GIS mapping files contain geographical information, which are spatial data encoded into a file format. 

Examples include:

• Shapefiles (Partnership, TIGER/Line, Cartographic Boundary)
• KML (Google)
• File Geodatabase (ESRI) files.

We use Partnership Shapefiles in our partner programs to share data with and capture data from our partners.

TIGER/Line Shapefiles do not include demographic data, but they do contain geographic entity codes (GEOIDs) that can be linked to the Census Bureau’s demographic data, available on data.census.gov.

KML is a file format used to display geographic data in a tool such as Google Earth or Google Maps. All cartographic boundary files are available in KML format starting in 2013.