Cartographic Boundary Files

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Cartographic Boundary Files

As of May 19, 2023, all 1:500,000 scale layers have been replaced to incorporate the newly defined Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) and Urban Areas. All 1:500,000 files were recreated after their delineations so that all geographies continue to topologically align with one another. 

To learn more about the filenames, please see:

User note on Congressional and State Legislative Districts in Geographic Products and 2020 Census Public Use Microdata Area User Notes.

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 [407 MB]  |  geodatabase [298 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)   shapefile [8.2 MB]   |  geodatabase [4.9 MB]

1 : 20,000,000 (national)   shapefile [2.2 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 [1.5 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 [96 MB]

Census Tracts

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [59 MB]

Congressional Districts: 116th Congress

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [7.1 MB]  |  kml [5.2 MB]

1 : 5,000,000 (national)  shapefile [1.7 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 MB]  |  kml [8.5 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 [13 MB]  |  kml [9.2 MB]

County Subdivisions

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [40 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 [4.5 MB]  |  kml [3.4 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 [1.8 MB]  |  kml [1.4 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]

New England City and Town Area (NECTA) Divisions:

1 : 500,000 (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]

Places

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [22 MB]

Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs)

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [11.5 MB]

Regions

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [2.3 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 [2.1 MB]

School Districts - Secondary

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

School Districts - Unified

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [24 MB]

State Legislative Districts

State Legislative Districts - Lower Chamber

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [18 MB]

State Legislative Districts - Upper Chamber

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [12 MB]

States

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [3.3 MB]  |  kml [2.6 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]

Urban Areas

Please see the 2020 Census Urban Area Errata before using either file.

 

Original 2020 Census Urban Areas Delineation 

Use this delineation if you are mapping 2020 Census data.

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [9.2 MB]  |  kml [6.7 MB]

 

Corrected 2020 Census Urban Areas 

Use this delineation if you are mapping data for the 2022 data year and beyond.

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [9 MB]  |  kml [6.5 MB]

 

Voting Districts

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [80 MB]

ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs)

1 : 500,000 (national)  shapefile [64 MB]  |  kml [44 MB]

User note on Congressional and State Legislative Districts in Geographic Products and 2020 Census Public Use Microdata Area User Notes.

Page Last Revised - May 15, 2024