[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 219 (Tuesday, November 13, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56285-56287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-24566]



[[Page 56285]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

Bureau of the Census

[Docket Number 180926887-8887-01]


Census County Divisions (CCDs) and Equivalent Entities for the 
2020 Census--Final Criteria

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of final criteria and program implementation.

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SUMMARY: Census county divisions (CCDs) and equivalent entities are 
statistical geographic entities established cooperatively by the Census 
Bureau and officials of state and local governments in 21 states where 
minor civil divisions (MCDs) either do not exist or have been 
unsatisfactory for reporting statistical data. The primary goal of the 
CCD program has been to establish and maintain a set of subcounty units 
that have stable boundaries and recognizable names. The Census Bureau 
is publishing this notice in the Federal Register to announce final 
criteria and program implementation for defining CCDs for the 2020 
Census. In addition to CCDs, the program also encompasses the review 
and update of census tracts, block groups, and census designated places 
(CDPs).

DATES: This notice's final criteria will be effective on December 13, 
2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information on 
this program should be directed to the Geographic Standards, Criteria, 
and Quality Branch, Geography Division, U.S. Census Bureau, via email 
at [email protected] or telephone at 301-763-3056.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Census county divisions (CCDs) and equivalent entities are 
statistical geographic entities established cooperatively by the Census 
Bureau and officials of state and local governments in 21 states \1\ 
where minor civil divisions (MCDs) either do not exist or have been 
unsatisfactory for reporting statistical data. The primary goal of the 
CCD program has been to establish and maintain a set of subcounty \2\ 
units that have stable boundaries and recognizable names.
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    \1\ In Alaska, census subareas are county subdivisions 
equivalent to CCDs. For purposes of this notice, the term CCD also 
refers to census subareas in Alaska.
    \2\ For the Census Bureau's purposes, the term ``county'' 
includes parishes in Louisiana; boroughs, city and boroughs, 
municipalities, and census areas in Alaska; independent cities in 
Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia; districts and islands in 
American Samoa; districts in the U.S. Virgin Islands; municipalities 
in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; municipios in 
Puerto Rico; and the areas constituting the District of Columbia and 
Guam. This notice will refer to all these entities collectively as 
``counties''.
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    The Census Bureau is publishing this notice in the Federal Register 
to announce final criteria for defining CCDs for the 2020 Census. The 
Census Bureau did not receive any comments in response to proposed 
criteria published in the Federal Register on February 15, 2018 (83 FR 
6932). After publication of final criteria in the Federal Register, the 
Census Bureau will offer designated governments or organizations an 
opportunity to review and, if necessary, suggest updates to the 
boundaries and attributes of CCDs in their geographic area under the 
Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP). In addition to CCDs, the 
program also encompasses the review and update of census tracts, block 
groups, and census designated places (CDPs).

I. History

    When CCDs were introduced prior to the 1950 Census, few 
alternatives were available for the provision of statistical data 
related to relatively stable, subcounty geographic units. Census tracts 
were defined in only a subset of metropolitan area counties. MCDs 
existed in all counties, but in some states MCD boundaries changed 
frequently enough that they were not useful for comparing statistical 
data from one decade to another.
    For much of the period from the 1950 Census through the 1980 
Census, county subdivisions (MCDs and CCDs) provided the only subcounty 
unit of geography at which data users could obtain statistical data for 
complete coverage of counties nationwide. The introduction of block 
numbering areas (BNAs) in counties without census tracts for the 1990 
Census offered an alternate subcounty entity for which data could be 
tabulated. For Census 2000, the Census Bureau introduced census tracts 
nationwide (in many counties, BNAs were simply relabeled as ``census 
tracts''), increasing the dissemination of, and ability to analyze, 
data at the census tract level, and providing an alternative set of 
subcounty statistical geographic areas in each county in addition to 
MCDs and CCDs. Nevertheless, CCDs and MCDs remain useful for presenting 
subcounty statistics and, in less populous counties containing only one 
or two census tracts, can provide greater spatial resolution when 
analyzing the distribution of population and characteristics.

II. Summary of Comments Received in Response to the Proposed Criteria

    The Census Bureau's proposed criteria for the 2020 Census were 
unchanged from the final criteria used to delineate CCDs for the 2010 
Census. The Census Bureau did not receive any comments in response to 
the proposed criteria published in the Federal Register published on 
February 15, 2018 (83 FR 6932). As a result, the proposed criteria are 
adopted as final criteria with only minor clarifying changes and an 
update for a population figure used as an example.

