Description
The 2022 cartographic boundary shapefiles are simplified representations of selected geographic areas from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). These boundary files are specifically designed for small-scale thematic mapping. When possible, generalization is performed with the intent to maintain the hierarchical relationships among geographies and to maintain the alignment of geographies within a file set for a given year. Geographic areas may not align with the same areas from another year. Some geographies are available as nation-based files while others are available only as state-based files.
Regions are four groupings of states (Northeast, South, Midwest, and West) established by the Census Bureau in 1942 for the presentation of census data.
Resources
| Name | Format | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| cb_2022_us_region_500k.shp.ea.iso.xml | XML | Entity and attribute file | Open resource |
| 2022_file_name_def.pdf | The file naming convention for the cartographic boundary files. | Open resource | |
| description.pdf | General description of the cartographic boundary files and their appropriate use. | Open resource | |
| cb_2022_us_region_500k.zip | ZIP | The cartographic boundary files are simplified representations of selected geographic areas specifically designed for small scale thematic mapping. These files contain simplified extracts of selected geographic areas from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File/Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) database. | Open resource |