their statistically equivalent entities, which include Puerto Rico, the Outlying Areas, tribal jurisdiction statistical areas (TJSAs), and tribal designated statistical areas (TDSAs), as well as the groupings of some or all of these entities into larger statistical units. Another important category comprises sub-State/subcounty entities—MCDs, CCDs, and UTs—referred to comprehensively as county subdivisions, and places. A third major category includes the chapters on the statistical tabulation units used to control and present data for small geographic areas—census tracts and BNAs, BGs, and census blocks. There also is a chapter on voting districts.
The fourth significant category of basic geographic areas includes those documenting settlement patterns or concentrations of population as defined by both the Census Bureau and other agencies. Geographic areas based on settlement patterns are discussed in the chapters on the urban and rural classification and metropolitan areas. The chapter on places (which describes incorporated places and CDPs) and the chapter on voting districts also overlap into this category.
There is a chapter on the Census Bureau’s area measurement statistics and its water classification scheme. The manual concludes with a glossary of the Census Bureau’s geographic terminology.
