The VA_TOWN dataset is a feature class component of the Virginia Administrative Boundaries dataset from the Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN). VA_COUNTY represents the best available city and county boundary information to VGIN.VGIN initially sought to develop an improved locality and town boundary dataset in late 2013, spurred by response of the Virginia Administrative Boundaries Workgroup community. The feature class initially started from the locality boundaries from the Census TIGER dataset for Virginia. VGIN solicited input from localities in Virginia through the Road Centerlines data submission process as well as through public forums such as the Virginia Administrative Boundaries Workgroup and VGIN listservs. Data received were analyzed and incorporated into the VA_COUNTY feature class where locality data were a superior representation of the city or county boundary.

© Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN), and the Census and Localities and Towns submitting data to the project

This layer is a component of Feature classes representing locality (county, city, and town) boundaries in the Commonwealth of Virginia..

This layer presents the counties of the state of Virginia. It provides detailed boundaries that are consistent with the tract, block group, and state data sets and are effective at regional and state levels.

1. US Census Bureau Cartographic Boundary File of county boundaries for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

From the US Census Bureau: "The cartographic boundary files are simplified representations of selected geographic areas from the Census Bureau’s MAF/TIGER geographic database. These boundary files are specifically designed for small scale thematic mapping."

This layer presents the counties of the state of Virginia. The county boundaries are generalized to improve draw performance and be used effectively at a national level.

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. The primary legal divisions of most states are termed counties. In Louisiana, these divisions are known as parishes. In Alaska, which has no counties, the equivalent entities are the organized boroughs, city and boroughs, municipalities, and for the unorganized area, census areas. The latter are delineated cooperatively for statistical purposes by the State of Alaska and the Census Bureau. In four states (Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia), there are one or more incorporated places that are independent of any county organization and thus constitute primary divisions of their states. These incorporated places are known as independent cities and are treated as equivalent entities for purposes of data presentation. The District of Columbia and Guam have no primary divisions, and each area is considered an equivalent entity for purposes of data presentation. The Census Bureau treats the following entities as equivalents of counties for purposes of data presentation: Municipios in Puerto Rico, Districts and Islands in American Samoa, Municipalities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The entire area of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas is covered by counties or equivalent entities. The boundaries for counties and equivalent entities are as of January 1, 2017, primarily as reported through the Census Bureau's Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS).

