This map shows population density of the United States. Areas in darker magenta have much higher population per square mile than areas in orange or yellow. Data is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics. The map's layers contain total population counts by sex, age, and race groups for Nation, State, County, Census Tract, and Block Group in the United States and Puerto Rico. From the Census:"Population density allows for broad comparison of settlement intensity across geographic areas. In the U.S., population density is typically expressed as the number of people per square mile of land area. The U.S. value is calculated by dividing the total U.S. population (316 million in 2013) by the total U.S. land area (3.5 million square miles).When comparing population density values for different geographic areas, then, it is helpful to keep in mind that the values are most useful for small areas, such as neighborhoods. For larger areas (especially at the state or country scale), overall population density values are less likely to provide a meaningful measure of the density levels at which people actually live, but can be useful for comparing settlement intensity across geographies of similar scale." SourceAbout the dataYou can use this map as is and you can also modify it to use other attributes included in its layers. This map's layers contain total population counts by sex, age, and race groups data from the 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics. This is shown by Nation, State, County, Census Tract, Block Group boundaries. Each geography layer contains a common set of Census counts based on available attributes from the U.S. Census Bureau. There are also additional calculated attributes related to this topic, which can be mapped or used within analysis.Vintage of boundaries and attributes: 2020 Demographic and Housing Characteristics Table(s): P1, H1, H3, P2, P3, P5, P12, P13, P17, PCT12 (Not all lines of these DHC tables are available in this feature layer.)Data downloaded from: U.S. Census Bureau’s data.census.gov siteDate the Data was Downloaded: May 25, 2023Geography Levels included: Nation, State, County, Census Tract, Block GroupNational Figures: included in Nation layer The United States Census Bureau Demographic and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Census Results 2020 Census Data Quality Geography & 2020 Census Technical Documentation Data Table Guide: includes the final list of tables, lowest level of geography by table and table shells for the Demographic Profile and Demographic and Housing Characteristics.News & Updates This map is ready to be used in ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online and its configurable apps, Story Maps, dashboards, Notebooks, Python, custom apps, and mobile apps. Data can also be exported for offline workflows. Please cite the U.S. Census Bureau when using this data. Data Processing Notes: These 2020 Census boundaries come from the US Census TIGER geodatabases. These are Census boundaries with water and/or coastlines erased for cartographic and mapping purposes. For Census tracts and block groups, the water cutouts are derived from a subset of the 2020 Areal Hydrography boundaries offered by TIGER. Water bodies and rivers which are 50 million square meters or larger (mid to large sized water bodies) are erased from the tract and block group boundaries, as well as additional important features. For state and county boundaries, the water and coastlines are derived from the coastlines of the 2020 500k TIGER Cartographic Boundary Shapefiles. These are erased to more accurately portray the coastlines and Great Lakes. The original AWATER and ALAND fields are unchanged and available as attributes within the data table (units are square meters).  The layer contains all US states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Census tracts with no population that occur in areas of water, such as oceans, are removed from this data service (Census Tracts beginning with 99). Block groups that fall within the same criteria (Block Group denoted as 0 with no area land) have also been removed.Percentages and derived counts, are calculated values (that can be identified by the "_calc_" stub in the field name). Field alias names were created based on the Table Shells file available from the Data Table Guide for the Demographic Profile and Demographic and Housing Characteristics. Not all lines of all tables listed above are included in this layer. Duplicative counts were dropped. For example, P0030001 was dropped, as it is duplicative of P0010001.To protect the privacy and confidentiality of respondents, their data has been protected using differential privacy techniques by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In 2023, Washington, D.C. had the highest population density in the United States, with 11,130.69 people per square mile. As a whole, there were about 94.83 residents per square mile in the U.S., and Alaska was the state with the lowest population density, with 1.29 residents per square mile. The problem of population density Simply put, population density is the population of a country divided by the area of the country. While this can be an interesting measure of how many people live in a country and how large the country is, it does not account for the degree of urbanization, or the share of people who live in urban centers. For example, Russia is the largest country in the world and has a comparatively low population, so its population density is very low. However, much of the country is uninhabited, so cities in Russia are much more densely populated than the rest of the country. Urbanization in the United States While the United States is not very densely populated compared to other countries, its population density has increased significantly over the past few decades. The degree of urbanization has also increased, and well over half of the population lives in urban centers.

