A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. The U.S. Census Bureau defines a CDP as a "statistical geography representing closely settled, unincorporated communities that are locally recognized and identified by name."
CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such as self-governing cities, towns, and villages, for the purposes of gathering and correlating statistical data. CDPs are populated areas that generally include one officially designated but currently unincorporated community, for which the CDP is named, and may include surrounding inhabited countryside of varying dimensions and, occasionally, other, smaller unincorporated communities. CDPs include small rural communities, edge cities, colonias located along the Mexico–United States border, and unincorporated resorts and retirement communities and their environs. The boundaries of any CDP may change from decade to decade, and the Census Bureau may de-establish a CDP after a period of study, then re-establish it some decades later. Most unincorporated areas within the United States are not and have not been included in any CDP.
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