The U.S. Bureau of the Census regularly reviews the areas it uses to represent the nation's geographic entities in its statistical data products. It is now in the process of reviewing census regions and censusdivisions, both of which serve to represent the nation's macro-scale subnational regions. The Census Bureau's current set of regions provides a two-tiered classification of nine census divisions nested in four census regions. The fifty states plus the District of Columbia serve as the basic spatial units from which regions are formed. The accompanying map depicts the census regions and their component census divisions: Northeast (New England and Middle Atlantic), Midwest (West North Central and East North Central), South (West South Central, East South Central, and South Atlantic), and West (Pacific and Mountain).
The current geographical configuration and names of the nine census divisions have been used in reporting statistics since the 1910 census (Alaska and Hawaii were incorporated into the Pacific Division in 1960). The current geographical configuration of the 4 census regions was introduced in 1942 and has served since then with only a change in the name of the Midwest, from North Central, in 1984. Technical details and information on the Census Bureau's historical treatment of regions are contained in Geographic Areas Reference Manual, available from the NTIS, Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161 (703-487-4650), and "Accounting for the Geography of Population: 200 Years of Census Bureau Practice with Macro-Scale Sub-National Regions," available from Dr. Donald C. Dahmann, Population Division, U.S. Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233.
The Census Bureau would appreciate receiving your comments regarding the appropriateness of their current set of regions in representing the nation's macro-scale subnational regions and the names used to identify the individual regions. Please submit your responses by December 31, 1996 to Dr. Donald C. Dahmann at the address above or by email: ddahmann@census.gov