Census designated places (CDPs) are statistical geographic entities representing closely settled, unincorporated communities that are locally recognized and identified by name. They are statistical equivalents of incorporated places, with the primary differences being the lack of both a legally defined boundary and an active, functioning governmental structure, chartered by the state and administered by elected officials. The purpose of CDPs is to provide meaningful statistics for well-known, unincorporated communities. The U.S. Census Bureau uses CDPs in the tabulation and presentation of data from the decennial census, the American Community Survey (ACS), the Economic Census, and the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics (LEHD) Program.Census Geography

A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages. CDPs are populated areas that lack separate municipal government, but which otherwise physically resemble incorporated places. CDPs are delineated solely to provide data for settled concentrations of population that are identifiable by name but are not legally incorporated under the laws of the state in which they are located. They include small rural communities, colonias located along the U.S. border with Mexico, and unincorporated resort and retirement communities. The boundaries of a CDP have no legal status. Thus, they may not always correspond with the local understanding of the area or community with the same name. However, criteria established for the 2010 Census require that a CDP name "be one that is recognized and used in daily communication by the residents of the community" (not "a name developed solely for planning or other purposes") and recommend that a CDP's boundaries be mapped based on the geographic extent associated with residents' use of the place name.

A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages. CDPs are populated areas that lack separate municipal government, but which otherwise physically resemble incorporated places. CDPs are delineated solely to provide data for settled concentrations of population that are identifiable by name but are not legally incorporated under the laws of the state in which they are located. They include small rural communities, colonias located along the U.S. border with Mexico, and unincorporated resort and retirement communities. The boundaries of a CDP have no legal status. Thus, they may not always correspond with the local understanding of the area or community with the same name. However, criteria established for the 2010 Census require that a CDP name "be one that is recognized and used in daily communication by the residents of the community" (not "a name developed solely for planning or other purposes") and recommend that a CDP's boundaries be mapped based on the geographic extent associated with residents' use of the place name.