This city boundary shapefile was extracted from Esri Data and Maps for ArcGIS 2014 - U.S. Populated Place Areas. This shapefile can be joined to 500 Cities city-level Data (GIS Friendly Format) in a geographic information system (GIS) to make city-level maps.

2014, 2013. Data were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. 500 cities project census tract-level data in GIS-friendly format can be joined with census tract spatial data (https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities/500-Cities-Census-Tract-Boundaries/x7zy-2xmx) in a geographic information system (GIS) to produce maps of 27 measures at the census tract level.

2015, 2014. Data were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. 500 cities project census tract-level data in GIS-friendly format can be joined with census tract spatial data (https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities/500-Cities-Census-Tract-Boundaries/x7zy-2xmx) in a geographic information system (GIS) to produce maps of 27 measures at the census tract level. Because some questions are only asked every other year in the BRFSS, there are 7 measures in this 2017 release from the 2014 BRFSS that were the same as the 2016 release.

2016, 2015. Data were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. 500 cities project census tract-level data in GIS-friendly format can be joined with census tract spatial data (https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities/500-Cities-Census-Tract-Boundaries/x7zy-2xmx) in a geographic information system (GIS) to produce maps of 27 measures at the census tract level. There are 4 measures (high blood pressure, taking high blood pressure medication, high cholesterol, cholesterol screening) in this 2018 release from the 2015 BRFSS that were the same as the 2017 release.

The 2023 cartographic boundary shapefiles are simplified representations of selected geographic areas from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). These boundary files are specifically designed for small-scale thematic mapping. When possible, generalization is performed with the intent to maintain the hierarchical relationships among geographies and to maintain the alignment of geographies within a file set for a given year. Geographic areas may not align with the same areas from another year. Some geographies are available as nation-based files while others are available only as state-based files. A consolidated city is a unit of local government for which the functions of an incorporated place and its county or minor civil division (MCD) have merged. This action results in both the primary incorporated place and the county or MCD continuing to exist as legal entities, even though the county or MCD performs few or no governmental functions and has few or no elected officials. Where this occurs, and where one or more other incorporated places in the county or MCD continue to function as separate governments, even though they have been included in the consolidated government, the primary incorporated place is referred to as a consolidated city. The Census Bureau classifies the separately incorporated places within the consolidated city as place entities and creates a separate place (balance) record for the portion of the consolidated city not within any other place. The generalized boundaries of the consolidated cities in this file are based on those as of January 1, 2023, as reported through the Census Bureau's Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS).

The 2024 cartographic boundary shapefiles are simplified representations of selected geographic areas from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) Database (MTDB). These boundary files are specifically designed for small-scale thematic mapping. When possible, generalization is performed with the intent to maintain the hierarchical relationships among geographies and to maintain the alignment of geographies within a file set for a given year. Geographic areas may not align with the same areas from another year. Some geographies are available as nation-based files while others are available only as state-based files. Census tracts are small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county or equivalent entity, and were defined by local participants as part of the 2020 Census Participant Statistical Areas Program. The Census Bureau delineated the census tracts in situations where no local participant existed or where all the potential participants declined to participate. The primary purpose of census tracts is to provide a stable set of geographic units for the presentation of census data and comparison back to previous decennial censuses. Census tracts generally have a population size between 1,200 and 8,000 people, with an optimum size of 4,000 people. When first delineated, census tracts were designed to be homogeneous with respect to population characteristics, economic status, and living conditions. The spatial size of census tracts varies widely depending on the density of settlement. Physical changes in street patterns caused by highway construction, new development, and so forth, may require boundary revisions. In addition, census tracts occasionally are split due to population growth, or combined as a result of substantial population decline. Census tract boundaries generally follow visible and identifiable features. They may follow legal boundaries such as minor civil division (MCD) or incorporated place boundaries in some states and situations to allow for census tract-to-governmental unit relationships where the governmental boundaries tend to remain unchanged between censuses. State and county boundaries always are census tract boundaries in the standard census geographic hierarchy. In a few rare instances, a census tract may consist of noncontiguous areas. These noncontiguous areas may occur where the census tracts are coextensive with all or parts of legal entities that are themselves noncontiguous. For the 2010 Census and beyond, the census tract code range of 9400 through 9499 was enforced for census tracts that include a majority American Indian population according to Census 2000 data and/or their area was primarily covered by federally recognized American Indian reservations and/or off-reservation trust lands; the code range 9800 through 9899 was enforced for those census tracts that contained little or no population and represented a relatively large special land use area such as a National Park, military installation, or a business/industrial park; and the code range 9900 through 9998 was enforced for those census tracts that contained only water area, no land area.

2015, 2014. Data were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. 500 cities project census city-level data in GIS-friendly format can be joined with city spatial data (https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities/500-Cities-City-Boundaries/n44h-hy2j) in a geographic information system (GIS) to produce maps of 27 measures at the city-level. Because some questions are only asked every other year in the BRFSS, there are 7 measures in this 2017 release from the 2014 BRFSS that were the same as the 2016 release.

2016, 2015. Data were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. 500 cities project city-level data in GIS-friendly format can be joined with city spatial data (https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities/500-Cities-City-Boundaries/n44h-hy2j) in a geographic information system (GIS) to produce maps of 27 measures at the city-level. There are 4 measures (high blood pressure, taking high blood pressure medication, high cholesterol, cholesterol screening) in this 2018 release from the 2015 BRFSS that were the same as the 2017 release.

2017, 2016. Data were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Population Health, Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch. The project was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) in conjunction with the CDC Foundation. 500 cities project city-level data in GIS-friendly format can be joined with city spatial data (https://chronicdata.cdc.gov/500-Cities/500-Cities-City-Boundaries/n44h-hy2j) in a geographic information system (GIS) to produce maps of 27 measures at the city-level. There are 7 measures (all teeth lost, dental visits, mammograms, Pap tests, colorectal cancer screening, core preventive services among older adults, and sleep less than 7 hours) in this 2019 release from the 2016 BRFSS that were the same as the 2018 release.