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Cartographic Boundary Files

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Cartographic Boundary Files

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. As of 2019, cartographic boundary files are available in shapefile, geodatabase, and Keyhole Markup Language (KML) format. For more details about these files, including their appropriate usage, please see our Cartographic Boundary File Description page.

You can find older files on the Cartographic Boundary File - Shapefiles and Cartographic Boundary File - KMLs pages. You can also download files directly from our FTP site.

 

2021
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
2021

To download files for ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) and Voting Districts, please visit the “2020” tab above.

To learn more about the filenames, please see:
pdf 2021 Entity Name Description [<1.0 MB]

User note on Congressional and State Legislative Districts in Geographic Products.

Cartographic Boundary Files by Scale

You can download these files one geographic layer at a time by visiting the “Cartographic Boundary Files by Geography” section below or you can download the entire dataset available for a given scale here:

1 : 500,000 (national)   shapefile [316 MB]  |  geodatabase [188 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)   shapefile [8.2 MB]  |  geodatabase [4.8 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)   shapefile [2.3 MB]  |  geodatabase [1.5 MB]

Cartographic Boundary Files by Geography

You can download files one geographic layer at a time for the entire nation or by state, when available, below.

American Indian Area Geographies

American Indian/Alaska Native Areas/Hawaiian Home Lands

1 : 500,000 (national)   shapefile [1.4 MB]  |  kml [1.1 MB ]

American Indian Tribal Subdivisions

1 : 500,000 (national)   shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB ]

Alaska Native Regional Corporations (ANRC)

1 : 500,000   shapefile [1.2 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

Tribal Block Groups

1 : 500,000 (national)   shapefile [1.6 MB]  |  kml [1.1 MB ]

Tribal Census Tracts

1 : 500,000 (national)   shapefile [1.2 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB ]

Census Block Groups

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [92.6 MB]

Census Tracts

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [56.6 MB]

Congressional Districts: 116th Congress

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [6.9 MB]  |  kml [5.0 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)  shapefile [1.6 MB]  |  kml [1.1 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

Consolidated Cities

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]

Counties

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [11.2 MB]  |  kml [8.2 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)  shapefile [2.6 MB]  |  kml [2.0 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

Counties within Congressional Districts: 116th Congress

1 : 500,000 (national)   shapefile [12.5 MB]  |  kml [8.9 MB]

County Subdivisions

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [38.5 MB]

Divisions

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [2.5 MB]  |  kml [1.9 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

Estates

1 : 500,000  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas and Related Statistical Areas

Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs):

1: 500,000 (national)  shapefile [4.4 MB]  |  kml [3.3 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)  shapefile [1.1 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

Combined Statistical Areas (CSAs):

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [1.7 MB]  |  kml [1.3 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

Metropolitan Divisions

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

New England City and Town Areas (NECTAs):

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

New England City and Town Area (NECTA) Divisions:

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

Combined New England City and Town Areas (CNECTAs):

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

Places

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [21.5 MB]

Regions

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [2.2 MB]  |  kml [1.7 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

School Districts

School Districts - Elementary

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [2.0 MB]

School Districts - Secondary

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [1.0 MB]

School Districts - Unified

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [23.2 MB]

State Legislative Districts

State Legislative Districts - Lower Chamber

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [17.2 MB]

State Legislative Districts - Upper Chamber

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [12.0 MB]

States

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [3.2 MB]  |  kml [2.5 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)  shapefile [1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

Subbarrios

1 : 500,000  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

United States Outline

1 : 5,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)  shapefile [<1.0 MB]  |  kml [<1.0 MB]

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