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TwitterThis 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. Census tracts are small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county or equivalent entity and were defined by local participants as part of the 2020 Census Participant Statistical Areas Program. The Census Bureau delineated the census tracts in situations where no local participant existed or where all the potential participants declined to participate. The primary purpose of census tracts is to provide a stable set of geographic units for the presentation of census data and comparison back to previous decennial censuses. Census tracts generally have a population size between 1,200 and 8,000 people, with an optimum size of 4,000 people. When first delineated, census tracts were designed to be homogeneous with respect to population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions. The spatial size of census tracts varies widely depending on the density of settlement. Physical changes in street patterns caused by highway construction, new development, and so forth, may require boundary revisions. In addition, census tracts occasionally are split due to population growth, or combined because of substantial population decline. Census tract boundaries generally follow visible and identifiable features. They may follow legal boundaries such as minor civil division or incorporated place boundaries in some states and situations to allow for census tract-to-governmental unit relationships where the governmental boundaries tend to remain unchanged between censuses. State and county boundaries always are census tract boundaries in the standard Census Bureau geographic hierarchy. In a few rare instances, a census tract may consist of noncontiguous areas. These noncontiguous areas may occur where the census tracts are coextensive with all or parts of legal entities that are themselves noncontiguous.
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TwitterThis 'Redistricting' version of the census data is the first release of the data.
This 2020 census redistricting geography database of the 7 county metropolitan area and the additional 12 collar county area was developed from the U.S. Census Bureau's Redistricting Census 2020 TIGER/Line files.
The Metropolitan Council downloaded this data from the Census Bureau's FTP site and created block, block group, tract, county subdivision (city), and county datasets from the original data. The block dataset was updated on Jan. 12, 2023 to add new Census Bureau urban and rural designations.
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TwitterThe 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. Census Blocks are statistical areas bounded on all sides by visible features, such as streets, roads, streams, and railroad tracks, and/or by nonvisible boundaries such as city, town, township, and county limits, and short line-of-sight extensions of streets and roads. Census blocks are relatively small in area; for example, a block in a city bounded by streets. However, census blocks in remote areas are often large and irregular and may even be many square miles in area. A common misunderstanding is that data users think census blocks are used geographically to build all other census geographic areas, rather all other census geographic areas are updated and then used as the primary constraints, along with roads and water features, to delineate the tabulation blocks. As a result, all 2020 Census blocks nest within every other 2020 Census geographic area, so that Census Bureau statistical data can be tabulated at the block level and aggregated up to the appropriate geographic areas. Census blocks cover all territory in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Blocks are the smallest geographic areas for which the Census Bureau publishes data from the decennial census. A block may consist of one or more faces.
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TwitterThe 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. Census tracts are small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county or equivalent entity, and were defined by local participants as part of the 2020 Census Participant Statistical Areas Program. The Census Bureau delineated the census tracts in situations where no local participant existed or where all the potential participants declined to participate. The primary purpose of census tracts is to provide a stable set of geographic units for the presentation of census data and comparison back to previous decennial censuses. Census tracts generally have a population size between 1,200 and 8,000 people, with an optimum size of 4,000 people. When first delineated, census tracts were designed to be homogeneous with respect to population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions. The spatial size of census tracts varies widely depending on the density of settlement. Physical changes in street patterns caused by highway construction, new development, and so forth, may require boundary revisions. In addition, census tracts occasionally are split due to population growth, or combined as a result of substantial population decline. Census tract boundaries generally follow visible and identifiable features. They may follow legal boundaries such as minor civil division (MCD) or incorporated place boundaries in some States and situations to allow for census tract-to-governmental unit relationships where the governmental boundaries tend to remain unchanged between censuses. State and county boundaries always are census tract boundaries in the standard census geographic hierarchy. In a few rare instances, a census tract may consist of noncontiguous areas. These noncontiguous areas may occur where the census tracts are coextensive with all or parts of legal entities that are themselves noncontiguous. For the 2010 Census, the census tract code range of 9400 through 9499 was enforced for census tracts that include a majority American Indian population according to Census 2000 data and/or their area was primarily covered by federally recognized American Indian reservations and/or off-reservation trust lands; the code range 9800 through 9899 was enforced for those census tracts that contained little or no population and represented a relatively large special land use area such as a National Park, military installation, or a business/industrial park; and the code range 9900 through 9998 was enforced for those census tracts that contained only water area, no land area.
