Upper Chamber State Legislative District Boundaries for the United States

U.S. Census Bureau provides TIGER/Line shapefiles for State Legislative District Upper Chambers (SLDU) across the United States. These boundaries reflect state-submitted information as of May 31, 2024, with updates noted for states like Georgia, Minnesota, and Ohio. The data is designed as a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps.

Use Cases

• Analyze SLDU boundary changes in states like Georgia and Washington between legislative sessions.
• Map the spatial distribution of the 'ZZZ' code assigned to areas where SLDUs were not defined by state participants.
• Integrate the unique three-character census codes for each SLDU with demographic or election results data.
• Identify states with unicameral legislatures, such as Nebraska, for specialized legislative studies.

Strengths

• Data is sourced from the authoritative U.S. Census Bureau Master Address File / TIGER System (MTS).
• Boundaries are updated based on state-provided information with a specific cutoff date of May 31, 2024.
• The MTS represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between geographic parts.
• Specific states with recent SLDU updates are identified, including Georgia, Minnesota, and North Carolina.

Limitations

• No SLDU shapefiles are available for U.S. Island Areas like American Samoa and Guam.
• In some states and Puerto Rico, SLDUs do not cover the entire state area, with 'ZZZ' codes used for undefined regions.
• Michigan's court-ordered new SLDUs are not included as they were not finalized by the May 2024 deadline.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Extracted from the Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) System based on information provided by state participants.

Time Range

Current boundaries as of May 31, 2024.

Freshness

Current boundaries as of May 31, 2024; next collection scheduled for early 2026.

Geography

United States, excluding Island Areas (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands).