COUNTIES AND EQUIVALENT ENTITIES OF THE UNITED STATES, ITS POSSESSIONS, AND ASSOCIATED AREAS

Index of Codes for Fips 6-4.

Federal Information Processing Standards Publications (FIPS PUBS) are issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) after approval by the Secretary of Commerce pursuant to Section 111 (d) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 as amended by the Computer Security Act of 1987, Public Law 100-235.

1. Name of Standard. Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas.
   
   
2. Category of Standard. Federal General Data Standard, Representations and Codes.
   
   
3. Explanation.

   a. Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 6-4 provides the names and codes that represent the counties and other entities treated as equivalent legal and/or statistical subdivisions of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the possessions and freely associated areas of the United States. Counties are considered to be the "first-order subdivisions" of each State and statistically equivalent entity, regardless of their local designations (county, parish, borough, etc.). Thus, the following entities are considered to be equivalent to counties for legal and/or statistical purposes: The parishes of Louisiana; the boroughs and census areas of Alaska; the District of Columbia; the independent cities of Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia; that part of Yellowstone National Park in Montana; and various entities in the possessions and associated areas.

   b. FIPS 6-4 contains minor editorial changes from the text of FIPS 6-3. It also incorporates technical changes that the NIST issued as Change Notices to FIPS 6-3. FIPS 6-4 supersedes FIPS 6-3 in its entirety.

   
   
   

4. Approving Authority. The Secretary of Commerce.
   
   
5. Maintenance Agency. U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Geography Division.
   
   Questions concerning the list of entities and their assigned codes are to be addressed to the Maintenance Agency: Office of the Chief, Geography Division, Bureau of the Census, Washington, DC 20233. Users of this standard who need to be notified of changes that occur prior to the next publication of the standard must complete the Change Request Form provided in this publication and send it to: Standards Processing Coordinator (ADP), National Computer Systems Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. The NIST will issue Change Notices on an as-needed basis.
   
   
6. Cross Index.

   a. ANSI X3.31-1988, Information Systems - Codes - Structure for the Identification of the Counties and County Equivalents of the United States and Its Outlying and Associated Areas for Information Interchange.

   b. FIPS PUB 5. Codes for the Identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the Outlying Areas of the United States, and Associated Areas.

   c. ANSI X3 .38- 1988, Information Systems - Codes - Identification of the States, the District of Columbia, and the Outlying and Associated Areas of the United States for Information Interchange.

   d. FIPS PUB 55. Codes for Named Populated Places, Primary County Divisions, and Other Locational Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas.

   e. ANSI X3.47-1988, Information Systems - Codes - Structure and Data Requirements for the Identification of Named Populated Places, Primary County Divisions, and Other Locational Entities of the United States and Its Outlying and Associated Areas for Information Interchange.

   
   
   

7. Objectives. The objectives of this standard are to improve the utilization of data resources of the Federal Government and to avoid unnecessary duplication and incompatibilities in the collection, processing, and dissemination of data.
   
   
8. Applicability. This standard is prescribed for the collection, processing, and interchange of coded data by Federal agencies, and whenever requirements for such data are imposed by a Federal agency on industry, State or local governments, or the public. Use within agency data systems is encouraged when such use contributes to operational benefits, efficiency, and/or economy.
   
   
9. Specifications. Federal Information Processing Standard 6-4 (FIPS 6-4), Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas, 1990 August 31 (affixed).
   
   
10. Implementation Schedule. This standard became effective on 1990 August 31. Federal agencies, based on their specific operational requirements, are to develop procedures for implementing this standard by their operating units and personnel.
    
    
11. Where to Obtain Copies of the Standard.

    a. Copies of this publication are for sale by the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, VA 22161; write to or call the NTIS Computer Products Office (703/487-4650) for cost and ordering information. When ordering, refer to Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 6-4 (FIPSPUB6-4) and its title. Payment may be made by check, money order, credit card, or deposit account.

    b. Magnetic tape and microfiche are no longer available.

    c. Change information may be obtained by submitting the Change Request Form as noted above.

    d. A list of afl published Federal Information Processing Standards and current prices is available from: Standards Processing Coordinator (ADP), National Computer Systems Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899 (301/975-2816).

    e. Copies of ANSI standards may be obtained from the American National Standards Institute, 1430 Broadway, New York, NY 10018 (212/354-3300).

    
    
    

COUNTIES AND EQUIVALENT ENTITIES OF THE UNITED STATES, ITS POSSESSIONS, AND ASSOCIATED AREAS

1. Name of Standard. Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas.
   
   
2. Category of Standard. Federal General Data Standard, Representations and Codes.
   
   
3. Explanation. This standard provides the names and codes that represent the counties and other entities treated as the equivalents of counties for legal and/or statistical purposes in the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the possessions (American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Islands of the United States) and freely associated areas (Federated States of Micronesia and Marshall Islands) of the United States. Palau is the last remaining component of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI); for presentation purposes, Palau, rather than the TTPI, is treated as the State-equivalent entity.
   