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TwitterThe 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. Census tracts are small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county or equivalent entity, and were defined by local participants as part of the 2020 Census Participant Statistical Areas Program. The Census Bureau delineated the census tracts in situations where no local participant existed or where all the potential participants declined to participate. The primary purpose of census tracts is to provide a stable set of geographic units for the presentation of census data and comparison back to previous decennial censuses. Census tracts generally have a population size between 1,200 and 8,000 people, with an optimum size of 4,000 people. When first delineated, census tracts were designed to be homogeneous with respect to population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions. The spatial size of census tracts varies widely depending on the density of settlement. Physical changes in street patterns caused by highway construction, new development, and so forth, may require boundary revisions. In addition, census tracts occasionally are split due to population growth, or combined as a result of substantial population decline. Census tract boundaries generally follow visible and identifiable features. They may follow legal boundaries such as minor civil division (MCD) or incorporated place boundaries in some States and situations to allow for census tract-to-governmental unit relationships where the governmental boundaries tend to remain unchanged between censuses. State and county boundaries always are census tract boundaries in the standard census geographic hierarchy. In a few rare instances, a census tract may consist of noncontiguous areas. These noncontiguous areas may occur where the census tracts are coextensive with all or parts of legal entities that are themselves noncontiguous. For the 2010 Census, the census tract code range of 9400 through 9499 was enforced for census tracts that include a majority American Indian population according to Census 2000 data and/or their area was primarily covered by federally recognized American Indian reservations and/or off-reservation trust lands; the code range 9800 through 9899 was enforced for those census tracts that contained little or no population and represented a relatively large special land use area such as a National Park, military installation, or a business/industrial park; and the code range 9900 through 9998 was enforced for those census tracts that contained only water area, no land area.
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TwitterSummary File 1 Data Profile 1 (SF1 Table DP-1) for Census Tracts in the Minneapolis-St. Paul 7 County metropolitan area is a subset of the profile of general demographic characteristics for 2000 prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau.
This table (DP-1) includes: Sex and Age, Race, Race alone or in combination with one or more otehr races, Hispanic or Latino and Race, Relationship, Household by Type, Housing Occupancy, Housing Tenure
US Census 2000 Demographic Profiles: 100-percent and Sample Data
The profile includes four tables (DP-1 thru DP-4) that provide various demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics for the United States, states, counties, minor civil divisions in selected states, places, metropolitan areas, American Indian and Alaska Native areas, Hawaiian home lands and congressional districts (106th Congress). It includes 100-percent and sample data from Census 2000. The DP-1 table is available as part of the Summary File 1 (SF 1) dataset, and the other three tables are available as part of the Summary File 3 (SF 3) dataset.
The US Census provides DP-1 thru DP-4 data at the Census tract level through their DataFinder search engine. However, since the Metropolitan Council and MetroGIS participants are interested in all Census tracts within the seven county metropolitan area, it was quicker to take the raw Census SF-1 and SF-3 data at tract levels and recreate the DP1-4 variables using the appropriate formula for each DP variable. This file lists the formulas used to create the DP variables.
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TwitterThe American Community Survey (ACS) provides detailed demographic, social, economic, commuting and housing statistics based on continuous survey data collection. Data collected over the most recent 5 years are batched, summarized and published the following December.
These files contain summary data for Census Block Groups (CensusACSBlockGroup.xlsx), Tracts (CensusACSTract.xlsx), minor civil divisions (CensusACSMCD.xlsx), school districts (CensusACSSchoolDistrict.xlsx), and ZIP code tabulation areas (CensusACSZipCode.xlsx). No shapefiles are included, but these data files can be joined to associated shapefile datasets available elsewhere on this site. To facilitate this, the data files are also available as DBF tables and in a geodatabase.
Starting with the 2016-2020 data, tract and block group boundaries are those used in the 2020 Census. Starting with the 2017-2021 data, ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are those defined based on the 2020 Census. If you need the most recent ACS data for the tract and block group boundaries used in the 2010 Census, contact Matt Schroeder (information below).
