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Source: U.S. Census Bureau, data file from Geography Division
based on the TIGER/Geographic Identification Code Scheme (TIGER/GICS) computer file.
Land area updated every 10 years.
http://www.census.gov/mp/www/rom/msrom12d.html
or http://factfinder.census.gov. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Population and Housing.
Land area is based on current information in the TIGER® data base, calculated for use with
Census 2000. Definitions: Land area is the size, in square units (metric and nonmetric) of all
areas designated as land in the Census Bureau's national geographic (TIGER®)
database. Persons per square mile is the average number of inhabitants per
square mile of land
area. These figures are derived by dividing the total number of residents by the number
of square miles of land area in the specified geographic area. The land area
measurement is from the Census 2000. To determine population per square kilometer,
multiply the population per square mile by .3861. Scope and Methodology: TIGER is an acronym for the digital (computer-readable) geographic database that
automates the mapping and related geographic activities required to support the
Census Bureau's census and survey programs. The Census Bureau developed the
Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (TIGER) System to
automate the geographic support processes needed to meet the major geographic
needs of the 1990 census. Land area was calculated from the specific set of
boundaries recorded for the entity (in this case, counties, which were then aggregated
to metropolitan totals) in the Census Bureau's geographic database. Land area measurements are originally recorded as whole square meters (to convert
square meters to square kilometers, divide by 1,000,000; to convert square kilometers
to square miles, divide by 2.58999; to convert square meters to square miles, divide by
2,589,988). Land area measurements may disagree with the information displayed on U.S. Census
Bureau maps and in the TIGER® database because, for area measurement purposes,
features identified as "intermittent water" and "glacier" are reported as land area. The accuracy of any area measurement data is limited by the accuracy inherent in (1)
the location and shape of the various boundary information in the TIGER® database
and (2) rounding affecting the last digit in all operations that compute and/or sum the
area measurements. Identification of land is for statistical purposes and does not
necessarily reflect legal definitions. More Information: Land Area and Persons Per Square Mile
