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Boundary File Availability
See what geographies by decade are available.
NHGIS provides boundary files for a number of census geographic units. The following table shows the decades for which boundary files are available for different geographic units. Please note that the extent of a geographic unit may change from year to year. For example, census tracts only existed for eight cities in 1910. Whereas in 1990 census tracts covered the entire US. For more detailed information about the availability of a specific geographic unit, click on the column heading.
| 2000 | 1990 | 1980 |
1970 | 1960 | 1950 | 1940 | 1930 | 1920 |
1910 | 1790-1900 | |
| States |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
| County |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
| Census Tracts |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
x |
|
| MSA/ CMSA |
x |
x |
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| PMSA | x |
x |
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| NECMA | x |
x |
|||||||||
| SMSA | x |
x |
x |
x |
|||||||
| SCSA | x |
||||||||||
| AIA/ ANA/ HHL |
x |
x |
|||||||||
| BG | x |
x |
|||||||||
| Block | x |
x |
|||||||||
| CCD | x |
x |
|||||||||
| MCD | x |
||||||||||
| Place | x |
x |
x |
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| Trust | x |
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| UA | x |
x |
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| VTD | x |
x |
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| ZCTA |
x |
||||||||||
| CD |
x* |
x* |
- MSA/CMSA - Metropolitan Statistical Area/Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area
- PMSA - Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area
- NECMA - New England County Metropolitan Area
- SMSA - Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area
- SCSA - Standard Consolidated Statistical Area
- AIA/ANA/HHL - American Indian Area, Alaska Native Area, Hawaiian Home Land
- BG - Block Group
- CCD - County Subdivision
- MCD - Minor Civil Division
- Trust - Trust Land
- UA - Urbanized Area
- VTD - Voting District
- ZCTA - Zip Code Tabulation Area
- CD - Congressional District
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