Census 2000 Map Products
The Census Bureau has produced a wide variety of maps to support users of Census 2000 data. They range from maps showing the locations and boundaries of the smallest geographic entities for which the Census Bureau tabulates data, such as the Census 2000 Centers of Population map series, census tract and census block maps, to maps displaying Census 2000 results at the state and national levels. Census 2000 marks the first time that all Census Bureau maps are accessible to the public in digital form from the Census Bureau's Web site.

Census 2000 TIGER/Line^® Files
TIGER/Line^® files are the public version of the Census Bureau's TIGER^® data base of geographic features, such as roads and rivers, along with boundaries of legal and statistical entities. The Census Bureau uses the TIGER data base to create all its geographic products. This product is used by people outside the Census Bureau who have mapping and Geographic Information System (GIS) software to create their own maps and conduct geographic analysis of data.

Other Geographic Products
In addition to the map and TIGER/Line products described above, the Census Bureau also produces several specialized geographic products: digital boundary files for most census geographic entities; census block and census tract relationship files that identify census blocks and census tracts that changed geographically or numerically for Census 2000.

Changes to Geography for Census 2000
Changes were made to several geographic entities for which the Census Bureau tabulated data from Census 2000. The Census Bureau also created a new geographic entity, called a ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA^TM), in response to the public's need for census data that can be related to geographic approximations of the U.S. Postal Service's ZIP Codes.