10.21949/1529088

USA Census Urban Areas provides the boundaries, and 2020 U.S. Census names, codes, populations, and housing information for the urban areas of the United States. For the 2020 U.S. Census, an urban area comprises a densely settled core of census blocks that meet minimum housing unit density or population density requirements. This includes adjacent territory containing nonresidential urban land uses. To qualify as an urban area, the territory identified according to criteria must encompass at least 2,000 housing units or have a population of at least 5,000. Urban areas represent densely developed territory, and encompass residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. The sources for this layer are the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 Census Urban Areas TIGER/Line data and the corresponding List of 2020 Census Population attribute fields.

The US Census designates certain blocks as urban based on certain criteria (found here). This layer includes polygons that represent all of the census blocks that were designated as urban as of 2020.

This dataset has been downloaded from FHWA's HEPGIS website and represents the 2020 Urban Areas delineated by the U.S. Census Bureau. Only the Urban Areas that intersect with the Florida statewide boundary are included, and the data has been re-projected to conform to the Florida Department of Transportation's preferred coordinate projection system. Additionally, District # columns have been included in the attribute table in order to filter Urban Areas by District. Some Urban Areas overlap multiple district boundaries - a 'yes' value indicates the Urban Area is within or intersects a given District # boundary. Point of Contact: Daniel Mears and Joel Worrell.

The 2020 cartographic boundary KMLs are simplified representations of selected geographic areas from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). These boundary files are specifically designed for small-scale thematic mapping. When possible, generalization is performed with the intent to maintain the hierarchical relationships among geographies and to maintain the alignment of geographies within a file set for a given year. Geographic areas may not align with the same areas from another year. Some geographies are available as nation-based files while others are available only as state-based files. After each decennial census, the Census Bureau delineates urban areas that represent densely developed territory, encompassing residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. In general, this territory consists of areas of high population density and urban land use resulting in a representation of the urban footprint. There are 2,644 Urban Areas (UAs) in this data release with either a minimum population of 5,000 or a housing unit count of 2,000 units. Each urban area is identified by a 5-character numeric census code that may contain leading zeroes. This file includes revisions made to the 2020 Census New Orleans, LA Urban Area where the territory originally delineated as the 2020 Census Laplace--Lutcher--Gramercy, LA Urban Area was combined with the 2020 Census New Orleans, LA Urban Area to form the current New Orleans, LA Urban Area. This file includes revisions made to the 2020 Census Atlanta, GA Urban Area and Gainesville, GA Urban Area, where some urban territory originally designated to the Gainesville, GA Urban Area was reassigned to the Atlanta, GA Urban Area.

Urban Areas in the 2010 Census. This layer includes both Urban Clusters and Urbanized Areas. To qualify as an Urban Area in the 2010 Census, the territory must encompass at least 2,500 people, at least 1,500 of which reside outside institutional group quarters. For more information about Census data, visit Census.gov.

The TIGER/Line shapefiles and related database files (.dbf) are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). The MTDB represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between parts, however, each TIGER/Line shapefile is designed to stand alone as an independent data set, or they can be combined to cover the entire nation. After each decennial census, the Census Bureau delineates urban areas that represent densely developed territory, encompassing residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. In general, this territory consists of areas of high population density and urban land use resulting in a representation of the "urban footprint." There are two types of urban areas: urbanized areas (UAs) that contain 50,000 or more people and urban clusters (UCs) that contain at least 2,500 people, but fewer than 50,000 people (except in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam which each contain urban clusters with populations greater than 50,000). Each urban area is identified by a 5-character numeric census code that may contain leading zeroes.

This dataset presents the 2020 Census urban area boundaries in Arizona. The core TIGER/Line Files and Shapefiles do not include demographic data, but they do contain geographic entity codes (GEOIDs) that can be linked to the Census Bureau’s demographic data, available on data.census.gov. The TIGER/Line Shapefiles are extracts of selected geographic and cartographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File/Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) database. The shapefiles include information for the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Island areas (American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands). They do not contain any sensitive data, areas used for administering censuses and surveys, or attributes used only in internal processing. The TIGER/Line Shapefiles are designed for use with geographic information system (GIS) software. Data was provided by the US Census Bureau 2020 TIGER Web Interface Download. Last Updated: December 2022Update Frequency: N/A

The urban areas created by the US Census Bureau "represent densely developed territory, and encompass residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. Each urban area must encompass at least 2,000 housing units or at least 5,000 people." They were created by the Bureau following the 2020 census based on the population and housing unit density of individual blocks. The 2020 Census increased the urban population and housing unit count requirements for the first time since 1910, resulting in differences between the 2010 and 2020 boundaries beyond those resulting from population change. In addition, they also stopped distinguishing between "urbanized areas" and "urban clusters" and renamed areas as needed to reflect the updated boundaries. Please see the US Census Bureau website for more information.