This map shows the total population in the United States in 2010. This is shown by state, county, tract, and block group. The size of the circles represent the amount of people living within an area. The map shows this pattern for states, counties, tracts, and block groups. There is increasing geographic detail as you zoom in, and only one geography is configured to show at any time. The data source is the US Census Bureau, and the vintage is 2010. The original service and data metadata can be found here.

This data set includes cities in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These cities were collected from the 1970 National Atlas of the United States. Where applicable, U.S. Census Bureau codes for named populated places were associated with each name to allow additional information to be attached. The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) was also used as a source for additional information. This is a revised version of the December, 2003, data set.

This layer is sourced from maps.bts.dot.gov.

The 1998 Dress Rehearsal was conducted as a prelude to the United States Census of Population and Housing, 2000, in the following locations: (1) Columbia, South Carolina, and surrounding areas, including the town of Irmo and the counties of Chester, Chesterfield, Darlington, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lancaster, Lee, Marlboro, Newberry, Richland, and Union, (2) Sacramento, California, and (3) Menominee County, Wisconsin, including the Menominee American Indian Reservation. This collection contains map files showing various levels of geography (in the form of Census Tract Outline Maps, Voting District/State Legislative District Outline Maps, and County Block Maps), TIGER/Line digital files, and Corner Point files for the Census 2000 Dress Rehearsal sites. The Corner Point data files contain the bounding latitude and longitude coordinates for each individual map sheet of the 1998 Dress Rehearsal Public Law (P.L.) 94-171 map products. These files include a sheet identifier, minimum and maximum longitude, minimum and maximum latitude, and the map scale (integer value) for each map sheet. The latitude and longitude coordinates are in decimal degrees and expressed as integer values with six implied decimal places. There is a separate Corner Point File for each of the three map types: County Block Map, Census Tract Outline Map, and Voting District/State Legislative District Outline Map. Each of the three map file types is provided in two formats: Portable Document Format (PDF), for viewing, and Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language (HP-GL) format, for plotting. The County Block Maps show the greatest detail and the most complete set of geographic information of all the maps. These large-scale maps depict the smallest geographic entities for which the Census Bureau presents data -- the census blocks -- by displaying the features that delineate them and the numbers that identify them. These maps show the boundaries, names, and codes for American Indian/Alaska Native areas, county subdivisions, places, census tracts, and, for this series, the geographic entities that the states delineated in Phase 2, Voting District Project, of the Redistricting Data Program. The HP-GL version of the County Block Maps is broken down into index maps and map sheets. The map sheets cover a small area, and the index maps are composed of multiple map sheets, showing the entire area. The intent of the County Block Map series is to provide a map for each county on the smallest possible number of map sheets at the maximum practical scale, dependent on the area size of the county and the density of the block pattern. The latter affects the display of block numbers and feature identifiers. The Census Tract Outline Maps show the boundaries and numbers of census tracts, and name the features underlying the boundaries. These maps also show the boundaries and names of counties, county subdivisions, and places. They identify census tracts in relation to governmental unit boundaries. The mapping unit is the county. These large-format maps are produced to support the P.L. 94-171 program and all other 1998 Dress Rehearsal data tabulations. The Voting District/State Legislative District Outline Maps show the boundaries and codes for voting districts as delineated by the states in Phase 2, Voting District Project, of the Redistricting Data Program. The features underlying the voting district boundaries are shown, as well as the names of these features. Additionally, for states that submit the information, these maps show the boundaries and codes for state legislative districts and their underlying features. These maps also show the boundaries of and names of American Indian/Alaska Native areas, counties, county subdivisions, and places. The scale of the district maps is optimized to keep the number of map sheets for each area to a minimum, but the scale and number of map sheets will vary by the area size of the county and the voting districts and state legislative districts delineated by the states. The Census 2000 Dress Rehearsal TIGER/Line Files consist of line segments representing physical features and governmental and statistical boundaries. The files contain information distributed over a series of record types for the spatial objects of a county. These TIGER/Line Files are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the Census TIGER (Topological

Author: Joseph Kerski, post_secondary_educator, Esri and University of DenverGrade/Audience: high school, ap human geography, post secondary, professional developmentResource type: lessonSubject topic(s): population, maps, citiesRegion: africa, asia, australia oceania, europe, north america, south america, united states, worldStandards: All APHG population tenets. Geography for Life cultural and population geography standards. Objectives: 1. Understand how population change and demographic characteristics are evident at a variety of scales in a variety of places around the world. 2. Understand the whys of where through analysis of change over space and time. 3. Develop skills using spatial data and interactive maps. 4. Understand how population data is communicated using 2D and 3D maps, visualizations, and symbology. Summary: Teaching and learning about demographics and population change in an effective, engaging manner is enriched and enlivened through the use of web mapping tools and spatial data. These tools, enabled by the advent of cloud-based geographic information systems (GIS) technology, bring problem solving, critical thinking, and spatial analysis to every classroom instructor and student (Kerski 2003; Jo, Hong, and Verma 2016).

According to a population projection based on 2020 Census Data, in 2040, California's population will amount to ***** million inhabitants.

Context

The United States Census is a decennial census mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, which states: "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States ... according to their respective Numbers."
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Census

Content

The United States census count (also known as the Decennial Census of Population and Housing) is a count of every resident of the US. The census occurs every 10 years and is conducted by the United States Census Bureau. Census data is publicly available through the census website, but much of the data is available in summarized data and graphs. The raw data is often difficult to obtain, is typically divided by region, and it must be processed and combined to provide information about the nation as a whole.

The United States census dataset includes nationwide population counts from the 2000 and 2010 censuses. Data is broken out by gender, age and location using zip code tabular areas (ZCTAs) and GEOIDs. ZCTAs are generalized representations of zip codes, and often, though not always, are the same as the zip code for an area. GEOIDs are numeric codes that uniquely identify all administrative, legal, and statistical geographic areas for which the Census Bureau tabulates data. GEOIDs are useful for correlating census data with other censuses and surveys.

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Acknowledgements

https://bigquery.cloud.google.com/dataset/bigquery-public-data:census_bureau_usa

https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/public-data/us-census

Dataset Source: United States Census Bureau

Use: This dataset is publicly available for anyone to use under the following terms provided by the Dataset Source - http://www.data.gov/privacy-policy#data_policy - and is provided "AS IS" without any warranty, express or implied, from Google. Google disclaims all liability for any damages, direct or indirect, resulting from the use of the dataset.

Banner Photo by Steve Richey from Unsplash.

Inspiration

What are the ten most populous zip codes in the US in the 2010 census?

What are the top 10 zip codes that experienced the greatest change in population between the 2000 and 2010 censuses?

https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/images/census-population-map.png" alt="https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/images/census-population-map.png"> https://cloud.google.com/bigquery/images/census-population-map.png