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TwitterSummary File 3 Data Profile 4 (SF3 Table DP-4) for Census Tracts in the Minneapolis-St. Paul 7 County metropolitan area is a subset of the profile of selected housing characteristics for 2000 prepared by the U. S. Census Bureau.
This table (DP-4) includes: Units in Structure, Year Structure Built, Rooms, Year Householder Moved into Unit, Vehicles Available, House Heating Fuel, Selected Characteristics, Occupants per Room, Value, Mortgage Status and Selected Monthly Owner Costs, Selected Monthly Owner Costs as a Percentage of Household Income in 1999, Gross Rent, Gross Rent as a Percentage of Household Income in 1999
US Census 2000 Demographic Profiles: 100-percent and Sample Data
The profile includes four tables (DP-1 thru DP-4) that provide various demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics for the United States, states, counties, minor civil divisions in selected states, places, metropolitan areas, American Indian and Alaska Native areas, Hawaiian home lands and congressional districts (106th Congress). It includes 100-percent and sample data from Census 2000. The DP-1 table is available as part of the Summary File 1 (SF 1) dataset, and the other three tables are available as part of the Summary File 3 (SF 3) dataset.
The US Census provides DP-1 thru DP-4 data at the Census tract level through their DataFinder search engine. However, since the Metropolitan Council and MetroGIS participants are interested in all Census tracts within the seven county metropolitan area, it was quicker to take the raw Census SF-1 and SF-3 data at tract levels and recreate the DP1-4 variables using the appropriate formula for each DP variable. This file lists the formulas used to create the DP variables.
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TwitterSummary File 3 Data Profile 2 (SF3 Table DP-2) for Census Tracts in Minneapolis-St. Paul 7 County metropolitan area is a subset of the profile of selected social characteristics for 2000 prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau.
This table (DP-2) includes: School Enrollment, Educational Attainment, Marital Status, Grandparents as Caregivers, Veteran Status, Disability Status of the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population, Residence in 1995, Nativity and Place of Birth, Region of Birth of Foreign Born, Language Spoken At Home, Ancestry
US Census 2000 Demographic Profiles: 100-percent and Sample Data
The profile includes four tables (DP-1 thru DP-4) that provide various demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics for the United States, states, counties, minor civil divisions in selected states, places, metropolitan areas, American Indian and Alaska Native areas, Hawaiian home lands and congressional districts (106th Congress). It includes 100-percent and sample data from Census 2000. The DP-1 table is available as part of the Summary File 1 (SF 1) dataset, and the other three tables are available as part of the Summary File 3 (SF 3) dataset.
The US Census provides DP-1 thru DP-4 data at the Census tract level through their DataFinder search engine. However, since the Metropolitan Council and MetroGIS participants are interested in all Census tracts within the seven county metropolitan area, it was quicker to take the raw Census SF-1 and SF-3 data at tract levels and recreate the DP1-4 variables using the appropriate formula for each DP variable. This file lists the formulas used to create the DP variables.
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TwitterSummary File 3 Data Profile 3 (SF3 Table DP-3) for Minneapolis-St. Paul 7 County metropolitan area is a subset of the profile of selected economic characteristics for 2000 prepared by the U. S. Census Bureau.
This table (DP-3) includes: Employment Status, Commuting to Work, Occupation, Industry, Class of Worker, Income in 1999, Median earnings, Number Below Poverty Level, Poverty Status in 1999, For Whom Poverty Status is Determined
US Census 2000 Demographic Profiles: 100-percent and Sample Data
The profile includes four tables (DP-1 thru DP-4) that provide various demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics for the United States, states, counties, minor civil divisions in selected states, places, metropolitan areas, American Indian and Alaska Native areas, Hawaiian home lands and congressional districts (106th Congress). It includes 100-percent and sample data from Census 2000. The DP-1 table is available as part of the Summary File 1 (SF 1) dataset, and the other three tables are available as part of the Summary File 3 (SF 3) dataset.
The US Census provides DP-1 thru DP-4 data at the Census tract level through their DataFinder search engine. However, since the Metropolitan Council and MetroGIS participants are interested in all Census tracts within the seven county metropolitan area, it was quicker to take the raw Census SF-1 and SF-3 data at tract levels and recreate the DP1-4 variables using the appropriate formula for each DP variable. This file lists the formulas used to create the DP variables.
