GOVSTIMESERIES.CG00ORG02

Public Sector

2024

PUB Public Sector Annual Surveys and Census of Governments

U.S. Census Bureau, Public Sector

2023-08-24

For information about Census of Governments planned data product releases, see https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/gus/newsroom/updates.html

Census of Governments - Organization (CG):
The universe of this file is all federal, state, and local government units in the United States. In addition to the federal government and the 50 state governments, the Census Bureau recognizes five basic types of local governments. The government types are: County, Municipal, Township, Special District, and School District. Of these five types, three are categorized as General Purpose governments: County, municipal, and township governments are readily recognized and generally present no serious problem of classification. However, legislative provisions for school district and special district governments are diverse. These two types are categorized as Special Purpose governments. Numerous single-function and multiple-function districts, authorities, commissions, boards, and other entities, which have varying degrees of autonomy, exist in the United States. The basic pattern of these entities varies widely from state to state. Moreover, various classes of local governments within a particular state also differ in their characteristics. Refer to the Individual State Descriptions report for an overview of all government entities authorized by state.

The Public Use File provides a listing of all independent government units, and dependent school districts active as of fiscal year ending June 30, 2024.

The Annual Surveys of Public Employment & Payroll (EP) and State and Local Government Finances (LF):
The target population consists of all 50 state governments, the District of Columbia, and a sample of local governmental units (counties, cities, townships, special districts, school districts). In years ending in '2' and '7' the entire universe is canvassed. In intervening years, a sample of the target population is surveyed. Additional details on sampling are available in the survey methodology descriptions for those years.

The Annual Survey of Public Pensions (PP):
The target population consists of state- and locally-administered defined benefit funds and systems of all 50 state governments, the District of Columbia, and a sample of local governmental units (counties, cities, townships, special districts, school districts). In years ending in '2' and '7' the entire universe is canvassed. In intervening years, a sample of the target population is surveyed. Additional details on sampling are available in the survey methodology descriptions for those years.

The Annual Surveys of State Government Finance (SG) and State Government Tax Collections (TC):
The target population consists of all 50 state governments. No local governments are included. For the purpose of Census Bureau statistics, the term "state government" refers not only to the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of a given state, but it also includes agencies, institutions, commissions, and public authorities that operate separately or somewhat autonomously from the central state government but where the state government maintains administrative or fiscal control over their activities as defined by the Census Bureau. Additional details are available in the survey methodology description.

The Annual Survey of School System Finances (SS):
The Annual Survey of School System Finances targets all public school systems providing elementary and/or secondary education in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Total Local Government Units
Total Local Government Units - County Governments
Total Local Government Units - General Purpose Governments
Total Local Government Units - Subcounty Governments
Total Local Government Units - Subcounty Governments - Municipal Governments
Total Local Government Units - Subcounty Governments - Township Governments
Total Local Government Units - Special Purpose Governments
Total Local Government Units - Special Purpose Governments - Independent School District Governments
Total Local Government Units - Special Purpose Governments - Special District Governments

The basic reporting unit is the governmental unit, defined as an organized entity which in addition to having governmental character, has sufficient discretion in the management of its own affairs to distinguish it as separate from the administrative structure of any other governmental unit.

The reporting units for the Annual Survey of School System Finances are public school systems that provide elementary and/or secondary education. The term "public school systems" includes two types of government entities with responsibility for providing education services: (1) school districts that are administratively and fiscally independent of any other government and are counted as separate governments; and (2) public school systems that lack sufficient autonomy to be counted as separate governments and are classified as a dependent agency of some other government—a county, municipal, township, or state government. Charter school systems whose charters are held by nongovernmental entities are deemed to be out of scope for the Annual Survey of School System Finances, thus are not included as reporting units for this data collection.

The counts are provided for all local government units in the United States by state.

Data in this table are not subject to sampling error. Data users who create their own estimates using data from this table should cite the U.S. Census Bureau as the source of the original data only.

These data are subject to provisions of Title 13 United States Code, Section 9(b), exempting data that are customarily provided in public records from rules of confidentiality.

For detailed information about the methods used to collect and produce statistics, including sampling, questions, eligibility, data collection and processing, editing, data quality, review, weighting, estimation, confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and more, see Technical Documentation.

N/A

Census of Governments and Public Sector annual data are housed in the Census Bureau Application Programming Interface (API).

N – Not available or not comparable
X – Not applicable
Z - Represents zero or rounds to zero

¹County government counts exclude areas corresponding to counties but having no organized county governments.

² Independent school district government counts exclude school districts operated by a state, county, municipal, or township governments. See Table CG00ORG09 for counts of dependent school systems.

U.S. Census Bureau
For inquiries about the Census of Governments and Public Sector annual surveys:
 (800) 242-2184
 ewd.outreach@census.gov
For inquiries about Census of Governments - Organization:
 (888) 202-2691
 esmd.gus.psfcb@census.gov
For inquiries about the Annual Survey of School System Finance:
 (800) 622-6193
 erd.f33.list@census.gov

U.S. Census Bureau. "Local Governments by Type: U.S. and State: 2012 - 2022" Public Sector, PUB Public Sector Annual Surveys and Census of Governments, Table CG00ORG02, 2024, https://data.census.gov/table/GOVSTIMESERIES.CG00ORG02?q=CG00ORG02: Local Governments by Type: U.S. and State: 2012 - 2022 Accessed on April 13, 2025.