Download GIS shapefiles of regional planning boundaries, census tracts, and PSRC forecasting zones.

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Land Use Planning Boundaries
Regional Growth Centers	urbcen
Manufacturing Industrial Centers	micen
Urban Growth Area	uga
Census Tract	2000	1990
King County	king00ct	kgtract
Kitsap County	kit00ct	kitract
Pierce County	pie00ct	pitract
Snohomish County	sno00ct	sntract
Region	tract2000	tract1990
Census Block Group	2000	1990
King County	king00bg	kgblockgrp
Kitsap County	kit00bg	kiblockgrp
Pierce County	pie00bg	piblockgrp
Snohomish County	sno00bg	snblockgrp
Region	blockgrp2000	blockgrp1990
Census Block	2000	1990
King County	king00blk	kgblock
Kitsap County	kit00blk	kiblock
Pierce County	pie00blk	piblock
Snohomish County	sno00blk	snblock
Region	block2000	block1990
Forecast Analysis Zone (FAZ)	2000	1991
FAZ	faz2000	faz91
FAZ Group	faz2000_groups
FAZ Large Area	faz2000_largeareas
Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ)	2000	1991
King County	kin00taz	kng91taz
Kitsap County	kit00taz	kit91taz
Pierce County	prc00taz	prc91taz
Snohomish County	sno00taz	sno91taz
Region	reg00taz	taz91

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is a Census Tract?
  • Census tracts are small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county. The U.S. Census Bureau uses the census tract geographic boundary system to collect, tabulate, and present decennial census and other data. Census tracts generally have between 1,500 and 8,000 residents. There are a total of 715 census tracts in the region.

• What is a Census Block Group?
  • A block group (BG) is a cluster of census blocks within a census tract that have the same first digit of the four-digit block identifying number. For example, block group 3 (BG 3) within a census tract includes all blocks numbered from 3000 to 3999. Block groups generally contain between 600 and 3,000 people, with an optimum size of 1,500 people. A census tract can contain between 1 to 9 block groups.

• What is a Census Block?
  • Census blocks are the smallest unit within the geographic boundary system used by the U.S. Census Bureau to collect, tabulate, and present decennial census and other data. They are defined by both physical features (e.g. streets, roads, streams, and railroad tracks) as well as invisible boundaries (e.g. city, town, and county limits; property lines; and imaginary extensions of streets and roads.) They may or may not contain a population. All Census Bureau geographic reporting areas are built upon the census block.

• What is a Forecast Analysis Zone (FAZ)?
  • FAZs are the units of the geographic boundary system used by the PSRC to model and report its small area Forecasts of Population, Households, and Employment. They are built up from traffic analysis zones (TAZs), with each FAZ containing between 1 to 20 TAZs. FAZ boundaries generally, with few exceptions, also line up with census tract boundaries, with each FAZ containing between 1 to 9 census tracts. There are a total of 219 FAZs in the region.

• What is a Traffic Analysis Zone (TAZ)?
  • TAZs are the units of the geographic boundary system used by the PSRC to run and report results from its Travel Demand Forecast Model. The TAZs nest within a larger Forecast Analysis Zone (FAZ) geographic boundary system, with each FAZ containing between 1 and 20 TAZs. TAZ boundaries generally, with few exceptions, also line up with census tract boundaries, with each census tract containing between 1 to 9 TAZs. There are a total of 938 TAZs in the region.

• What projection standard are the shapefiles in?
  • Our data is in Washington State Plane North, FIPS Zone 4601, North American Datum 83, GRS80 spheroid, with units in feet.

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