This layer shows total population counts by sex, age, and race groups data from the 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics. This is shown by Nation, Consolidated City, Census Designated Place, Incorporated Place boundaries. Each geography layer contains a common set of Census counts based on available attributes from the U.S. Census Bureau. There are also additional calculated attributes related to this topic, which can be mapped or used within analysis.   To see the full list of attributes available in this service, go to the "Data" tab above, and then choose "Fields" at the top right. Each attribute contains definitions, additional details, and the formula for calculated fields in the field description.Vintage of boundaries and attributes: 2020 Demographic and Housing Characteristics Table(s): P1, H1, H3, P2, P3, P5, P12, P13, P17, PCT12 (Not all lines of these DHC tables are available in this feature layer.)Data downloaded from: U.S. Census Bureau’s data.census.gov siteDate the Data was Downloaded: May 25, 2023Geography Levels included: Nation, Consolidated City, Census Designated Place, Incorporated PlaceNational Figures: included in Nation layer The United States Census Bureau Demographic and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Census Results 2020 Census Data Quality Geography & 2020 Census Technical Documentation Data Table Guide: includes the final list of tables, lowest level of geography by table and table shells for the Demographic Profile and Demographic and Housing Characteristics.News & Updates This layer is ready to be used in ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online and its configurable apps, Story Maps, dashboards, Notebooks, Python, custom apps, and mobile apps. Data can also be exported for offline workflows. Please cite the U.S. Census Bureau when using this data. Data Processing Notes: These 2020 Census boundaries come from the US Census TIGER geodatabases. These are Census boundaries with water and/or coastlines erased for cartographic and mapping purposes. For Census tracts and block groups, the water cutouts are derived from a subset of the 2020 Areal Hydrography boundaries offered by TIGER. Water bodies and rivers which are 50 million square meters or larger (mid to large sized water bodies) are erased from the tract and block group boundaries, as well as additional important features. For state and county boundaries, the water and coastlines are derived from the coastlines of the 2020 500k TIGER Cartographic Boundary Shapefiles. These are erased to more accurately portray the coastlines and Great Lakes. The original AWATER and ALAND fields are unchanged and available as attributes within the data table (units are square meters).  The layer contains all US states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Census tracts with no population that occur in areas of water, such as oceans, are removed from this data service (Census Tracts beginning with 99). Block groups that fall within the same criteria (Block Group denoted as 0 with no area land) have also been removed.Percentages and derived counts, are calculated values (that can be identified by the "_calc_" stub in the field name). Field alias names were created based on the Table Shells file available from the Data Table Guide for the Demographic Profile and Demographic and Housing Characteristics. Not all lines of all tables listed above are included in this layer. Duplicative counts were dropped. For example, P0030001 was dropped, as it is duplicative of P0010001.To protect the privacy and confidentiality of respondents, their data has been protected using differential privacy techniques by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In 2022, the population density in the United States remained nearly unchanged at around 36.43 inhabitants per square kilometer. Nevertheless, 2022 still represents a peak in the population density in the United States. Population density refers to the average number of residents per square kilometer of land across a given country or region. It is calculated by dividing the total midyear population by the total land area.Find more key insights for the population density in countries like Mexico.

Important Note: This item is in mature support as of June 2023 and will be retired in December 2025. This map shows the estimated annual growth rate of population in the United States from 2022 to 2027 in a multiscale map by country, state, county, ZIP Code, tract, and block group. The pop-up is configured to include the following information for each geography level:2022 total population2027 total population estimate 2000-2010 annual population growth rate2010-2022 annual population growth rate2022-2027 annual projected population growth ratePermitted use of this data is covered in the DATA section of the Esri Master Agreement (E204CW) and these supplemental terms.

