| This article is part ofa series on |
| Political divisions of the United States |
|---|
 |
| First level |
| Second level |
| Third level |
| Fourth level |
| Other areas |
 United States portal |
Acensus-designated place (CDP)[1][2][3] is aconcentration of population defined by theUnited States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. The U.S. Census Bureau defines a CDP as a "statistical geography representing closely settled, unincorporated communities that are locally recognized and identified by name."[4]
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts ofincorporated places,[5] such as self-governingcities,towns, andvillages, for the purposes of gathering and correlating statistical data. CDPs are populated areas that generally include one officially designated but currentlyunincorporated community, for which the CDP is named, and may include surrounding inhabited countryside of varying dimensions and, occasionally, other, smaller unincorporated communities. CDPs include small rural communities,edge cities,colonias located along theMexico–United States border, and unincorporatedresorts andretirement communities and their environs. The boundaries of any CDP may change from decade to decade, and the Census Bureau may de-establish a CDP after a period of study, then re-establish it some decades later. Most unincorporated areas within the United States are not and have not been included in any CDP.[6]
The boundaries of a CDP have no legal status[1] and may not always correspond with the local understanding of the area or community with the same name.[citation needed] However, criteria established for the2010 census require that a CDP name "be one that is recognized and used in daily communication by the residents of the community" (not "a name developed solely for planning or other purposes") and recommend that a CDP's boundaries be mapped based on the geographic extent associated with inhabitants' regular use of the named place. There is no provision, however, that this name recognition be unanimous for all residents, or that all residents use the community for which the CDP is named for services provided therein. There is no mandatory correlation between CDP names or boundaries and those established for other human purposes, such as post office names or zones, political precincts, or school districts.[6]
Although census-designated places are not considered incorporated places, the Census Bureau includes CDPs in its city population list forHawaii because that state has no incorporated cities.[7] In addition, census city lists from 2007 includedArlington County, Virginia's CDP in the list with the incorporated places,[8] but since 2010, only the Urban Honolulu CDP, Hawaii, representing the historic core ofHonolulu, Hawaii, is shown in the city and town estimates.
The Census Bureau reported data for some unincorporated places as early as thefirst census in 1790 (for example,Louisville, Kentucky, which was not legally incorporated in Kentucky until 1828), though usage continued to develop through the1890 census, in which the census mixed unincorporated places with incorporated places in its products with "town" or "village" as its label.[2] This made it confusing to determine which of the "towns" were or were not incorporated.[2]
The1900 through1930 censuses did not report data for unincorporated places.[2]
For the1940 census, the Census Bureau compiled a separate report of unofficial, unincorporated communities of 500 or more people.[2] The Census Bureau officially defined this category as "unincorporated places" in the1950 census and used that term through the 1970 census.[2] For the 1950 census, these types of places were identified only outside "urbanized areas".[2] In1960, the Census Bureau also identified unincorporated places inside urbanized areas (except inNew England, whose political geography is based on theNew England town, and is distinctly different from other areas of the U.S.), but with a population of at least 10,000.[2] For the1970 census, the population threshold for "unincorporated places" in urbanized areas was reduced to 5,000.[2]
For the1980 census, the designation was changed to "census designated places"[2] and the designation was made available for places inside urbanized areas in New England.[2] For the1990 census, the population threshold for CDPs in urbanized areas was reduced to 2,500.[2] From 1950 through 1990, the Census Bureau specified other population requirements for unincorporated places or CDPs inAlaska,Puerto Rico, island areas, andNative American reservations. Minimum population criteria for CDPs were dropped with the2000 census.[3][6]
The Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP) allows designated participants to propose new CDPS as well as review and suggest modifications to the boundaries of existing CDPs.[9] The PSAP was to be offered to county and municipal planning agencies in 2008.
The boundaries of such places are typically defined in cooperation with local county or tribal officials, but are not fixed, and do not affect the status of local government or incorporation; the territories thus defined are strictly statistical entities. CDP boundaries may change from one census to the next to reflect changes in settlement patterns.[1][2] Further, as statistical entities, the boundaries of the CDP may not correspond with local understanding of the area with the same name. Recognized communities may be divided into two or more CDPs while on the other hand, two or more communities may be combined into one CDP. A CDP may also cover the unincorporated part of a named community, where the rest lies within an incorporated place.[citation needed]
CDPs are treated in the same way as incorporated entities and appear in the same category of census data as incorporated places. This distinguishes CDPs from other census classifications, such asminor civil divisions (MCDs), which are in a separate category.[2]
The population anddemographics of the CDP are included in the data of county subdivisions containing the CDP. Generally, a CDP shall not be defined within the boundaries of what the Census Bureau regards to be an incorporated city, village or borough.[2] However, the Census Bureau considers some towns in New England states,New Jersey andNew York as well as townships in some other states as MCDs, even though they areincorporated municipalities in those states. In such states, CDPs may be defined within such towns or spanning the boundaries of multiple towns.[2]
There are a number of reasons for the CDP designation:
Census Bureau criteria and guidelines specify that CDPs:[4]
