This resource is a member of a series. The TIGER/Line geodatabase is an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) System (MTS). The MTS represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between parts, however, each TIGER/Line geodatabase layer is designed to stand alone as an independent data set, or they can be combined to cover the entire nation. The STFIPS column was added.
			
The primary legal divisions of most states are termed counties. In Louisiana, these divisions are known as parishes. In Alaska, which has no counties, the equivalent entities are the organized boroughs, city and boroughs, municipalities, and for the unorganized area, census areas. The latter are delineated cooperatively for statistical purposes by the state of Alaska and the Census Bureau. In four states (Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia), there are one or more incorporated places that are independent of any county organization and thus constitute primary divisions of their states. These incorporated places are known as independent cities and are treated as equivalent entities for purposes of data presentation. The District of Columbia and Guam have no primary divisions, and each area is considered an equivalent entity for purposes of data presentation. The Census Bureau treats the following entities as equivalents of counties for purposes of data presentation: Municipios in Puerto Rico, Districts and Islands in American Samoa, Municipalities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The entire area of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas is covered by counties or equivalent entities.

The boundaries for counties and equivalent entities are mostly as of January 1, 2025, as reported through the Census Bureau's Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS).

The Census Bureau releases extracts of the MAF/TIGER database in the form of TIGER/Line Geodatabase for others to use in geographic information systems (GIS) or for other geographic applications.

Unknown

NoneUse Constraints: The TIGER/Line Shapefile products are not copyrighted however TIGER/Line and Census TIGER are registered trademarks of the U.S. Census Bureau. These products are free to use in a product or publication, however acknowledgement must be given to the U.S. Census Bureau as the source.
The boundary information in the TIGER/Line Shapefiles are for statistical data collection and tabulation purposes only; their depiction and designation for statistical purposes does not constitute a determination of jurisdictional authority or rights of ownership or entitlement and they are not legal land descriptions. Coordinates in the TIGER/Line shapefiles have six implied decimal places, but the positional accuracy of these coordinates is not as great as the six decimal places suggest.

None

The Census Bureau performed automated tests to ensure the logical consistency and limits of the shapefiles and relationship files. These tests ensure preestablished rules of the MAF/TIGER System for data completeness and connectivity, geographic hierarchies and relationships, and standardization of attribution and codes were met.

See access and use constraints information.