In the past four centuries, the population of the United States has grown from a recorded 350 people around the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1610, to an estimated 331 million people in 2020. The pre-colonization populations of the indigenous peoples of the Americas have proven difficult for historians to estimate, as their numbers decreased rapidly following the introduction of European diseases (namely smallpox, plague and influenza). Native Americans were also omitted from most censuses conducted before the twentieth century, therefore the actual population of what we now know as the United States would have been much higher than the official census data from before 1800, but it is unclear by how much. Population growth in the colonies throughout the eighteenth century has primarily been attributed to migration from the British Isles and the Transatlantic slave trade; however it is also difficult to assert the ethnic-makeup of the population in these years as accurate migration records were not kept until after the 1820s, at which point the importation of slaves had also been illegalized. Nineteenth century In the year 1800, it is estimated that the population across the present-day United States was around six million people, with the population in the 16 admitted states numbering at 5.3 million. Migration to the United States began to happen on a large scale in the mid-nineteenth century, with the first major waves coming from Ireland, Britain and Germany. In some aspects, this wave of mass migration balanced out the demographic impacts of the American Civil War, which was the deadliest war in U.S. history with approximately 620 thousand fatalities between 1861 and 1865. The civil war also resulted in the emancipation of around four million slaves across the south; many of whose ancestors would take part in the Great Northern Migration in the early 1900s, which saw around six million black Americans migrate away from the south in one of the largest demographic shifts in U.S. history. By the end of the nineteenth century, improvements in transport technology and increasing economic opportunities saw migration to the United States increase further, particularly from southern and Eastern Europe, and in the first decade of the 1900s the number of migrants to the U.S. exceeded one million people in some years. Twentieth and twenty-first century The U.S. population has grown steadily throughout the past 120 years, reaching one hundred million in the 1910s, two hundred million in the 1960s, and three hundred million in 2007. In the past century, the U.S. established itself as a global superpower, with the world's largest economy (by nominal GDP) and most powerful military. Involvement in foreign wars has resulted in over 620,000 further U.S. fatalities since the Civil War, and migration fell drastically during the World Wars and Great Depression; however the population continuously grew in these years as the total fertility rate remained above two births per woman, and life expectancy increased (except during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918).

Since the Second World War, Latin America has replaced Europe as the most common point of origin for migrants, with Hispanic populations growing rapidly across the south and border states. Because of this, the proportion of non-Hispanic whites, which has been the most dominant ethnicity in the U.S. since records began, has dropped more rapidly in recent decades. Ethnic minorities also have a much higher birth rate than non-Hispanic whites, further contributing to this decline, and the share of non-Hispanic whites is expected to fall below fifty percent of the U.S. population by the mid-2000s. In 2020, the United States has the third-largest population in the world (after China and India), and the population is expected to reach four hundred million in the 2050s.

These high-resolution maps estimate not only the number of people living within 30-meter grid tiles, but also provide insights on demographics at unprecedentedly high resolutions. These maps aren’t built using Facebook data and instead rely on combining the power of machine vision AI with satellite imagery and census information.

In 2023, California had the highest Hispanic population in the United States, with over 15.76 million people claiming Hispanic heritage. Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois rounded out the top five states for Hispanic residents in that year. History of Hispanic people Hispanic people are those whose heritage stems from a former Spanish colony. The Spanish Empire colonized most of Central and Latin America in the 15th century, which began when Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492. The Spanish Empire expanded its territory throughout Central America and South America, but the colonization of the United States did not include the Northeastern part of the United States. Despite the number of Hispanic people living in the United States having increased, the median income of Hispanic households has fluctuated slightly since 1990. Hispanic population in the United States Hispanic people are the second-largest ethnic group in the United States, making Spanish the second most common language spoken in the country. In 2021, about one-fifth of Hispanic households in the United States made between 50,000 to 74,999 U.S. dollars. The unemployment rate of Hispanic Americans has fluctuated significantly since 1990, but has been on the decline since 2010, with the exception of 2020 and 2021, due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Link to landing page referenced by identifier. Service Protocol: Link to landing page referenced by identifier. Link Function: information-- dc:identifier.

This dataset was developed under the guidance of the U.S. National Grid Institute due to a mission request from theFL-TF4 US&R Team operating in Louisiana after HurricaneLaura, August 2020, to support future similar Search-and-Rescue missions. The original population data are from WorldPop.org, converted to a 1-km USNG format courtesy of the USNGCenter.org, and mapped and hosted at the Florida Resources and Environmental Analysis Center (FREAC), Florida State University (FSU). Web-based map viewers are available as a courtesy of CalTopo, GISsurfer, and Esri.More Details: https://usng-gis.org/docs/TheSARTopoProject.pdf

The 2019 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. Census tracts are small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county or equivalent entity, and were defined by local participants as part of the 2010 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.

This map shows Congressional District boundaries for the United States. The map is set to middle Georgia.

