Federal Communications Commission	"FCC/DA  XX-XXX"



DA 23-74
Released:  January 26, 2023

AUDIO DIVISION ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY OF 2020 DECENNIAL CENSUS DATA

The Audio Division, Media Bureau announces the availability of the most recent 2020 U.S. Census Bureau (U.S. Census) decennial census block, population, and cartographic boundary data.  The U.S. Census releases census block, population and cartographic boundary data following each decennial census.  Effective April 1, 2023, petitioners/applicants submitting filings to the Audio Division This requirement only applies to filings submitted to the Audio Division.  The Video Division will issue a separate Public Notice at a later date to announce the use of 2020 Census data for television station filings.
 must employ the most recent 2020 U.S. Census data available when determining a particular community’s population in addition to the population served and overlap of service areas to communities and Urbanized Areas. See e.g. 47 CFR § 73.7000 “Population.”

 

In the 2010 U.S. Census, “Urbanized Areas” are defined as a subset of urban areas that contain 50,000 or more people whereas “Urban Clusters” are defined as urban areas that have a population of at least 2,500 people and less than 50,000 people.  In the 2020 U.S. Census, the distinction between "Urbanized Areas" and "Urban Clusters" are eliminated.  Each user must define thresholds within the urban areas for its own purposes. See 2020 Census Qualifying Urban Areas and Final Criteria Clarifications, 87 FR 80114 (published Dec. 29, 2022).

  Accordingly, we will continue to define an “Urbanized Area” as an urban area that contains 50,000 or more people.  In the 2020 U.S. Census, there are 511 such “Urbanized Areas,” which is a net increase of 12 from the 499 “Urbanized Areas” in the 2010 Census.  TIGER Shapefiles for census blocks, community boundaries, and urban areas are now all available for download from the Census Bureau at https://www2.census.gov/geo/tiger/TIGER_RD18/LAYER. The subfolder UAC20 contains a national shapefile for urban areas, and the subfolder TABBLOCK20 contains state-by-state shapefiles for the tabulation blocks used in the 2020 Census.
 


For additional information, please contact John Gabrysch (John.Gabrysch@fcc.gov), Rolanda F. Smith, (Rolanda-Faye.Smith@fcc.gov), or Nazifa Sawez (Nazifa.Sawez@fcc.gov) of the Audio Division.  

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