County-equivalent facts for kids

A county-equivalent is a special kind of area in the United States. It's a place that isn't officially part of a regular county. The U.S. federal government decides which areas are county-equivalents. They use these areas for things like keeping records and collecting statistics.

In 2000, there were 3,141 county-equivalents across the United States. This number changed to 3,140 in 2001. This happened because the city of Clifton Forge, Virginia changed from being a city to a town. Towns in Virginia are usually part of a county, while cities are not.

What are County-Equivalents?

There are three main types of county-equivalents. Each type is a bit different.

Areas Like Counties

The first type of county-equivalent is an area that works a lot like a county, but has a different name.

Here are some examples:

• In Louisiana, they don't have counties. Instead, they have areas called parishes. These parishes act just like counties.
• In Alaska, most areas are called boroughs instead of counties.
• The big city of Anchorage in Alaska is also considered a borough under state law.

Cities Not in Counties

The second type of county-equivalent is a city that is not legally part of any county.

Here are some examples:

• In Virginia, cities are special. They are not legally part of the counties around them. So, all cities in Virginia are county-equivalents.
• Three other cities in the U.S. are also not part of any county: Baltimore, Maryland, Carson City, Nevada, and St. Louis, Missouri. These cities are county-equivalents too.
• Washington, D.C. is also a county-equivalent. It's the nation's capital and isn't part of any state or county.
• Before 1997, a part of Yellowstone National Park in Montana was considered a county-equivalent. This was even though Montana had already said it was part of nearby counties. Now, this area is no longer a county-equivalent.

Areas Without County Government

The third type of county-equivalent is an area that doesn't have its own county-level government. The United States Census Bureau decides to treat these areas as if they were counties for statistics.

Here's an example:

• As we learned, Alaska has boroughs. But these boroughs don't cover the entire state. The part of Alaska not covered by boroughs is called the Unorganized Borough.
• In 1970, the Unorganized Borough was divided into smaller areas just for collecting statistics. Each of these statistical areas is considered a county-equivalent.

Images for kids

• 

  A highway sign showing the border between Nicholas and Greenbrier counties in West Virginia.