These data were created as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Coastal Management's efforts to create an online mapping viewer called the Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer. It depicts potential sea level rise and its associated impacts on the nation's coastal areas. The purpose of the mapping viewer is to provide coastal managers and scientists with a preliminary look at sea level rise (slr) and coastal flooding impacts. The viewer is a screening-level tool that uses nationally consistent data sets and analyses. Data and maps provided can be used at several scales to help gauge trends and prioritize actions for different scenarios. The Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer may be accessed at: http://www.coast.noaa.gov/slr This metadata record describes the digital elevation model (DEM), which is a part of a series of DEMs produced for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Coastal Management's Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flooding Impacts Viewer described above. This DEM includes the best available data known to exist at the time of DEM creation that met project specifications, for mainland Virginia, this includes portions of the following counties: Alexandria, Arlington, Charles City, Chesapeake, Essex, Fairfax, Falls Church, Franklin City, Fredericksburg City, Gloucester, Hampton, Isle of Wight, James City, King and Queen, King George, King William, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, New Kent, Newport News, Norfolk, Northumberland, Poquoson City, Portsmouth, Prince George, Prince William, Richmond, Southampton, Stafford, Suffolk, Surry, Sussex, Virginia Beach, Westmoreland, Williamsburg, and York. This DEM also includes the District of Columbia. The DEM is derived from the following lidar: 1. New Kent, Charles City, Prince George Counties 2012 FEMA Middle Counties VA Lidar This data may be downloaded from the William and Mary Center for Geospatial Analysis: http://www.wm.edu/as/cga/VALIDAR/ The project report for this data may be accessed at: http://gisfiles.wm.edu/files/lidar/Middle_Counties/Metadata/Project_Report/Dewberry_ProjectReport_MiddleCounties.pdf Additional coverage provided by the Virginia Base Map Program (VBMP). This data is a digital terrain model initially generated by the Center for Geospatial Technology (CGIT) for the Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) using the mass points and break lines from 2002 VBMP aerial photography. 2. King William County 2011 FEMA King William County VA Lidar This data may be downloaded from the William and Mary Center for Geospatial Analysis: http://www.wm.edu/as/cga/VALIDAR/ The project report for this data may be accessed at: http://gisfiles.wm.edu/files/lidar/KingWilliamCo/KingWilliam_Metadata/Dewberry_ProjectReport_KingWilliam.pdf Additional coverage provided by the Virginia Base Map Program (VBMP). This data is a digital terrain model initially generated by the Center for Geospatial Technology (CGIT) for the Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) using the mass points and break lines from 2002 VBMP aerial photography. 3. Hampton and Portsmouth Cities 2011 FEMA Virginia Southern Cities Lidar This data may be downloaded from the William and Mary Center for Geospatial Analysis: http://www.wm.edu/as/cga/VALIDAR/ The project report for this data may be accessed at: http://gisfiles.wm.edu/files/lidar/SouthernCities/SouthernCities_Metadata/Dewberry_ProjectReport_SouthernCities.pdf 4. Franklin City and Southampton County 2011 FEMA Virginia Counties South Lidar This data may be downloaded from the William and Mary Center for Geospatial Analysis: http://www.wm.edu/as/cga/VALIDAR/ The project report for this data may be accessed at: http://gisfiles.wm.edu/files/lidar/VA_Counties_South/SouthernCo_Metadata/Dewberry_ProjectReport_Southampton.pdf 5. Fredericksburg City and Essex, King George, Prince William, Richmond, Stafford, Westmoreland Counties 2011 FEMA Virginia Counties North Lidar This data may be downloaded from the William and Mary Center for Geospatial Analysis: http://www.wm.edu/as/cga/VALIDAR/ The project report for this data may be accessed at: http://gisfiles.wm.edu/files/lidar/VA_Counties_North/NorthernCo_Metadata/Dewberry_ProjectReport_NorthernCounties.pdf 6. Northumberland, Middlesex, Lancaster, King and Queen, Gloucester, Mathews, James City, Williamsburg, Surry, Isle of Wight, Suffolk Counties 2010/2011 USGS Eleven County Coastal VA Lidar This data may be downloaded from the William and Mary Center for Geospatial Analysis: http://www.wm.edu/as/cga/VALIDAR/ The project report for this data may be accessed at: http://gisfiles.wm.edu/files/lidar/a11county/Metadata/PROJECT_REPORT/Final%20Project%20Report%20for%20USGS%20Virginia%20LiDAR_01312011.pdf Additional coverage for Surry and King and Queen counties provided by the Virginia Base Map Program (VBMP). This data is a digital terrain model initially generated by the Center for Geospatial Technology (CGIT) for the Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) using the mass points and break lines from 2002 VBMP aerial photography. 7. Alexandria, Arlington, and Falls Church Counties 2008 NGA Capital Region Lidar The lidar data is not publicly available, the data was provided by the State of Virginia as bare earth DEMs. 8. Fairfax County 2008 NGA Capital Region Lidar The lidar data is not publicly available, the data was provided by the State of Virginia as bare earth DEMs. 2012 FEMA Virginia Lidar This data may be downloaded from USGS EarthExplorer at: http://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ 9. York, Poquoson City, Newport News, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, and Sussex Counties Data provided by the Virginia Base Map Program (VBMP). This data is a digital terrain model initially generated by the Center for Geospatial Technology (CGIT) for the Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) using the mass points and break lines from 2002 VBMP aerial photography. 2010 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Lidar This data may be downloaded at: http://www.coast.noaa.gov/dataviewer/index.html?action=advsearch&qType=in&qFld=ID&qVal=1132 The metadata for this data may be accessed at: http://coast.noaa.gov/dataviewer/webfiles/metadata/usace2010_va_template.html 10.District of Columbia Washington, DC and Environs, 2008, 1/9 Arc second National Elevation Dataset (NED) This data may be downloaded at: http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ Hydrographic breaklines were delineated from LiDAR intensity imagery generated from the LiDAR datasets. The DEM is hydro flattened such that water elevations are less than or equal to 0 meters. The DEM is referenced vertically to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88) with vertical units of meters and horizontally to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83). The resolution of the DEM is approximately 10 meters.