NJDOT has revised the New Jersey urban area based upon the 2020 U.S. Census urban area boundaries. The U.S. Census defines an Urbanized Area as any area with a population >= 5,000. Under the 2020 Urban Area definition, Urban Clusters are no longer a classification. FHWA, however, has slightly different criteria for what defines an urban area. Under FHWA, an Urban Area is >= 5,000, with Small Urban Areas 5,000-49,999 and Urbanized Areas >= 50,000. NJDOT followed the FHWA urban area definitions for this urban area update. To perform this update, NJDOT used the 2020 US Census urban areas greater than 5,000 in population. Since census urban area boundaries are based upon census block boundaries, which can be irregular, NJDOT extended outward the urban area ("smoothed") to the nearest road, stream, political boundary, or manmade feature. When a roadway is used as the adjusted boundary, the following buffers will be applied to include the right of way of the roadway: 50’ from undivided roadway centerlines (single centerline) and 80’ from divided roadway centerlines (dual centerline). Where there was no obvious boundary to smooth to, the census boundary was retained. NJDOT also expanded the urban area to include any densely developed areas not included in the 2020 census urban areas. The urban area update underwent a thorough public review and comment period. Representatives from NJDOT and the 3 metropolitan planning organizations (NJTPA, SJTPO, and DVRPC) met during various phases of the project to review the updated urban area. All comments were logged into an Urban Area Comment Tracking Form, and an official NJDOT response was provided for each comment. Further revisions were made to the urban area based upon comments from FHWA. These revisions were limited in scope and consisted of the following: 1) Smoothed the urban boundary outward at water boundaries: 1000’ from corporate boundary / shoreline for coastal areas and 500’ from corporate boundary / shoreline for bay areas. 2) Utilize Census State Boundary for the state boundary except for coastal boundaries.

For 2020 Urban Areas, Urban and rural classification applied to the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas.Each Urban Area is assigned a clear, unambiguous title based on commonly recognized names of places within the core of the UA, derived from incorporated places, census designated places, minor civil divisions, and the Geographic Names Information System.Each UA has a 5-character code, based on a national alphabetical sequence of all urban area names.The Census Bureau delineates urban areas at the block level. Urban areas may cross the boundaries of all other geographic areas for which the Census Bureau presents data, which means that all areas, other than blocks, may include both urban and rural areas.

For the 2020 Census, an urban area will comprise a densely developed core of census blocks that meet minimum housing unit density requirements, along with adjacent territory containing non-residential urban land uses as well as other lower density territory included to link outlying densely settled territory with the densely settled core. To qualify as an urban area, theterritory identified according to the criteria must encompass at least 2,000 housing units or at least 5,000 persons.Fields include: UACE20 5 String 2020 Census urban area code GEOID20 5 String 2020 Census urban area identifier; 2020 Census urban area code NAME20 100 String 2020 Census urban area name NAMELSAD20 100 String 2020 Census name and the translated legal/statistical area description for urban area LSAD20 2 String 2020 Census legal/statistical area description code for urban area MTFCC20 5 String MAF/TIGER Feature Class Code (G3500) UATYP20 1 String 2020 Census urban area type FUNCSTAT20 1 String 2020 Census functional status ALAND20 14 Number 2020 Census land area AWATER20 14 Number 2020 Census water area INTPTLAT20 11 String 2020 Census latitude of the internal point INTPTLON20 12 String 2020 Census longitude of the internal pointhttps://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/maps-data/data/tiger/tgrshp_rd18/TGRSHPRD18_TechDoc.pdf

This is a series-level metadata record. The TIGER/Line shapefiles and related database files (.dbf) are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) System (MTS). The MTS represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between parts, however, each TIGER/Line shapefile is designed to stand alone as an independent data set, or they can be combined to cover the entire nation. After each decennial census, the Census Bureau delineates urban areas that represent densely developed territory, encompassing residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. In general, this territory consists of areas of high population density and urban land use resulting in a representation of the urban footprint. There are 2,644 Urban Areas (UAs) in this data release with either a minimum population of 5,000 or a housing unit count of 2,000 units. Each urban area is identified by a five-character numeric census code that may contain leading zeros.

Shape file for the Census Urban Areas.

United States Urban Areas Dataset

Spatial and attribute data for US urban areas

By Homeland Infrastructure Foundation [source]

About this dataset

The Urban Areas dataset provides comprehensive spatial and attribute data on urban areas in the United States. These urban areas represent densely developed territories consisting of residential, commercial, and other nonresidential land uses. The dataset includes geospatial information such as longitude and latitude coordinates, area measurements (land and water), shape length, and shape area for each urban area.

Each urban area is identified by a unique 5-character numeric census code, which distinguishes between two types of urban areas: urbanized areas (UAs) with populations of 50,000 or more people, and urban clusters (UCs) with populations ranging between 2,500 to 50,000 people (except in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam where some UCs have populations greater than 50,000).

Other important attributes provided include the functional status code indicating the functional classification of the urban area along with its name description. The land area measurement gives insight into the extent of developed territory in square meters for each urban area.

Furthermore, this dataset contains MAF/TIGER feature class codes that provide additional information about specific features within an urban area. These codes help in identifying various characteristics or components within an urban footprint.

By utilizing this dataset researchers can analyze different aspects related to population density patterns across various urbanscapes within the United States. This includes studying demographic trends as well as exploring correlations between land usage patterns - whether residential or commercial - in relation to geographical location.

Overall, this dataset serves as a valuable resource for conducting detailed spatial analysis on a wide range of topics related to population distribution and development across diverse metropolitan areas throughout the United States

How to use the dataset

1. Understanding the Urban Area Types

The dataset categorizes urban areas into two types: Urbanized Areas (UAs) and Urban Clusters (UCs). UAs are densely developed territories with populations of 50,000 or more people. UCs are also densely developed territories but have populations ranging from at least 2,500 people to fewer than 50,000 people.

2. Familiarize Yourself with Key Attributes

The dataset includes various attributes that provide valuable information about each urban area:

• NAME10: The name of the urban area.
• NAMELSAD10: The legal/statistical area description of the urban area.
• UACE10: A unique 5-character numeric census code that identifies each urban area.
• FUNCSTAT10: The functional status code for the urban area.
• ALAND10: The land area of the urban area in square meters.
• AWATER10: The water area of the urbareaan in square meters.
• INTPTLAT10: The latitude coordinate of an interior point within the geographic extent of an individual block group building footprint.(Numeric) -**INTPTLON150 longitude coordinate of an interior point within markset tabulation block group или Tract_LP tificatlpublic Land Survey System™ (PLSS)-based apices location

Understanding these attributes will allow you to gain insights into each specific type.

3. Analyzing Land and Water Area

By focusing on ALAND10 and AWATER10, you can explore the land and water areas of each urban area. This information could be valuable for understanding urban sprawl, planning infrastructure projects, or conducting environmental studies.

4. Exploring Functional Status

FUNCSTAT10 provides information about the functional status of an urban area. This attribute can help you identify whether an area serves as a single principal city or represents part of a larger metropolitan region.

5. Utilizing the Geographic Coordinates

INTPTLAT10 and INTPTLON10 provide latitude and longitude coordinates for each urban area's interior point. You can leverage this data to plot locations on maps

Research Ideas

• Urban Planning Analysis: This dataset can be used for urban planning analysis, such as identifying the land area and water area of different urban areas. It can help city officials and planners understand the spatial distribution of urban areas, assess population density, and make informed decisions regarding infrastructure development and resource allocation.
• Market Research: The dataset can be utilized for market research purposes by identifying different types of urban areas (UAs or UCs) based on their po...

This table uses U.S. Census data to create a dataset that identifies all Virginia localities as either Mostly Urban, Mostly Rural or Completely Rural. Total population and breakdown between urban and rural populations are included.

For information on the U.S. Census Bureau's use of these designations see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/urban-rural.html. (Source data for this dataset is found at this link and is titled "County Classification Lookup Table [XLS]".)

🔗 Related Datasets

• Population of Virginia localities (total, by race, and Hispanic/Latino ethnicity), 2010-2018 — Other
• Virginia Population by Urban Area (ACS 5-Year) — Office of INTERMODAL Planning and Investment
• Virginia City/County Census Boundaries 2010 — Datathon 2025
• US Census Urbanized Areas (2010) — Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
• Virginia 2020 Census Urbanized Area 50k — Datathon 2025