HIFLD Open Census Block Groups

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census; United States Department of Homeland Security

Version:  View help for Version V1

Name File Type Size Last Modified
census-block-groups-3-geojson.zip application/zip 977 MB 10/16/2025 11:04:AM
census-block-groups-3-shapefile.zip application/zip 710 MB 09/15/2025 05:40:AM
metadata.xml application/xml 1.4 KB 08/25/2025 01:32:PM

Project Citation: 

United States Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census, and United States Department of Homeland Security. HIFLD Open Census Block Groups. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2025-10-16. https://doi.org/10.3886/E238937V1

Project Description

Project Title:  View help for Project Title HIFLD Open Census Block Groups
Summary:  View help for Summary Block Groups (BGs) are statistical divisions of census tracts, are generally defined to contain between 600 and 3,000 people, and are used to present sample data and control block numbering. A block group consists of clusters of blocks within the same census tract that have the same first digit of their four-digit census block number. For example, blocks 3001, 3002, 3003 . . . 3999 in census tract 1210.02 belong to BG 3 in that census tract. Most BGs were delineated by local participants in the Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program. The Census Bureau delineated BGs only where a local or tribal government declined to participate and a regional organization or State Data Center was not available to participate. A BG usually covers a contiguous area. Each census tract contains at least one BG and BGs are uniquely numbered within census tract. Within the standard census geographic hierarchy, BGs never cross county or census tract boundaries but may cross the boundaries of areas any other geographic entity. Tribal census tracts and tribal BGs are separate and unique geographic areas defined within federally recognized American Indian reservations and can cross state and county boundaries. The tribal census tracts and tribal block groups may be completely different from the census tracts and block groups defined by state and county.
Original Distribution URL:  View help for Original Distribution URL https://hifld-geoplatform.hub.arcgis.com/

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms HIFLD Open; GIS; boundaries; census; population; geography
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage United States
Time Period(s):  View help for Time Period(s) 8/28/2024 – 8/28/2024
Data Type(s):  View help for Data Type(s) geographic information system (GIS) data
Collection Notes:  View help for Collection Notes Archived from the HIFLD Open GIS data repository, which was deactivated on August 26, 2025


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Published Versions

V1 [2025-10-16]

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