This polygon shapefile contains county boundaries for the United States in 1950. Attributes include county and state names as well as FIPS identification numbers and county area estimates. Territories enumerated by the U.S. Census are also included. This layer is part of a collection of historical United States county boundary files (HUSCO), from each decade ranging from 1790-1999.This layer is intended for researchers, students, and policy makers for reference and mapping purposes, and may be used for basic applications such as viewing, querying, and map output production.

A dataset listing Virginia counties by population for 2024.

The 2023 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. School Districts are single-purpose administrative units within which local officials provide public educational services for the area's residents. The Census Bureau obtains the boundaries, names, local education agency codes, grade ranges, and school district levels for school districts from state officials for the primary purpose of providing the U.S. Department of Education with estimates of the number of children in poverty within each school district. This information serves as the basis for the Department of Education to determine the annual allocation of Title I funding to states and school districts. The cartographic boundary files include separate files for elementary, secondary and unified school districts. The generalized school district boundaries in this file are based on those in effect for the 2022-2023 school year, i.e., in operation as of January 1, 2023.

State Senate Districts: The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 Senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts.State Senate districts are maintained within the Administration Feature and is dissolved out weekly. Administration is a polygon feature consisting of the smallest statistical areas bounded by visible features such as roads, streams, railroad tracks, and mountain ridges, as well as by nonvisible boundaries such as jurisdictional limits, school district, public safety boundaries, voting precincts, and census blocks. This methodology allows for single stream editing to move coincidental boundaries across many aggregate datasets simultaneously. Administration is maintained though an ArcGIS topology class in conjunction with County Parcels and Zoning. The topology prevents self-intersection and gaps, while ensuring complete coverage amongst the participating features.

