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How many counties are there in the United States?

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Episode:
44

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Public Domain.

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Welcome to CoreFacts, where we're always short on time and big on science. I'm Steve Sobieszczyk. Well, today we have some trivia for you.

How many counties are there in the United States?

There are 3,141 counties and county equivalents in the 50 States and the District of Columbia. They are categorized as follows:

3,007 counties
16 Boroughs in Alaska
11 Census Areas in Alaska (for areas not organized into Boroughs by the State)
64 Parishes in Louisiana
42 Independent Cities (1 in Maryland, 1 in Missouri, 1 in Nevada, and the remainder in Virginia)
1 District - the Federal District or District of Columbia.

This does not include Commonwealths and territories with what are generally county equivalents, which are as follows:

78 Municipalities in Puerto Rico
2 Districts in the U.S. Virgin Islands
9 Election Districts in Guam
17 Districts in the Northern Mariana Islands
and
5 Districts in American Samoa

And now you know. Join us every weekday for a new CoreFact. If you have a question you think we should answer on the air, email it to us at corefacts@usgs.gov or leave us a voicemail at 703-648-5600; don't forget long distance fees do apply.

The USGS CoreFacts is a product of the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior.

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