1990 Census Tract Outline Maps
The Census Bureau as recreated the 1990 Census Tract Outline maps and has made them
available on the web.
You may access the 1990 Census Tract Outline maps directly from the ftp site at:
http://ftp2.census.gov/geo/maps/trt1990/
Once we have updated the Map Products page (next week), they will be available from that
page:
http://www.census.gov/geo/www/maps/CP_MapProducts.htm
It is important to note that these PDF maps are re-creations of the 1990 Census Tract/BNA
outline maps and differ from the original 1990 Census Tract Outline Maps. Similar to the
2000 Census Tract outline maps, these maps are county-based and created for all 1990
Counties/County Equivalents in the United States. All maps utilize 1990 geography;
however, display features are based on what was used for Census 2000. These maps show the
boundaries and numbers of the 1990 census tracts/BNAs as well as the named features
underlying the boundaries. They also show the boundaries, names and codes for 1990
American Indian/Alaska Native areas, counties, county subdivisions, and places. The scale
of the maps will be optimized to keep the number of map sheets for each area to a minimum,
but the scale and number of sheets will vary by the area size of the county and the
complexity of the census tracts.
File naming convention:
State - stSS_statename (e.g. st12_Florida/);
County - SSCCC_countyname (e.g. 12099_PalmBeach/ st12_Florida/);
Sheet number/File - 90TSSCCC_(sheet number).pdf (e.g. 90T12009_001.pdf).
2002 TIGER/Line Files
I am attaching a PDF with the 2002 TIGER/Line format. As previously mentioned, there are
major structural changes in this layout. We have eliminated some record types (3 and 9)
and added others (B,E,T,U). We have rearranged the location of the data fields. We have
added a large number of reserved fields on some of the record types to account for fields
we expect to use in 2003 or later -- fields that will accommodate, for example, the new MA
delineations expected from OMB next year based on their new core-based statistical areas.
Fields are also set aside to accommodate information we expect to have in files that have
been processed through the MAF/TIGER Accuracy Improvement Program.
Also, please note that we have added a permanent zero-cell identification number to each
node (TZID). The TZID is similar in concept to the TLID and appears on RT I and the new
RT T. The possible range for the TZID, with the highest value used for that range,
appears in RT R.
One of the major difficulties data users had last decade was the mixing of
"current" state and county codes with the census tract and block numbers which
are uniquely identified only by the census state and county codes. For this reason, RT 1
continues to provide Census 2000 codes even though the distribution unit will be current
county. Thus, it is possible that to fully match all the Census 2000 block numbers in a
Census 2000 county a user will need to reference multiple "current" 2002
TIGER/Line files. An example of this will be Broomfield County, CO which was created last
year (after Census 2000) from parts of four other Colorado counties.
We expect that the 2002 TIGER/Line files will contain a small number of counties with
improved road coordinates based upon work that we have been doing in the past year.
Tentatively, we expect these counties to be included (list is subject to change):
10001 Kent, DE
10003 New Castle, DE
10005 Sussex, DE
12117 Seminole, FL
24015 Cecil, MD
24039 Somerset, MD
24041 Talbot, MD
24510 Baltimore City, MD
39011 Auglaize, OH
39033 Crawford, OH
39039 Defiance, OH
39041 Delaware, OH
39051 Fulton, OH
39069 Henry, OH
39109 Miami, OH
39137 Putnam, OH
39139 Richland, OH
39161 Van Wert, OH
39171 Williams, OH
46065 Hughes, SD
If you have any questions, please let me know. We are working on the full documentation,
but it will not be ready until the end of the summer. We expect the 2002 TIGER/Line files
to be available the last calendar quarter of this year.
Bob LaMacchia
Geography Division
rlamacchia(a)geo.census.govGeography Division