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Lists & Structure of Governments

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Historical Data

Tables

Number of governments by location and type of government

  • 2007 Local Governments and Public School Systems by Type and State: HTML   |   Excel [28KB]
  • 2002  Government Organization, 2002 Census of Governments vol. I no. 1 [PDF, 1.27MB]
  • 1997  Government Organization, 1997 Census of Governments vol. I no. 1 [PDF, 3.45MB]
  • 1992  Government Organization, 1992 Census of Governments vol. I no. 1 [PDF, 3.59MB]


Descriptions by state about how governments are organized

Individual State Descriptions [PDF, 4.4MB]

  • Descriptions of local governments in each state.
  • Explains how governments' responsibilities and authority vary from state to state, or within a state.
  • 2002  Individual State Descriptions, 2002 Census of Governments vol. I no. 2 [PDF, 5.02MB]
  • 1997  Individual State Descriptions, Appendix A in 1997 Census of Governments vol. I, Government Organization [PDF, 3.45MB]
  • 1992  Individual State Descriptions, Appendix A in 1992 Census of Governments vol. I, Government Organization [PDF, 3.90MB]


Popularly Elected Officials

  • 1992  (latest available) 1992 Census of Governments vol. I no. 2 [PDF, 2.45MB] * Report has been discontinued


Lists of all local governments with reference information

  • Governments Integrated Directory (GID), 2007 – with reference information

  • 2002  edition of Governments Integrated Directory – query tool for listing governments by state or type

  • 1997  edition of Governments Integrated Directory


Datafiles on Government Organization – Census of Governments

Data on local government fiscal year ending dates, e-government activities, service delivery methods, special district and public school system service areas, and special district taxing authority.

2002 – Public Use Files

Independent Governments – list of governments with reference information

  • General Purpose Governments:
  • Special Purpose Governments:

Dependent Elementary – Secondary School Systems

1997 – All of the following files are comma-delimited

Independent Governments

  • General Purpose Governments:
  • Special Purpose Governments:

Dependent Elementary-Secondary School Systems


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[Excel] or the letters [xls] indicate a document is in the Microsoft® Excel® Spreadsheet Format (XLS). To view the file, you will need the Microsoft® Excel® Viewer Off Site available for free from Microsoft®.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau | Lists & Structure of Governments | 1 (800) 242-2184 | govs.org@census.gov |  Last Revised: October 23, 2012