This data archive is a collection of GIS files and FGDC metadata prepared in 1995 for the Northampton County Planning Office by the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER project at the University of Virginia with support from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Original data sources include: 1:100,000-scale USGS digital line graph (DLG) hydrography and transportation data; 1:6,000-scale boundary, road, and railroad data for the town of Cape Charles from VDOT; 1:190,000-scale county-wide general soil map data and 1:15,540-scale detailed soil data for the Cape Charles area digitized from printed USDA soil survey maps; a land use and vegetation cover dataset (30 m. resolution) created by the VCRLTER derived from a 1993 Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite image; 1:20,000-scale plant association maps for 10 seaside barrier and marsh islands between Hog and Smith Islands, inclusive, prepared by Cheryl McCaffrey for TNC in 1975 and published in the Virginia Journal of Science in 1990; and 1993 colonial bird nesting site data collected by The Center for Conservation Biology (with partners The Nature Conservancy, College of William and Mary, University of Virginia, USFWS, VA-DCR, and VA-DGIF). Contents: HYDROGRAPHY Based on USGS 1:100,000 Digital Line Graph (DLG) data. Files: h100k_arc_u84 (streams, shorelines, etc.) and h100k_poly_u84 (marshes, mudflats, etc.). Note that the hydrographic data has been superseded by the more recent and more detailed USGS National Hydrography Dataset, available for the entire state of Virginia at "ftp://nhdftp.usgs.gov/DataSets/Staged/States/FileGDB/HighResolution/NHDH_VA_931v210.zip" (see http://nhd.usgs.gov/data.html for more information). A static 2013 version of the NHD data that includes shapefiles extracted from the original ESRI geodatabase format data and covering just the watersheds of the Eastern Shore of VA can also be found in the VCRLTER Data Catalog (dataset VCR14223). TRANSPORTATION Based on USGS 1:100,000 Digital Line Graph (DLG) data for the full county, and 1:6,000 VDOT data for the Cape Charles township. Files: 1:100k Transportation (lines) from USGS DLG data: rtf100k_arc_u84 (roads), rrf100k_arc_u84 (railroads), and mtf100k_arc_u84 (airports and utility transmission lines). Files: 1:6000 street, boundary, and rail line data for the town of Cape Charles, 1984, prepared by Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation Information Services (Division 1221 East Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219). Streets correct through December 31,1983. Georeferencing corrected in 2014 for shapefiles only, using same methodology described for VCR14218 dataset. File : town_u84_adj (town_arc_u84old is the older unadjusted data). Note that the transportation data has been superseded by more recent and more detailed data contained in dataset VCR14222 of the VCRLTER Data Catalog. The VCR14222 data contains 2013 U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line road and airfield data supplemented by railroad and transmission lines digitized from high resolution VGIN-VBMP 2013 aerial imagery and additionally has boat launch locations not available here. SOILS General soil map for Northampton county (1:190k), and detailed soil map for Cape Charles and Cheriton areas (1:15,540) from published the USDA Soil Conservation Service's 1989 "Soil Survey of Northampton County, Virginia" digitized at UVA by Ray Dukes Smith: soilorig_poly_u84 (uses original shorelines from source maps), soil_poly_u84 (substitutes shorelines from 1993 landcover classification data), and cc_soil_poly_u84 (Cape Charles & Cheriton detailed data, map sheets 13 and 14). Note that the soil data has been superseded by more recent and more detailed SSURGO soil data from the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which has seamless soil data from the 1:15,540 map series in tabular and GIS formats for the full county, as well as for all counties in VA and other states. A static 2013 version of the SSURGO data that contains merged data for Accomack and Northampton Counties can be found in the VCRLTER Data Catalog (dataset VCR14220). LANDUSE/LANDCOVER VCR Landuse and Vegetation Cover, 1993, created by Guofan Shao (VCRLTER) based on 30m resolution Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite imagery taken on July 28, 1993. Cropped to include just Northampton County. Landcover is divided into 5 classifications: (1) Forest or shrub, (2) Bare Land or Sand, (3) Planted Cropland, Grassland, or Upland Marsh, (4) Open Water, and (5) Low Salt Marsh. File = nhtm93s3_poly_u84. No spatial adjustments necessary. An outline of the county showing the shorelines based on the above 1993 TM classification is included as the shapefile:outline_poly_u84; however, no spatial adjustment has been applied. Note that a similar landuse/landcover classification based on the same... Visit https://dataone.org/datasets/knb-lter-vcr.223.2 for complete metadata about this dataset.

The 2022 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. The primary legal divisions of most states are termed counties. In Louisiana, these divisions are known as parishes. In Alaska, which has no counties, the equivalent entities are the organized boroughs, city and boroughs, municipalities, and for the unorganized area, census areas. The latter are delineated cooperatively for statistical purposes by the State of Alaska and the Census Bureau. In four states (Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia), there are one or more incorporated places that are independent of any county organization and thus constitute primary divisions of their states. These incorporated places are known as independent cities and are treated as equivalent entities for purposes of data presentation. The District of Columbia and Guam have no primary divisions, and each area is considered an equivalent entity for purposes of data presentation. The Census Bureau treats the following entities as equivalents of counties for purposes of data presentation: Municipios in Puerto Rico, Districts and Islands in American Samoa, Municipalities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The entire area of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas is covered by counties or equivalent entities. The generalized boundaries for counties and equivalent entities are based on those as of January 1, 2022, primarily as reported through the Census Bureau's Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS).

An ArcGIS OnLine map of National Historic Districts and National Historic Sites. Districts that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (National Historic designation) and the Virginia Landmarks Register (State designation). Districts may logically carry either both designations or the State designation alone. Both of these programs are administered by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources in conjunction with the City of Richmond Bureau of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation. Properties that fall within these districts may be entitled to various development incentives. Note that some districts overlap.

