Locales 2019
type: Dataset
description: This data layer produced by the National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE) program provides a geographic locale framework that classifies all U.S. territory into twelve categories ranging from Large Cities to Remote Rural areas. NCES uses this framework to describe the type of geographic area where schools and school districts are located. The criteria for these classifications are defined by NCES, but they rely on standard geographic areas developed and maintained by the U.S. Census Bureau. The 2019 NCES Locale boundaries are based on geographic areas represented in Census TIGER/Line 2019. The NCES Education Demographic and Geographic Estimate (EDGE) program collaborates with the U.S. Census Bureau’s Education Demographic, Geographic, and Economic Statistics (EDGE) Branch to annually update the locale boundaries. For more information about the NCES locale framework, and to download the data, see: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/edge/Geographic/LocaleBoundaries. The classifications include: City - Large (11): Territory inside an Urbanized Area and inside a Principal City with population of 250,000 or more. City - Midsize (12): Territory inside an Urbanized Area and inside a Principal City with population less than 250,000 and greater than or equal to 100,000. City - Small (13): Territory inside an Urbanized Area and inside a Principal City with population less than 100,000. Suburb – Large (21): Territory outside a Principal City and inside an Urbanized Area with population of 250,000 or more. Suburb - Midsize (22): Territory outside a Principal City and inside an Urbanized Area with population less than 250,000 and greater than or equal to 100,000. Suburb - Small (23): Territory outside a Principal City and inside an Urbanized Area with population less than 100,000. Town - Fringe (31): Territory inside an Urban Cluster that is less than or equal to 10 miles from an Urbanized Area. Town - Distant (32): Territor…
keyword: amerigeo
keyword: amerigeoss
keyword: city
keyword: ckan
keyword: distant
keyword: fringe
keyword: geo
keyword: geography
keyword: geoss
keyword: indicators
keyword: locale
keyword: national
keyword: nces
keyword: north-america
keyword: remote
keyword: rural
keyword: school
keyword: school-district
keyword: suburb
keyword: town
keyword: united-states
issued: 2019-12-04T20:49:59+00:00
modified: 2022-05-21T20:28:19+00:00
theme: {geospatial}
contact point: Organization
  fn: OpenDataMgr_NCES
spatial: Location

US Migrating
type: Agent

ArcGIS Hub Dataset
type: Distribution
media type: text/html
format: HTML
access URL: https://data-nces.opendata.arcgis.com/maps/nces::locales-2019
issued: 2022-07-26T06:47:49.781393
modified: 2025-11-21T01:10:15.442783

ArcGIS GeoService
type: Distribution
media type: application/json
format: ArcGIS GeoServices REST API
access URL: https://nces.ed.gov/opengis/rest/services/Locale_Boundaries/EDGE_LOCALE19_US/MapServer/0
issued: 2022-07-26T06:47:49.781404
modified: 2025-11-21T01:10:15.443196

GeoJSON
type: Distribution
media type: application/vnd.geo+json
format: GeoJSON
access URL: https://data-nces.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/nces::locales-2019.geojson
issued: 2022-07-26T06:47:49.781410
modified: 2025-11-21T01:10:15.443586

CSV
type: Distribution
media type: text/csv
format: CSV
access URL: https://data-nces.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/nces::locales-2019.csv
issued: 2022-07-26T06:47:49.781415
modified: 2025-11-21T01:10:15.443969

KML
type: Distribution
media type: application/vnd.google-earth.kml+xml
format: KML
access URL: https://data-nces.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/nces::locales-2019.kml
issued: 2022-07-26T06:47:49.781420
modified: 2025-11-21T01:10:15.444370

Shapefile
type: Distribution
media type: application/zip
format: ZIP
access URL: https://data-nces.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/nces::locales-2019.zip
issued: 2022-07-26T06:47:49.781425
modified: 2025-11-21T01:10:15.444761