Why Are Some Places Missing From the US Cities Database? (City vs. Neighborhood Classification)

Some customers notice that certain locations they consider “cities” such as North Hollywood, Encino, La Jolla, Canoga Park, and others  do not appear as standalone entries in the US Cities Database. This is expected, and the explanation is based on how we classify cities using official federal standards.

We rely primarily on USGS (United States Geological Survey) place classifications and U.S. Census Bureau designations.

To ensure consistency and high data quality, we include only places that meet official federal definitions used for demographic data collection.

We include:

• All Census-tracked populated places
• All CDPs (Census Designated Places) for which demographic data is collected
• Townships in states where they function as municipalities

These places have official boundaries and demographic information, making them suitable for use in data-driven applications.

Many named locations, especially within large metropolitan areas like Los Angeles or San Diego, appear in the USGS database as populated places, but they fall under a special classification: U4. Here is an explanation:

We exclude U4 populated places because they are named places that are not incorporated but exist within the boundaries of an incorporated place, we consider these to be neighborhoods rather than independent cities.

Need Neighborhood-Level Data?

If your project requires identifying neighborhoods such as North Hollywood or La Jolla, we also offer a detailed neighborhood dataset:

US Neighborhoods Database:

https://simplemaps.com/data/us-neighborhoods

This product includes more than 27,000 neighborhood polygons across the United States.

If a Place Seems Missing

If you believe a location should appear as a city and are unsure of its classification, you can contact us at support@simplemaps.com and we will be happy to review it.