Congressional districts are the 435 areas from which members are elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. After the apportionment of congressional seats among the states, which is based on decennial census population counts, each state with multiple seats is responsible for establishing congressional districts for the purpose of electing representatives. Each congressional district is to be as equal in population to all other congressional districts in a state as practicable. The boundaries and numbers shown for the congressional districts are those specified in the state laws or court orders establishing the districts within each state.

Congressional districts for the 108th through 112th sessions were established by the states based on the result of the 2000 Census. Congressional districts for the 113th through 115th sessions were established by the states based on the result of the 2010 Census. Boundaries are effective until January of odd number years (for example, January 2015, January 2017, etc.), unless a state initiative or court ordered redistricting requires a change. All states established new congressional districts in 2011-2012, with the exception of the seven single member states (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming).

For the states that have more than one representative, the Census Bureau requested a copy of the state laws or applicable court order(s) for each state from each secretary of state and each 2010 Redistricting Data Program state liaison requesting a copy of the state laws and/or applicable court order(s) for each state. Additionally, the states were asked to furnish their newly established congressional district boundaries and numbers by means of geographic equivalency files. States submitted equivalency files since most redistricting was based on whole census blocks. Kentucky was the only state where congressional district boundaries split some of the 2010 Census tabulation blocks. For further information on these blocks, please see the user-note at the bottom of the tables for this state.

The Census Bureau entered this information into its geographic database and produced tabulation block equivalency files that depicted the newly defined congressional district boundaries. Each state liaison was furnished with their file and requested to review, submit corrections, and certify the accuracy of the boundaries.

This data set includes cities in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These cities were collected from the 1970 National Atlas of the United States. Where applicable, U.S. Census Bureau codes for named populated places were associated with each name to allow additional information to be attached. The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) was also used as a source for additional information. This is a revised version of the December, 2003, data set.

This layer is sourced from maps.bts.dot.gov.

The Bureau of the Census has released Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF1) 100-Percent data. The file includes the following population items: sex, age, race, Hispanic or Latino origin, household relationship, and household and family characteristics. Housing items include occupancy status and tenure (whether the unit is owner or renter occupied). SF1 does not include information on incomes, poverty status, overcrowded housing or age of housing. These topics will be covered in Summary File 3. Data are available for states, counties, county subdivisions, places, census tracts, block groups, and, where applicable, American Indian and Alaskan Native Areas and Hawaiian Home Lands. The SF1 data are available on the Bureau's web site and may be retrieved from American FactFinder as tables, lists, or maps. Users may also download a set of compressed ASCII files for each state via the Bureau's FTP server. There are over 8000 data items available for each geographic area. The full listing of these data items is available here as a downloadable compressed data base file named TABLES.ZIP. The uncompressed is in FoxPro data base file (dbf) format and may be imported to ACCESS, EXCEL, and other software formats. While all of this information is useful, the Office of Community Planning and Development has downloaded selected information for all states and areas and is making this information available on the CPD web pages. The tables and data items selected are those items used in the CDBG and HOME allocation formulas plus topics most pertinent to the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS), the Consolidated Plan, and similar overall economic and community development plans. The information is contained in five compressed (zipped) dbf tables for each state. When uncompressed the tables are ready for use with FoxPro and they can be imported into ACCESS, EXCEL, and other spreadsheet, GIS and database software. The data are at the block group summary level. The first two characters of the file name are the state abbreviation. The next two letters are BG for block group. Each record is labeled with the code and name of the city and county in which it is located so that the data can be summarized to higher-level geography. The last part of the file name describes the contents . The GEO file contains standard Census Bureau geographic identifiers for each block group, such as the metropolitan area code and congressional district code. The only data included in this table is total population and total housing units. POP1 and POP2 contain selected population variables and selected housing items are in the HU file. The MA05 table data is only for use by State CDBG grantees for the reporting of the racial composition of beneficiaries of Area Benefit activities. The complete package for a state consists of the dictionary file named TABLES, and the five data files for the state. The logical record number (LOGRECNO) links the records across tables.