Number of Local Governments by State

Subscribe
Newsletters
Advertise

Select Category:

| More

Number of Local Governments by State

Some states are home to significant numbers of local governments, with numerous jurisdictional boundaries and overlapping special districts.

Illinois has 6,968 local governments, the most of any state, followed by Pennsylvania and Texas. Many local governments consist of specialized districts or entities, such as library or fire protection districts. In terms of per capita rates, North Dakota's total local governments far exceed other states. The state comprises about 390 local governments per every 100,000 residents, many of which are small townships in rural regions.

The Census Bureau conducts the Census of Governments every five years, categorizing each government in the country. The table below lists 2012 totals and per capita rates per 100,000 residents, calculated using 2011 population estimates.

General purpose governments include all counties, cities and other localities. Special districts consist of school districts, water authorities, parks districts and other public entities serving a more specific function.

State	Total Local Govs.	General Purpose	Special Purpose	Total Per 100K	General Per 100K	Special Per 100K

Alabama	1,208	528	680	25.2	11.0	14.2
Alaska	177	162	15	24.5	22.4	2.1
Arizona	659	106	553	10.2	1.6	8.5
Arkansas	1,543	577	966	52.5	19.6	32.9
California	4,350	539	3,811	11.5	1.4	10.1
Colorado	2,818	333	2,485	55.1	6.5	48.6
Connecticut	644	179	465	18.0	5.0	13.0
Delaware	338	60	278	37.3	6.6	30.6
Florida	1,554	476	1,078	8.2	2.5	5.7
Georgia	1,365	688	677	13.9	7.0	6.9
Hawaii	21	4	17	1.5	0.3	1.2
Idaho	1,161	244	917	73.2	15.4	57.9
Illinois	6,968	2,831	4,137	54.1	22.0	32.1
Indiana	2,694	1,666	1,028	41.3	25.6	15.8
Iowa	1,939	1,046	893	63.3	34.2	29.2
Kansas	3,806	1,997	1,809	132.6	69.6	63.0
Kentucky	1,314	536	778	30.1	12.3	17.8
Louisiana	530	364	166	11.6	8.0	3.6
Maine	841	504	337	63.3	37.9	25.4
Maryland	347	180	167	6.0	3.1	2.9
Massachusetts	852	356	496	12.9	5.4	7.5
Michigan	2,877	1,856	1,021	29.1	18.8	10.3
Minnesota	3,633	2,726	907	68.0	51.0	17.0
Mississippi	991	379	612	33.3	12.7	20.5
Missouri	3,752	1,381	2,371	62.4	23.0	39.4
Montana	1,240	183	1,057	124.2	18.3	105.9
Nebraska	2,581	1,042	1,539	140.1	56.5	83.5
Nevada	190	35	155	7.0	1.3	5.7
New Hampshire	542	244	298	41.1	18.5	22.6
New Jersey	1,344	587	757	15.2	6.7	8.6
New Mexico	854	136	718	41.0	6.5	34.5
New York	3,454	1,603	1,851	17.7	8.2	9.5
North Carolina	964	653	311	10.0	6.8	3.2
North Dakota	2,666	1,724	942	389.8	252.1	137.7
Ohio	3,702	2,334	1,368	32.1	20.2	11.8
Oklahoma	1,854	667	1,187	48.9	17.6	31.3
Oregon	1,509	277	1,232	39.0	7.2	31.8
Pennsylvania	4,905	2,627	2,278	38.5	20.6	17.9
Rhode Island	134	39	95	12.7	3.7	9.0
South Carolina	681	315	366	14.6	6.7	7.8
South Dakota	1,979	1,284	695	240.1	155.8	84.3
Tennessee	920	437	483	14.4	6.8	7.5
Texas	4,856	1,468	3,388	18.9	5.7	13.2
United States	89,004	38,917	50,087	28.6	12.5	16.1
Utah	613	274	339	21.8	9.7	12.0
Vermont	728	294	434	116.2	46.9	69.3
Virginia	497	324	173	6.1	4.0	2.1
Washington	1,831	320	1,511	26.8	4.7	22.1
West Virginia	658	287	371	35.5	15.5	20.0
Wisconsin	3,123	1,922	1,201	54.7	33.6	21.0
Wyoming	795	122	673	139.9	21.5	118.5

Comments

Add Your Comment

You are solely responsible for the content of your comments. GOVERNING reserves the right to remove comments that are considered profane, vulgar, obscene, factually inaccurate, off-topic, or considered a personal attack.

Comments must be fewer than 2000 characters.

GOVERNING Data is your source for state and local government statistics and public records.

Feel free to use any data or visualizations in your own reports with attribution and a link to the source.

Contact: Mike Maciag, mmaciag@governing.com

New Census Estimates Show Areas Growing Oldest the Fastest

New Census data shows most regions are seeing their age 65 and older population climb. But for some jurisdictions, the growth has been far more pronounced than others. View new demographic data for states and counties.

Metro Areas with the Most Blue-Collar STEM Jobs

The Implication of Long-Term Pay Freezes for States, Localities

As Feds Make Cuts, Local Government Employment Ticks Up

Teacher Pension Systems Headed in Opposite Directions, Report Finds