Welcome

Welcome to California's official 2021 Redistricting Database. On this page you will find California's official datasets for redistricting.

Notes on the Data

Each dataset is provided on the 2020 Census Block geography in both CSV (comma-separated values) and DBF (dBase/shapefile) formats. CSVs are a widely used and supported format. DBFs have certain limits that don't apply to CSVs: each DBF file can have no more than 254 columns, and each column name must be 10 characters or less. DBF files are thus formatted slightly differently from the CSVs to accommodate these limits. Please note that all Census GEOIDs should be treated as text, not as integers, in order to avoid dropping their leading zeros.
All datasets on this page are 2020 Census Block level datasets with a “BLOCK20” field containing the 15-digit 2020 Census Block GEOID that can be used to merge these data to the 2020 Census Block geography. The BLOCK20 field in these files matches the GEOID20 field in the Census Bureau's 2020 Block Shapefiles.

Adjusted 2020 Census P.L. 94-171

The P.L. 94-171 redistricting data is a tabulation from the decennial census that includes counts of population by race and ethnicity (Hispanic or Latino origin); voting age; housing occupancy status; and group quarters population, all at the census block level.

In California, the State's Citizens Redistricting Commission and many local jurisdictions including Cities and Counties are required by law to use the official redistricting dataset provided by the Statewide Database. This dataset is different from the data that the U.S. Census Bureau provides in that it has reallocated data from incarcerated persons that were enumerated in facilities under the control of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to their last residential address. You can find more information about this requirement in California Elections Code Section 21003.

Citizen Voting Age Population

The U.S. Census Bureau publishes an annual Citizen Voting Age Population by Race and Ethnicity (CVAP) Special Tabulation from the most recent American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates. These datasets are available from the Census Bureau at the block group level. The Statewide Database publishes census block level allocations of these CVAP datasets. The most recent CVAP release available from the American Community Survey spans the years 2015-2019 and is referred to as ‘2019 CVAP’ in our files. This is the CVAP file that is released in conjunction with the official redistricting database. The algorithm used to allocate the 2019 CVAP dataset to census blocks reflects the reallocated inmate population.

Voter Registration and Election Data

The official redistricting database includes Voter Registration and Statement of Vote data from Statewide Elections between 2002 and 2020 by 2020 census block. Providing election data over time on the same unit of analysis, the census block, greatly simplifies the task of working with multiple elections. These data are also available by precinct for each respective election at Statewide Database Election page

Other Resources

Guides for Using SWDB Data with Redistricting Software

For help using datasets from the Statewide Database in redistricting or GIS software, please consult our guides compiled below.