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TwitterCC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedicationhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
License information was derived automatically
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. Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) are decennial census areas that permit the tabulation and dissemination of Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data, American Community Survey (ACS) data, and data from other census and surveys. For the 2020 Census, the State Data Centers (SDCs) in each state, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico had the opportunity to delineate PUMAS within their state or statistically equivalent entity. All PUMAs must nest within states and have a minimum population threshold of 100,000 persons. 2020 PUMAs consist of census tracts and cover the entirety of the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam. American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not contain any 2020 PUMAs because the population is less than the minimum population requirement. Each PUMA is identified by a 5-character numeric census code that may contain leading zeros and a descriptive name.
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TwitterCC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedicationhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
License information was derived automatically
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. Block Groups (BGs) are clusters of blocks within the same census tract. Each census tract contains at least one BG, and BGs are uniquely numbered within census tracts. BGs have a valid code range of 0 through 9. BGs have the same first digit of their 4-digit census block number from the same decennial census. For example, tabulation blocks numbered 3001, 3002, 3003,.., 3999 within census tract 1210.02 are also within BG 3 within that census tract. BGs coded 0 are intended to only include water area, no land area, and they are generally in territorial seas, coastal water, and Great Lakes water areas. Block groups generally contain between 600 and 3,000 people. A BG usually covers a contiguous area but never crosses county or census tract boundaries. They may, however, cross the boundaries of other geographic entities like county subdivisions, places, urban areas, voting districts, congressional districts, and American Indian / Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian areas. The BG boundaries in this release are those that were delineated as part of the Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP) for the 2020 Census.
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TwitterThe 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. Block Groups (BGs) are clusters of blocks within the same census tract. Each census tract contains at least one BG, and BGs are uniquely numbered within census tracts. BGs have a valid code range of 0 through 9. BGs have the same first digit of their 4-digit census block number from the same decennial census. For example, tabulation blocks numbered 3001, 3002, 3003,.., 3999 within census tract 1210.02 are also within BG 3 within that census tract. BGs coded 0 are intended to only include water area, no land area, and they are generally in territorial seas, coastal water, and Great Lakes water areas. Block groups generally contain between 600 and 3,000 people. A BG usually covers a contiguous area but never crosses county or census tract boundaries. They may, however, cross the boundaries of other geographic entities like county subdivisions, places, urban areas, voting districts, congressional districts, and American Indian / Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian areas. The BG boundaries in this release are those that were delineated as part of the Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP) for the 2020 Census.
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TwitterThe 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. Block Groups (BGs) are clusters of blocks within the same census tract. Each census tract contains at least one BG, and BGs are uniquely numbered within census tracts. BGs have a valid code range of 0 through 9. BGs have the same first digit of their 4-digit census block number from the same decennial census. For example, tabulation blocks numbered 3001, 3002, 3003,.., 3999 within census tract 1210.02 are also within BG 3 within that census tract. BGs coded 0 are intended to only include water area, no land area, and they are generally in territorial seas, coastal water, and Great Lakes water areas. Block groups generally contain between 600 and 3,000 people. A BG usually covers a contiguous area but never crosses county or census tract boundaries. They may, however, cross the boundaries of other geographic entities like county subdivisions, places, urban areas, voting districts, congressional districts, and American Indian / Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian areas. The BG boundaries in this release are those that were delineated as part of the Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP) for the 2020 Census.
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Twitter1980 Census include the following subjects: Age cohorts Race 1980 Census data are available for state, county, place, tract and block numbering area. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 1980 Census and Minnesota Population Center, National Historical Geographic Information System: Version 2.0. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota 2011.
