Geographic Levels

Geographic Levels
Geographic Levels
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Geographic Levels
In this section:
Counties
Metropolitan and Micropolitan Areas
Offshore Areas
Economic Places
Puerto Rico Planning Regions
Regions and Divisions
States
ZIP Codes
Geographic Hierarchy for Island Areas
Counties
Counties are the primary political and administrative divisions of States.
Also recognized by the Census Bureau as county equivalents for economic census purposes are:
Boroughs, Census Areas, and certain Cities in Alaska
Districts and Islands in American Samoa
Election Districts in Guam
Independent Cities in Maryland, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia
Islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands
Municipalities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Municipios
in Puerto Rico
Parishes in Louisiana
The District of Columbia
Note: For the 2007 Economic Census, Kalawao County, HI, was combined with Maui County for statistical purposes. For the 2012 Economic Census, this county will be recognized as its own area.
Changes for the 2012 Economic Census
The 2012 Economic Census will now include 6 new or changed county equivalents in Alaska that were identified and adopted after the 2007 Economic Census. They are:
Hoonah-Angoon Census Area and Skagway Municipality (previously Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon Census Area)
Ketchikan Gateway Borough (comprised of part of this same county equivalent in 2007)
Petersburg Census Area and Wrangel City and Borough (previously Wrangel-Petersburg Census Area
Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area (comprised of part of the 2007 Ketchikan Gateway Borough plus all of Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan Census Area)
For more information on these county changes in Alaska (including reference maps) see the
Alaska GeoNotes page.
"Statewide" Counties
Up thru the 2011 County Business Patterns reports, businesses that were in a state but could not be assigned a specific county code were assigned COUNTY '000' ("Statewide") and were treated as county equivalents. For the 2012 Economic Census, Statewide is now treated as a Geographic Component of the State and is assigned GEO_COMP code = "S0".
Coding
Counties are identified by a 3-digit ANSI County code (COUNTY), which are sequenced alphabetically within a State, with independent cities following the listing of Counties within each State.
Metropolitan and Micropolitan Areas
The economic census provides data for the following types of statistical areas in the United States and Puerto Rico.
Metropolitan Statistical Areas
Metropolitan Statistical Areas have at least one urbanized area of 50,000 or more population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.
Micropolitan Statistical Areas
Micropolitan Statistical Areas have at least one urban cluster of at least 10,000 but less than 50,000 population, plus adjacent territory that has a high degree of social and economic integration with the core as measured by commuting ties.
Metropolitan Divisions
Metropolitan Divisions are subdivisions of Metropolitan Statistical Areas (into smaller groupings of counties) which include a single core with a population of 2.5 million or more.
Combined Statistical Areas
Combined Statistical Areas are combinations of adjacent Metropolitan and/or Micropolitan Statistical Areas that retain their own designations as Metropolitan or Micropolitan Statistical Areas within the larger area.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines the "employment interchange measure" as "the sum of the percentage of employed residents of the smaller entity who work in the larger entity and the percentage of the employment in the smaller entity that is accounted for by workers who reside in the larger entity."
Combinations for adjacent areas with an employment interchange of 25% or more are automatic.
Combinations for adjacent areas with an employment interchange of at least 15% but less than 25% are based on local opinion as expressed through the Congressional delegations.
These areas are defined in terms of whole counties (or equivalent entities) under the auspices of the OMB.
"Non-Metro" Areas
For the 2007 Economic Census, the sum of all counties in a state that were not part of a metro area were assigned a unique GEOTYPE code for Non-Metro Area. For the 2012 Economic Census, "Area Outside of Metro Areas" is now treated as a Geographic Component of the State and is assigned GEO_COMP code = "G0".
Boundary Changes
A significant number of Metropolitan, Micropolitan, and Combined Statistical Areas have changed boundaries between 2007 and 2012, and a number of new areas have been identified. For information on these metro area changes, see the
MetroNotes
Note:
Data is tabulated for Metropolitan and Micropolitan areas defined by the Office of Management and Budget as of January 1, 2012.
Coding
They are identified by a 3-digit ANSI Combined Statistical Area code (CSA), 5-digit ANSI Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Area code (MSA) and 5-digit ANSI Metropolitan Division code (MD), which are sequenced alphabetically within each parent and component Metropolitan area.
Note:
Metropolitan Area boundaries can change annually with changes in population and commuting patterns as documented in the American Community Survey, so the Metropolitan Areas published for the latest economic census may be different from those published previously.
Offshore Areas
Selected data for Mining (sector 21) present statistics for offshore areas. For the 2007 Economic Census, these areas were treated as state equivalents, and were assigned the following ANSI state codes:
All Offshore Areas (State code 80)
Atlantic Offshore Area (State code 81)
Gulf of Mexico Offshore Area (State code 82)
Pacific Offshore Area (State code 83)
For the 2012 Economic Census, Offshore Areas are treated as Geographic Components of the U.S., with GEO_COMP code = "R0" identifying the Offshore Area. The Geographic Component code GEO_COMP code = "R1" (Onshore Area) will not be published for the 2012 Economic Census.
Economic Places
The economic census provides data for the following types of statistical areas that are published as "Places" or "
Consolidated Cities
" in the United States and selected Island Areas.