Public Law (P.L.) 94-171, enacted in 1975, directs the U.S. Census Bureau to make special preparations to provide redistricting data needed by the 50 states. It specifies that within a year following Census Day (by April 1, 2011), the Census Bureau must send the governor and legislature in each state the data they need to redraw districts for the United States Congress and state legislature. The Census 2010 Redistricting Data Program was set up to afford state officials an opportunity to define the small areas for which they wish to receive census population totals for redistricting purposes. Officials then could receive data for voting districts (e.g., election precincts, wards, state house and senate districts) in addition to standard census geographic areas, such as counties, cities, census tracts, and blocks. State participation in defining areas is voluntary and nonpartisan. There are four map types that support the 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law [P.L.] 94-171) program. Each of these large format map types is produced in Adobeâ s portable document format (PDF). These georeferenced PDF files were created in compliance with the OGC PDF Geo-registration Encoding Best Practice Version 2.2 (OGC project document reference number OGC 08-139r2). They will also be available through the U.S. Census Bureau Map Products web site. In addition to the maps, other geographic products include the State Redistricting Data (P.L.94-171) Shapefiles and the 2010 Census Block Assignment Files, which provide census block relationships to voting districts, state legislative districts, school districts, and congressional districts. All four map types are produced in a set for each county or statistically equivalent entity (school district maps for the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, and West Virginia are state-based). Each map set consists of one or more numbered parent sheets which cover the entire county. If necessary, separate inset sheets show areas of dense features at a larger scale. Inset areas are identified with letters. If the set has more than one parent sheet, an index sheet is also included which depicts the arrangement of the parent sheets and inset areas in relation to the county boundary and selected major features. All of the parent sheets within a county are produced at the same scale, while maps for adjacent counties may be at different scales. The objective of each map type is to use the smallest number of sheets while preserving legibility of geographic entity names and feature identifiers. The physical size of the county and the density of features also affect the number of parent sheets and insets.

The 2015 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. The records in this file allow users to map the parts of Urban Areas that overlap a particular county. 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. The primary legal divisions of most states are termed counties. In Louisiana, these divisions are known as parishes. In Alaska, which has no counties, the equivalent entities are the organized boroughs, city and boroughs, municipalities, and for the unorganized area, census areas. The latter are delineated cooperatively for statistical purposes by the State of Alaska and the Census Bureau. In four states (Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia), there are one or more incorporated places that are independent of any county organization and thus constitute primary divisions of their states. These incorporated places are known as independent cities and are treated as equivalent entities for purposes of data presentation. The District of Columbia and Guam have no primary divisions, and each area is considered an equivalent entity for purposes of data presentation. The Census Bureau treats the following entities as equivalents of counties for purposes of data presentation: Municipios in Puerto Rico, Districts and Islands in American Samoa, Municipalities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The entire area of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas is covered by counties or equivalent entities. The boundaries for counties and equivalent entities are as of January 1, 2010.

This dataset contains detailed USDA SSURGO soil information and mapped soil extents for the soils of Accomack and Northampton Counties on Virginia's Eastern Shore, including those areas of focused study by the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER project. This USDA soil data is collected and combined here to make it more accessible to VCRLTER researchers and students, in a more GIS-friendly format, and to supersede previous digitized versions of more generalized soil maps created by the VCRLTER and included as part of the 1995 VCRLTER-Northampton County GIS data archive (dataset VCR14219). Data was downloaded in Jan. 2014 and tabular data for both counties was imported into a MS Access database using the provided standard SSURGO US 2003 template. Spatial data for the two counties was merged together into a single ArcGIS shapefile and selected fields from the MAPUNIT and MUAGGATT tables were joined to the final shapefile's attribute table. Each polygon represents all or part of a SSURGO "mapunit", which may contain multiple component soils; usually very similar soils that grade together or else so heterogeneously mixed together at fine spatial scales to make mapping the component soils individually impractical. Also, each soil typically has multiple vertical soil horizons, each with its own distinct composition (mineral, textural, etc.) and other characteristics. Detailed information about component soils (including typical soil moisture, dry albedo, erodibility indices, taxonomic nomenclature, flooding and ponding characteristics, engineering, crop, forest, and habitat suitability indices and yield tables, and geomorphic descriptions) and component horizons (including horizon depths, grain size distributions, sand/silt/clay fractions, mineral and organic content, and pore space characteristics) is included in the MS Access database but NOT in the combined ArcGIS shapefile. Users interested in exploring or displaying component or horizon information may use the report and query forms within the MS Access database, or they may join selected database tables to the shapefile using the appropriate mukey, cokey, and chkey indices in a one-to-many join within a chosen GIS software.

