Guidance for Geography Users

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Guidance for Geography Users

In this section you will find information to help you understand the products and references found in other sections. We describe the what, why, and how of Census geography.

Hierarchy Diagrams

Diagrams showing how levels of geography relate to one another.

About Geographic Areas

Detailed current and historical definitions, delineation information, lists and data files, and links to other products related to selected types of geography

Geographic Areas Reference Manual

Detailed explanations of the basic geographic entities from the 1990 Census.

TIGER Data Products Guide

Help determining which TIGER Product to use.

Understanding Geographic Identifiers (GEOIDs)

What geographic identifiers are, how they are formed and what they are used for plus details on the differences between FIPS and GNIS codes