Incorporated Places
For the 2012 Economic Census, incorporated places are legally defined as incorporated municipalities (cities, towns, villages and boroughs) with 2,500 or more inhabitants (from the 2012 Population Estimates) or jobs. For the 2007 Economic Census, this cutoff was 5,000 inhabitants (from the 2007 American Community Survey) or jobs. The change in criteria has resulted in more than 5,000 new places being recognized for the 2012 Economic Census. For a list of these new places by state, see the
Geography Changes page
Unincorporated Places
Unincorporated places are unincorporated county subdivisions with 2,500 or more inhabitants or jobs. (These areas are also known as Census Designated Places (CDP's).) As is the case for Incorporated Places, the criteria for these areas was also reduced from the 5,000 cutoff used for the 2007 Economic Census. For a list of these new places by state, see the
Geography Changes page
These are also known as Census Designated Places (CDP's).
Note:
These are new starting with the 2007 Economic Census, except for Hawaii (which included CDP's with 2,500 or more inhabitants in the 2002 and prior economic censuses, since it does not have any recognized incorporated places).
Independent Cities
These cities (in Maryland, Missouri, Nevada and Virginia) are independent of any county organization and constitute primary divisions of their States. They are treated as County and Place equivalents in the Economic Census.
Additional "place equivalents" in the Island Areas
These include "Counties" in American Samoa and towns in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Part Places
Part Places are the County parts of places that cross County boundaries. The Place total, as well as the County parts of the Place are both published in the economic census.
Balances of Counties
Balances of Counties include all municipalities, towns and townships that do not qualify using the criteria noted above as well as the remainders of Counties outside places. These areas were significantly impacted by the place criteria change implemented for the 2012 Economic Census. For a list of these new impacted places by state, see the
Geography Changes page
Coding
Places are identified by a 5-digit Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Place code (PLACE), which are sequenced alphabetically within a state.
Part place totals are identified with a county code of "000" and the appropriate place code.
Place parts are assigned the appropriate county code for each part.
"Balance of county" places are assigned a place code of "98xxx", where "xxx" is the ANSI County code.
Note:
With the change in the population cutoff and the addition of a jobs-based cutoff for Incorporated Places, plus the addition of CDPs, the places shown may be different from what was shown in prior economic censuses.
Consolidated Cities
Consolidated cities are consolidated governments, which consist of separately incorporated municipalities. They are identified by a 5-digit ANSI Consolidated City code (CONSCITY), which are sequenced alphabetically.
Puerto Rico Planning Regions
The 2007 Economic Census of Island Areas published data for Commercial Regions in Puerto Rico, which were defined as groupings of two or more
municipios
that collectively cover Puerto Rico. For the 2012 Economic Census of Island Areas, these areas have been replaced with Planning Regions. See
PR Planning Regions
for a comparison of these areas.
They are used in the Economic Census of Island Areas tables for Retail Trade and Service industries instead of Metropolitan Areas, but are not published for other sectors.
Coding
Puerto Rico Planning Regions are identified by a one-character Puerto Rico Planning Region code (PLANREG), which are sequenced alphabetically.
Regions and Divisions
Census Regions and Divisions are groupings of States that subdivide the United States.
view map [pdf] »
Each of the four census Regions is divided into two or more census Divisions:
Northeast Region
New England Division
: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont
Middle Atlantic Division
: New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania
Midwest Region
East North Central Division
: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin
West North Central Division
: Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota
South Region
South Atlantic Division
: Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia
East South Central Division
: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee
West South Central Division
: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas
West Region
Mountain Division
: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming
Pacific Division
: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington
Note:
Data from the economic census are summarized by Region for the Construction sector only. Data from the Commodity Flow Survey are published for both Regions and Divisions.
Coding
Census Regions and Divisions are identified by one-digit Census Region and Census Division codes (CENREG and CENDIV), which are sequenced alphabetically.
States
States are the primary governmental divisions of the United States. The Census Bureau also recognizes the District of Columbia as a State equivalent in the economic census. The Island Areas (which include Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) are also recognized as State equivalents in the
Economic Census of Island Areas
. Statistics for the Island Areas are not included in U.S. totals.
Coding
States are identified by a 2-digit numeric American National Standards Institute (ANSI) State code (ST), which are sequenced in alphabetical order by State name.
ZIP Codes
ZIP Codes are administrative entities of the U.S. Postal Service. As such:
They do not coincide with the Census Bureau's geographic or political areas.
They change according to postal requirements.
They do not have specific boundaries.
Their implied boundaries do not necessarily follow clearly identifiable physical features.
ZIP Codes are summarized in the economic census for individual 5-digit ZIP Codes in the Retail Trade sector and several of the Services sectors. These statistics are limited to a count of the establishments in each industry by sales/receipts/revenue-size range of establishments.
Note:
These ZIP Codes are reported by businesses or coded from addresses. They are not the ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) published in the Decennial Census.
Geographic Hierarchy for Island Areas
The level of geographic detail covered varies by island. The geographic structure for each island and sector, where applicable, is presented below.
American Samoa
State-equivalent (American Samoa)
County-equivalent (District)
Place-equivalent (County)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
State-equivalent (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands)
County-equivalent (Municipality)
Guam
State-equivalent (Guam)
County-equivalent (Election District)
Puerto Rico
1. Geographic Area Statistics
State-equivalent (Puerto Rico)
Planning Region (replaces the Commercial Region, used in 2007 and previous censuses)
2. Construction & Manufacturing
State-equivalent (Puerto Rico)
Combined Statistical Area (CSA)
Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)
Micropolitan Area
County-equivalent (Municipio)
U.S. Virgin Islands
State-equivalent (U.S. Virgin Islands)
County-equivalent (Island)
Place-equivalent (Town)
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Related Information
Guidance for Economic Census Geographies Users
Reference Maps
Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021