Public Use Microdata Area

Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) are decennial census areas that have been defined for the tabulation and dissemination of Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data, American Community Survey (ACS), and ACS period estimates.

For the 2010 Census, the State Data Centers (SDCs) in each state, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico were given the opportunity to delineate PUMAs within their state or statistically equivalent entity. All PUMAs must nest within states and have a minimum population threshold of 100,000 persons. 2010 PUMAs were built on census tracts, and cover the entirety of the United States, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Because they do not meet the minimum population requirement, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa do not contain any 2010 PUMAs.;