Description
The 2023 cartographic boundary KMLs 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.
Combined Statistical Areas (CSAs) are defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and consist of two or more adjacent Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) that have significant employment interchanges. The CBSAs that combine to create a CSA retain separate identities within the larger CSA. Because CSAs represent groupings of CBSAs, they should not be ranked or compared with individual CBSAs.
The generalized boundaries in this file are based on those defined by OMB based on the 2020 Census and published in 2023.
Resources
| Name | Format | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| cb_2023_us_csa_5m.kml.ea.iso.xml | XML | Entity and attribute file | Open resource |
| 2023_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_2023_us_csa_5m.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 |