   The term "counties" refers to the "first-order subdivisions of each State and statistically equivalent entity, regardless of the local terminology (county, parish, borough, etc.). First-order subdivisions of the States include the parishes of Louisiana; the boroughs and census areas of Alaska; the independent cities of Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia; and the portion of Yellowstone National Park in Montana. In the possessions, entities regarded as first-order subdivisions are as follows: American Samoa: districts and islands (the areas legally designated as "counties" in American Samoa are second-order subdivisions); Northern Mariana Islands: municipalities; Palau: states; Puerto Rico: municipios; Virgin Islands: islands (comprising the three major islands). The District of Columbia and Guam have no first- order subdivisions, and therefore these same areas serve as the first-order subdivisions. First-order subdivisions of Federated States of Micronesia are states; of Marshall Islands, municipalities.
   
   
4. Specifications. The succeeding pages of this standard provide a list, by State, of the names and codes of the counties and equivalent entities. The States and the District of Columbia are listed in alphabetical sequence; the possessions are listed alphabetically in Appendix A, and the associated areas in Appendix B. Within each State and statistically equivalent entity, the counties or equivalent entities are listed in alphabetical sequence except for independent cities, which comprise a separate alphabetical and numeric (code) sequence following the list of counties in their respective States. This list of first-order subdivisions provides complete coverage of the United States and its possessions and associated areas.
   
   
5. Qualifications. County codes are assigned uniquely within each State and equivalent entity. In other words, counties in different States will have the same code; for example, code 001 is assigned to both Autauga County, Alabama and Apache County, Arizona. Accordingly, in data systems concerned with the identification of counties in more than one State, the county code must be used in conjunction with Federal Information Processing Standard 5,Codes for the Identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the Outlying Areas of the United States, and Associated Areas. Autauga County, Alabama would be represented as AL001 and Apache County, Arizona would be represented as AZ001 when the State alphabetic codes are used; and as 01001 and 04001, respectively, when the State numeric codes are used. The form of representation (State alphabetic or numeric code) is to be identified in format descriptions for those data systems that use the representations described in this standard.
   
   
6. Special Information.

   a.Changes in this revision of the standard are noted by a "*"symbol following the county code if the code is new. or the county name if it is different from that reported in FIPS PUB 6-3. All new and deleted areas are explained by footnotes. Minor name revisions are not explained.

   b. This standard does not apply to the codes established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to meet the unique program requirements of Public Law 85-278 (71 Stat. 601) and the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590H). For information on these requirements and the associated codes, contact the Office of Operations, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC 20250.

FIPS PUB 6-4
FEDERAL INFORMATION
PROCESSING STANDARDS PUBLICATION

1990 August 31
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE/National Institute of Standards and Technology

COUNTIES AND EQUIVALENT ENTITIES OF THE UNITED STATES, ITS POSSESSIONS, AND ASSOCIATED AREAS

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, C. William Verity, Secretary
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Ernest Ambler, Director

The Federal Information Processing Standards Publication Series of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is the official publication relating to Standards and guidelines adopted and promulgated under the provisions of Section 111(d) of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 as amended by the Computer Security Act of 1987, Public Law 100-235 These mandates have given the Secretary of Commerce and NIST important responsibilities for improving the utilization and management of computer and related telecommunications systems in the Federal Government. The NIST through its National Computer Systems Laboratory provides leadership, technical guidance, and coordination of Government efforts in the development of standards and guidelines in these areas.
Comments concerning Federal Information Processing Standards Publications are welcomed and should be addressed to the Director, National Computer Systems Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.

James H. Burrows, Director
Computer Systems Laboratory

This standard implements ANSI X3.31 -1988, Information Systems - Codes -Structure for the Identification of the Counties and County Equivalents of the United States and Its Outlying and Associated Areas for Information Interchange. This publication, which supersedes FIPS PUB 8-3, provides the names and three-digit codes that represent the counties and statistically equivalent entities of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the possessions and associated areas of the United States, for use in the interchange of formatted machine-sensible data.

Key words: ADP standard; census; code; county; data element; data processing; Federal Information Processing Standard; geography; information system; representations and codes; standard; statistical data. 1979 December 15

FIPS 6-4 CHANGE NOTICES

CHANGE NOTICE NO. 2
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
Gaithersburg, MD 20899

FIPS PUBLICATION CHANGE NOTICE
PUBLICATION TITLE

CHANGE ITEM(S)

Yakutat Borough, county-equivalent entity, was established by the State of Alaska effective September 22, 1992.