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. The primary legal divisions of most states are termed counties. In Louisiana, these divisions are known as parishes. In Alaska, which has no counties, the equivalent entities are the organized boroughs, city and boroughs, municipalities, and for the unorganized area, census areas. The latter are delineated cooperatively for statistical purposes by the State of Alaska and the Census Bureau. In four states (Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia), there are one or more incorporated places that are independent of any county organization and thus constitute primary divisions of their states. These incorporated places are known as independent cities and are treated as equivalent entities for purposes of data presentation. The District of Columbia and Guam have no primary divisions, and each area is considered an equivalent entity for purposes of data presentation. The Census Bureau treats the following entities as equivalents of counties for purposes of data presentation: Municipios in Puerto Rico, Districts and Islands in American Samoa, Municipalities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The entire area of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas is covered by counties or equivalent entities. The generalized boundaries for counties and equivalent entities are based on those as of January 1, 2020, primarily as reported through the Census Bureau's Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS).

The 2019 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. The records in this file allow users to map the parts of Urban Areas that overlap a particular county. 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. The primary legal divisions of most states are termed counties. In Louisiana, these divisions are known as parishes. In Alaska, which has no counties, the equivalent entities are the organized boroughs, city and boroughs, municipalities, and for the unorganized area, census areas. The latter are delineated cooperatively for statistical purposes by the State of Alaska and the Census Bureau. In four states (Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia), there are one or more incorporated places that are independent of any county organization and thus constitute primary divisions of their states. These incorporated places are known as independent cities and are treated as equivalent entities for purposes of data presentation. The District of Columbia and Guam have no primary divisions, and each area is considered an equivalent entity for purposes of data presentation. The Census Bureau treats the following entities as equivalents of counties for purposes of data presentation: Municipios in Puerto Rico, Districts and Islands in American Samoa, Municipalities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The entire area of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas is covered by counties or equivalent entities. The generalized boundaries for counties and equivalent entities are as of January 1, 2010.

The 2022 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. The records in this file allow users to map the parts of the 118th Congressional Districts that overlap a particular county. Congressional districts are the 435 areas from which people are elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. After the apportionment of congressional seats among the states based on census population counts, each state 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 118th Congress is seated from January 2023 through December 2024. In Connecticut, Illinois, and New Hampshire, the Redistricting Data Program (RDP) participant did not define the CDs to cover all of the state or state equivalent area. In these areas with no CDs defined, the code "ZZ" has been assigned, which is treated as a single CD for purposes of data presentation. The cartographic boundary files for the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas (American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) each contain a single record for the non-voting delegate district in these areas. The generalzied boundaries of all other congressional districts are based on information provided to the Census Bureau by the states by August 31, 2022. The primary legal divisions of most states are termed counties. In Louisiana, these divisions are known as parishes. In Alaska, which has no counties, the equivalent entities are the organized boroughs, city and boroughs, municipalities, and for the unorganized area, census areas. The latter are delineated cooperatively for statistical purposes by the State of Alaska and the Census Bureau. In four states (Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia), there are one or more incorporated places that are independent of any county organization and thus constitute primary divisions of their states. These incorporated places are known as independent cities and are treated as equivalent entities for purposes of data presentation. The District of Columbia and Guam have no primary divisions, and each area is considered an equivalent entity for purposes of data presentation. The Census Bureau treats the following entities as equivalents of counties for purposes of data presentation: Municipios in Puerto Rico, Districts and Islands in American Samoa, Municipalities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The entire area of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas is covered by counties or equivalent entities. The generalized boundaries for counties and equivalent entities are based on those as of January 1, 2022, primarily as reported through the Census Bureau's Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS).