116th Congress Block Equivalency Files

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116th Congress Block Equivalency Files

Written by:

The Redistricting and Voting Rights Data Office (contact rdo@census.gov or 301-763-4039)

Download the 116th Congressional District Block EquivalencyFiles

These Block Equivalency Files (BEFs) are the whole 2010 Census tabulation block representations of the 116th Congressional District plans as submitted by the states to the U.S. Census Bureau. The .ZIP file contains a national block equivalency file and individual state files for those states who reported changes during this collection cycle. The fields in these files should be imported as text to preserve leading zeros.

In instances where plans included split 2010 Census tabulation blocks, the Census Bureau requested that the state assign the whole block to one district for the purpose of tabulating data. These block equivalency files contain the whole block tabulation plan. The Census Bureau's maps and TIGER/Line shapefiles depict the correct location of the boundary (splits tabulation blocks). A listing of those blocks split in the states' official plans, and which district the population of these blocks is tabulated to, is also provided.

Only two states--Kentucky and Minnesota--split blocks in their 116th Congressional District plan. Kentucky did not have changes from their 113th Congressional District plan so these block splits carry over. The state of Minnesota provided splits in their 115th and 116th Congressional District plan. None of the Minnesota block splits changed population allocations as they were cosmetic in nature.

Related Information

116th Congressional District Block Equivalency Files [20.7 MB]

116th Congressional District Split Block Listings [< 1.0MB]

Notes

Congressional districts are identified by a 2-character numeric FIPS code and a 2-character numeric district code. This generates congressional districts that are numbered uniquely within state. The district code used by the Census Bureau for at large states is 00. The District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico have the district code of 98, which identifies their status with respect to representation in Congress:
- 01 to 53—Congressional district codes
- 00—At large (single district for state)
- 98—Nonvoting delegate
In Connecticut, Illinois, and Michigan the state participant did not assign the congressional districts to cover all of the state or equivalent area. The code “ZZ” has been assigned to areas with no congressional district defined (usually large water bodies). These unassigned areas are treated within state as a single congressional district for purposes of data presentation.