Ancestry, on 1 of the records it says BOARDER?

Question:Im on my 4th great grandfather. On one of the records it shows he lived with his mother and sisters, but then the next record shows he and two young sons lived in a place with over 200 people, next to his and his kids names is boarder?

What type of place would this be

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Im on my 4th great grandfather. On one of the records it shows he lived with his mother and sisters, but then the next record shows he and two young sons lived in a place with over 200 people, next to his and his kids names is boarder?

What type of place would this be

Possibly living in a poor house / work house. Was there any mention of either of his parents in the latter census. If not it could have been an orphanage or children's home.
If the 200 people were of varying ages then there's a good chance it was a poor house.

Poor house?
Poor farm?

most likely a work house, like a cotton mill

you don't indicate where this census is taken. On many US records, to the left column, it will indicate an address, or comment like hospital, hotel, etc. You may also get some clue by looking at the "head" of the household, and see what is shown as his occupation.
One alternative since you say it is in Ancestry.com (or not?).. if you give the name and location, someone here might take a quick look and see what they may find as an explanation.

It could be simply a boarding house. Back 100 years ago, boarding houses were not uncommon. It was a place where you rented a room and meals. Boarding houses could be raunchy or they could be very respectable just like hotels.

Actually I know a fella as a young man, he lived in a boarding house while going to school and he found it very interesting. He said he met some very interesting people.

Also if you come across a census record where a lot of men were working on a railroad and living under one roof that is what it was. They usually got good home cooked meals and a place to sleep.