The new borough removes territory from the Skagway- Yakutat-Angoon Census Area (also a county-equivalent in Alaska; FIPS county code 231). With the loss of Yakutat, that census area is renamed Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon (FIPS county code 232).

A map identifying the current boroughs and census areas is attached. The following is a complete list of all current Alaska county equivalents (B) identifies a borough; (C) identifies a census area:

Code Borough/Census Area                  

013          Aleutians East (B)         
016          Aleutians West (C)       
020          Anchorage (B)              
050          Bethel (C)                      
060          Bristol Bay (B)                 
068          Denali (B)                             
070          Dillingham (C)                  
090          Fairbanks North Star (B)        
100          Haines (B)                      
110          Juneau (B)                      
122          Kenai Peninsula (B)            
130          Ketchikan Gateway (B)          
150          Kodiak Island (B)              
164          Lake and Peninsula (B)         
170          Matanuska-Susitna (B)
180          Nome (C) 
185          North Slope (B)
188          Northwest Arctic (B)
201          Prince of Wales-OuterKetchikan (C)
220          Sitka (B)
232          Skagway-Hoonah-Angoon (C)
240          Southeast Fairbanks (C)
261          Valdez-Cordova (C)
270          Wade Hampton (C)
280          Wrangell-Petersburg (C)
282          Yakutat (B)
290          Yukon-Koyukuk (C)

CHANGE NOTICE NO. 3
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
Gaithersburg, MD 20899

FIPS PUBLICATION CHANGE NOTICE
PUBLICATION TITLE

The independent city (county-equivalent) of South Boston, Virginia, is reverting to town status, effective midnight, June 30, 1995. South Boston will then be an incorporated place within Halifax County, rather than a separate county-equivalent surrounded by Halifax Count.

This action will reduce the number of Virginia independent cities to 40, and the number of United States counties and equivalent areas to 3,142. The action reduces the total number of independent cities in the United States to 43.

The FIPS county code of 780 for South Boston, Virginia, is deleted. The FIPS 55 class code will change from C7 to C1. The census place code of 1135 and FIPS 55 code of 73712 are unaffected. The FIPS county code of 083 for Halifax County remains unchanged.

CHANGE NOTICE NO. 4
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY
Gaithersburg, MD 20899

NIST has been notified by the Bureau of the Census that Yellowstone National Park, Montana, shown as a county equivalent in 1990, is legally part of Gallatin County and Park County.

This eliminates Yellowstone National Park (FIPS Code 113) as a county equivalent.

Please refer questions to Louise Stewart at the Bureau of the Census, (301) 457-1099.

NIST has been notified by the Bureau of the Census that Dade County, Florida, officially changed its legal name to Miami-Dade County, Florida, effective November 13, 1997. To maintain the alphanumeric sequence of counties, Miami-Dade County will have a code of 086 for FIPS 6-4, Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions and Associated Areas.

Please refer questions to Louise Stewart at the Bureau of the Census, (301)457-1099.

CHANGE NOTICE NO. 6
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY (NIST)
Gaithersburg, MD 20899

DATE OF CHANGE: JANUARY 24, 2002

The NIST has been notified by the U.S. Census Bureau that Broomfield County, Colorado, has been created from parts of Adams (001), Boulder (013), Jefferson (059), and Weld (123) counties effective November 15, 2001. The boundaries of Broomfield County reflect the boundaries of Broomfield city legally in effect on November 15, 2001. To maintain the alphanumeric sequence of counties, Broomfield County will have a code of 014 for FIPS 6-4, Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions and Associated Areas.

Please refer questions to Dorothy Stroz at the Bureau of the Census, (301) 457-1099.

CHANGE NOTICE NO. 7
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY (NIST)
Gaithersburg, MD 20899

DATE OF CHANGE: JULY 7, 2001

The independent city (county-equivalent) of Clifton Forge, Virginia, has
reverted to town status, effective midnight, July 1, 2001. Clifton Forge
is now an incorporated place within Alleghany County, rather than a
separate county-equivalent surrounded by Alleghany County.

This action will reduce the number of Virginia independent cities to 39
and the number of United States counties and equivalent areas to 3,141. The
action reduces the total number of independent cities in the United States
to 42.

The FIPS county code of 560 for Clifton Forge, Virginia, is deleted. The
FIPS-55 class code will change from C7 to C1. The census place code of 0285
and FIPS-55 code of 17440 are unaffected. The FIPS county code of 005 for
Alleghany County remains unchanged.

Please refer questions to Dorothy Stroz at the Bureau of the Census, (301) 457-1099.

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Date Created: 1996

Last Date Modified: May 10, 2002