2010 Census Geographies

Every ten years, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a count and collects information on the U.S. population. As part of this process, the Census Bureau creates a series of nested geographies for proper sampling and counting. As of the 2010 census, the City of Boston, MA contains 7,288 census blocks (defined as any piece of land bounded by streets or water on all sides, and not divided by any streets or water). These census blocks are nested within 558 census block groups, which are themselves nested within 178 census tracts. These geographies are permanent for one decade and are meant to remain semi-permanent from census to census. BARI often uses census geographies as units of analyses in our research since they act as approximations of neighborhoods. Information pertaining to these files can be found in the most recent documentation for the "Geographical Infrastructure for the City of Boston." Note: Though these data are from the 2010 census, they are the most recent version of these geographies at the time of the release of this version of the Geographical Infrastructure for the City of Boston.