III. General Principles and Criteria for CCDs for the 2020 Census

    The criteria outlined herein apply to the United States,\3\ Puerto 
Rico, and the Island Areas.\4\
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    \3\ For Census Bureau purposes, the United States typically 
refers to only the fifty states and the District of Columbia, and 
does not include the U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, the Island 
Areas, and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
    \4\ The Island Areas include the U.S. territories American 
Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and 
the U.S. Virgin Islands.
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A. General Principles

    1. The primary goal of the CCD program is to establish and maintain 
a set of subcounty units that have stable boundaries and recognizable 
names. The boundaries of CCDs usually coincide with visible features or 
stable, significant legal boundaries, such as the boundary of an 
American Indian reservation (AIR), federally managed land, or conjoint 
incorporated places. CCDs have no legal status as statistical 
geographic entities and are defined only for the tabulation and 
presentation of statistical data.
    2. A CCD usually represents a single contiguous area consisting of 
one or more communities, economic centers, or, in some instances, major 
land uses that are relatively compact in shape.
    3. A CCD should have a relationship to existing census tracts, 
either encompassing one or more census tracts or having two or more 
CCDs nest within a single census tract. The boundaries of a CCD, or 
combination of nested CCDs, align with census tract boundaries. Note 
that a county with a population less than the optimum population for a 
census tract (less than 4,000 people) may contain more CCDs than census 
tracts. For example, McCone County, Montana, which has a 2017 estimated 
population of 1,718, contains only one

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census tract, but is divided into two CCDs.
    4. Since the 1950s, the Census Bureau has worked with state and 
local officials to replace MCDs with CCDs for the collection, 
presentation, and analysis of Census Bureau data, particularly in 
states in which MCDs do not provide governmental services and 
functions, and in which MCD boundaries tend to change between decennial 
censuses. For the 2020 Census, CCDs are defined in 21 states: Alabama, 
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, 
Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, 
South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. North Dakota 
adopted CCDs for use in tabulating and presenting data from the 1970 
Census. Following the 1970 Census, North Dakota requested that the 
Census Bureau again use MCDs to tabulate and present statistical data. 
For the 2010 Census, Tennessee requested that the Census Bureau replace 
its CCDs with county commissioner districts, a type of legal, 
administrative MCD.

B. Criteria

    CCDs should (1) have community orientation, (2) have visible and/or 
stable boundaries, (3) maintain relationships with census tract 
boundaries, and (4) have recognizable names.
1. Community Orientation
    Each CCD should center on one or more places and encompass 
additional surrounding territory that together form a cohesive 
community area. The definition of community should take into account 
factors, such as production, marketing, consumption, and the 
integrating factor of local institutions.
    The locality on which a CCD is centered usually is an incorporated 
place or an unincorporated community, which might be identified as a 
CDP. In some cases, the CCD may center on a major area of significantly 
different topography, land use, or ownership, such as a large military 
installation or AIR. A CCD should always comprise a reasonably compact, 
continuous land area, generally with road access to all areas within 
the CCD.
2. Visible and/or Stable Boundaries
    To make the location of CCD boundaries less ambiguous, the 
boundaries should follow, wherever possible, visible and identifiable 
features. The use of visible features makes it easier to locate and 
identify CCD boundaries over time, as the locations of most visible 
features in the landscape change infrequently, making data collection 
easier and more reliable, while reducing the possibility for data 
allocation errors. The Census Bureau requires that CCDs follow state 
and county boundaries, conform to census tract boundaries, and allows 
CCDs to follow the boundaries of federally recognized AIRs, and 
federal, state, or locally managed land.
    The following features are acceptable:
    a. County boundaries (always a CCD boundary);
    b. Census tract boundaries, which usually follow visible, 
perennial, natural, and cultural features, such as roads, rivers, 
canals, railroads, or above-ground, high-tension power lines;
    c. Legally defined, federally recognized AIR boundaries;
    d. The boundaries of federal, state, or locally managed land, such 
as national parks, national monuments, national forests, other types of 
large parks or forests, airports, marine ports, prisons, military 
installations, or other large facilities;
    e. Conjoint city limits (in certain situations, such as city limits 
that change infrequently); and,
    f. When the above types of features are not available for use as 
CCD boundaries, the Census Bureau may, at its discretion, approve other 
nonstandard, visible features, such as ridge lines, above-ground 
pipelines, streams, or fence lines. The Census Bureau may also accept, 
on a case-by-case basis, the boundaries of selected nonstandard and 
potentially nonvisible features, such as the boundaries of cemeteries, 
golf courses, glaciers, or the straight-line extensions of visible 
features and other lines-of-sight.
3. Census Tract Boundaries and Population Size
    Whenever possible, a CCD should encompass one or more contiguous 
census tracts, or multiple CCDs should constitute a single census 
tract. Therefore, CCD boundaries should be consistent with census tract 
boundaries. Population size is not as important a consideration with 
CCDs as it is with census tracts. For CCDs that do not meet the 
thresholds for a census tract, the Census Bureau encourages creating 
one or more block groups within a census tract that encompass a CCD. 
Historically, CCDs have ranged from a few hundred people (in selected 
situations) to more than one million. However, data quality and 
availability may be factors that local governments and planners should 
consider in defining statistical geographic areas. As a general rule, 
period estimates of demographic characteristics of small population 
areas from the American Community Survey will be subject to higher 
variances than comparable period estimates for areas with larger 
populations. In addition, the Census Bureau's disclosure rules may have 
the effect of restricting the availability and amount of data for areas 
with small populations.
4. Name Identification
    a. The names of existing CCDs shall not be changed unless a 
compelling reason is provided, such as when the name from which the CCD 
was derived has changed, as in the case of Bainbridge Island, 
Washington, when the name of the city (Winslow) changed;
    b. A new CCD usually is named after the largest population center 
or historically central place within it (e.g., Taos, Hobbs, or Zuni 
Pueblo, New Mexico);
    c. Where a CCD contains multiple centers with relatively equal 
importance, a CCD name may represent the two or three centers (e.g., 
Mount Pleasant-Moroni, Utah);
    d. A CCD may be named after the AIR (e.g., Hualapai, Arizona or Nez 
Perce, Idaho) or a prominent land use area (e.g., Federal Reservation, 
Washington or Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming) in which it is 
significantly or wholly located;
    e. A CCD may be named after a prominent physical feature (e.g., 
Mount Rainier, Washington) or a distinctive region within the county 
(e.g., Death Valley, California; Everglades or Lower Keys, Florida); 
and,
    f. If there is no clear cultural focus or topographic name that can 
be applied, a CCD name shall consist of the county name and a compass 
direction to indicate the portion of the county in the CCD or a place 
name and a compass direction to give the CCD location relative to the 
place. The directional indicator precedes a county name (e.g., 
Northeast Cobb, Georgia). If a place name is used, the directional 
indicator follows it (e.g., Del Rio Northwest, Texas).
    In all cases, the objective is to clearly identify the extent of 
the CCD by means of an area name since CCD names always should be 
meaningful to data users. Any name used as a CCD name must also be 
recognized by the Board on Geographic Names for federal use and appear 
in the Geographic Names Information System maintained by the U.S. 
Geological Survey. This includes any individual names combined to make 
a hyphenated CCD name.

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III. Definitions of Key Terms

    American Indian reservation (AIR)-- An area of land with boundaries 
established by final treaty, statute, executive order, and/or court 
order and over which a federally recognized American Indian tribal 
government has governmental authority. Along with ``reservation,'' 
designations such as colonies, communities, pueblos, rancherias, and 
reserves apply to AIRs.
    Block group--A statistical subdivision of a census tract consisting 
of all census blocks whose numbers begin with the same digit in a 
census tract. A block group is the smallest geographic entity for which 
the Census Bureau normally tabulates sample data.
    Census block--A geographic area bounded by visible and/or invisible 
features shown on a map prepared by the Census Bureau. A block is the 
smallest geographic entity for which the Census Bureau tabulates and 
publishes decennial census data.
    Census county division (CCD)--Areas delineated by the Census Bureau 
in cooperation with state, tribal, and local officials for statistical 
purposes. CCDs have no legal function and are not governmental units. 
CCD boundaries usually follow visible features and usually coincide 
with census tract boundaries. The name of each CCD is based on a place, 
country, or well-known local name that identify its location.
    Census designated place (CDP)--A statistical geographic entity 
equivalent to an incorporated place with a concentration of population, 
housing, and commercial and nonresidential structures that is 
identifiable by name, but is not within an incorporated place.
    Census tract--A small, relatively permanent statistical geographic 
division of a county defined for the tabulation and publication of 
Census Bureau data. The primary goal of census tracts is to provide a 
set of nationally consistent, relatively small, statistical geographic 
units, with stable boundaries that facilitate analysis of data across 
time and between decennial censuses.
    Conjoint--A description of a boundary line shared by two adjacent 
geographic entities.
    Contiguous--A description of areas sharing common boundary lines, 
more than a single point, such that the areas, when combined, form a 
single piece of territory. Noncontiguous areas form disjoint pieces.
    Federally managed land--Territory that is federally owned and/or 
administered by an agency of the U.S. federal government, such as the 
National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, or Department of 
Defense.
    Incorporated place--A type of governmental unit, incorporated under 
state law as a city, town (except in New England, New York, and 
Wisconsin), borough (except in Alaska and New York), or village, 
generally to provide governmental services for a concentration of 
people within legally prescribed boundaries.
    Minor civil division (MCD)--The primary governmental or 
administrative division of a county in 28 states and the Island Areas 
having legal boundaries, names, and descriptions. The MCDs represent 
many different types of legal entities with a wide variety of 
characteristics, powers, and functions depending on the state and type 
of MCD. In some states, some or all of the incorporated places also 
constitute MCDs.
    Nonvisible feature--A map feature that is not visible on the ground 
and in imagery such as a city or county boundary through space, a 
property line, or line-of-sight extension of a road.
    Visible feature--A map feature that can be seen on the ground and 
in imagery, such as a road, railroad track, major above-ground 
transmission line or pipeline, river, stream, shoreline, fence, sharply 
defined mountain ridge, or cliff. A nonstandard visible feature is a 
feature that may not be clearly defined on the ground (such as a 
ridge), may be seasonal (such as an intermittent stream), or may be 
relatively impermanent (such as a fence). The Census Bureau generally 
requests verification that nonstandard features used as boundaries for 
the PSAP geographic areas pose no problem in their location during 
field work.

    Dated: October 30, 2018.
Ron S. Jarmin,
Deputy Director, Performing the Non-Exclusive Functions and Duties of 
the Director, Bureau of the Census.
[FR Doc. 2018-24566 Filed 11-9-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-07-P