Component products
US Census Boundaries consists of census boundary products:
- Census Boundaries
- Core Based Statistical Areas
- Combined Statistical Areas
To learn more about census geography, refer to the Census Geography chapter of this product guide.
Census Blocks
Census Blocks contains geographic data required to formulate demographic or geographic maps of census block boundaries in the United States. Refer to the Census Geography section of this product guide for more information about Census Blocks. Census Blocks are packaged separately and updated at an annual frequency due to the large size of this feature layer.
Census Boundaries
Census Boundaries contains the boundary files and associated point centroid files for the census layers for all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Additional boundary and centroid files are provided for states that border the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, or the Great Lakes. Refer to the Census Geography section of this product guide for more information about Census Boundaries. This includes States, Counties, MCDs, Places, Tracts, and Block Groups.
Core Based Statistical Areas
Core Based Statistical Areas contains the boundaries of Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) and MSA’s in the United States and Puerto Rico. Refer to Census Geography section of this product guide for more information about Core Based Statistical Areas.
Combined Statistical Areas
Combined Statistical Areas (CSAs) consist of two or more adjacent CBSAs that have significant employment interchanges. CBSAs that combine to create a CSA retain separate identities within the larger CSAs. Refer to the Census Geography section of this product guide for more information about Combined Statistical Areas.