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TwitterCC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedicationhttps://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
License information was derived automatically
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. Block Groups (BGs) are clusters of blocks within the same census tract. Each census tract contains at least one BG, and BGs are uniquely numbered within census tracts. BGs have a valid code range of 0 through 9. BGs have the same first digit of their 4-digit census block number from the same decennial census. For example, tabulation blocks numbered 3001, 3002, 3003,.., 3999 within census tract 1210.02 are also within BG 3 within that census tract. BGs coded 0 are intended to only include water area, no land area, and they are generally in territorial seas, coastal water, and Great Lakes water areas. Block groups generally contain between 600 and 3,000 people. A BG usually covers a contiguous area but never crosses county or census tract boundaries. They may, however, cross the boundaries of other geographic entities like county subdivisions, places, urban areas, voting districts, congressional districts, and American Indian / Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian areas. The BG boundaries in this release are those that were delineated as part of the Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP) for the 2020 Census.
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TwitterDecennial Census 2010 includes tabulations of housing units, total population and adult population by race and Hispanicity. Geographies nationwide can be obtained from Census, with disaggregate geographic detail down to Block-level. Metropolitan Council is publishing files for 2010 Blocks, Block Groups and Tracts. Only data files are included; they can be joined to shapefiles available elsewhere on this site.
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TwitterThis dataset consists of a correspondence table and shape file of the combined 1990 and 2000 Census tracts.
Note: Census tracts from 1990 and 2000 do not match in all areas. This dataset is an attempt to match them. Some combining and splitting of tracts was necessary. See the Lineage in Section 2 of the metadata for more information.
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TwitterThe 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. Block Groups (BGs) are clusters of blocks within the same census tract. Each census tract contains at least one BG, and BGs are uniquely numbered within census tracts. BGs have a valid code range of 0 through 9. BGs have the same first digit of their 4-digit census block number from the same decennial census. For example, tabulation blocks numbered 3001, 3002, 3003,.., 3999 within census tract 1210.02 are also within BG 3 within that census tract. BGs coded 0 are intended to only include water area, no land area, and they are generally in territorial seas, coastal water, and Great Lakes water areas. Block groups generally contain between 600 and 3,000 people. A BG usually covers a contiguous area but never crosses county or census tract boundaries. They may, however, cross the boundaries of other geographic entities like county subdivisions, places, urban areas, voting districts, congressional districts, and American Indian / Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian areas. The BG boundaries in this release are those that were delineated as part of the Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP) for the 2020 Census.
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TwitterThe 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. Census Blocks are statistical areas bounded on all sides by visible features, such as streets, roads, streams, and railroad tracks, and/or by nonvisible boundaries such as city, town, township, and county limits, and short line-of-sight extensions of streets and roads. Census blocks are relatively small in area; for example, a block in a city bounded by streets. However, census blocks in remote areas are often large and irregular and may even be many square miles in area. A common misunderstanding is that data users think census blocks are used geographically to build all other census geographic areas, rather all other census geographic areas are updated and then used as the primary constraints, along with roads and water features, to delineate the tabulation blocks. As a result, all 2020 Census blocks nest within every other 2020 Census geographic area, so that Census Bureau statistical data can be tabulated at the block level and aggregated up to the appropriate geographic areas. Census blocks cover all territory in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). Blocks are the smallest geographic areas for which the Census Bureau publishes data from the decennial census. A block may consist of one or more faces.
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TwitterThis 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. Census tracts are small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county or equivalent entity and were defined by local participants as part of the 2020 Census Participant Statistical Areas Program. The Census Bureau delineated the census tracts in situations where no local participant existed or where all the potential participants declined to participate. The primary purpose of census tracts is to provide a stable set of geographic units for the presentation of census data and comparison back to previous decennial censuses. Census tracts generally have a population size between 1,200 and 8,000 people, with an optimum size of 4,000 people. When first delineated, census tracts were designed to be homogeneous with respect to population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions. The spatial size of census tracts varies widely depending on the density of settlement. Physical changes in street patterns caused by highway construction, new development, and so forth, may require boundary revisions. In addition, census tracts occasionally are split due to population growth, or combined because of substantial population decline. Census tract boundaries generally follow visible and identifiable features. They may follow legal boundaries such as minor civil division or incorporated place boundaries in some states and situations to allow for census tract-to-governmental unit relationships where the governmental boundaries tend to remain unchanged between censuses. State and county boundaries always are census tract boundaries in the standard Census Bureau geographic hierarchy. In a few rare instances, a census tract may consist of noncontiguous areas. These noncontiguous areas may occur where the census tracts are coextensive with all or parts of legal entities that are themselves noncontiguous.