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

Nationally, there were a total of 38,779 general-purpose governments in the United States in 2017, along with another 51,296 special districts. States with the most counties, cities, towns and other general local governments are:

Illinois: 2,828

Minnesota: 2,720

Pennsylvania: 2,625

Ohio: 2,327

Kansas: 1,993

Wisconsin: 1,924

Michigan: 1,856

North Dakota: 1,718

Indiana: 1,662

New York: 1,587

The Census Bureau conducts the Census of Governments every five years, categorizing each government in the country.

General purpose governments include all counties, cities, towns, townships, villages and other jurisdictions serving as the primary government in an area. Special districts consist of school districts, water authorities, parks districts and other public entities serving a more specific function.

State Total Local Government Units General Purpose Special Districts Alabama 1,195 528 667 Alaska 179 164 15 Arizona 658 106 552 Arkansas 1,541 576 965 California 4,444 539 3,905 Colorado 3,141 333 2,808 Connecticut 625 179 446 Delaware 334 60 274 District of Columbia 2 1 1 Florida 1,712 478 1,234 Georgia 1,380 689 691 Hawaii 21 4 17 Idaho 1,170 244 926 Illinois 6,918 2,828 4,090 Indiana 2,638 1,662 976 Iowa 1,941 1,042 899 Kansas 3,792 1,993 1,799 Kentucky 1,322 535 787 Louisiana 516 364 152 Maine 834 504 330 Maryland 344 180 164 Massachusetts 858 356 502 Michigan 2,863 1,856 1,007 Minnesota 3,643 2,720 923 Mississippi 969 380 589 Missouri 3,768 1,341 2,427 Montana 1,226 183 1,043 Nebraska 2,538 988 1,550 Nevada 189 35 154 New Hampshire 541 244 297 New Jersey 1,338 586 752 New Mexico 1,013 138 875 New York 3,450 1,587 1,863 North Carolina 970 652 318 North Dakota 2,664 1,718 946 Ohio 3,897 2,327 1,570 Oklahoma 1,830 667 1,163 Oregon 1,510 276 1,234 Pennsylvania 4,830 2,625 2,205 Rhode Island 129 39 90 South Carolina 671 316 355 South Dakota 1,916 1,279 637 Tennessee 906 437 469 Texas 5,343 1,472 3,871 Utah 619 279 340 Vermont 729 293 436 Virginia 517 323 194 Washington 1,900 320 1,580 West Virginia 651 287 364 Wisconsin 3,096 1,924 1,172 Wyoming 794 122 672

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, 2017 Census of Governments

Local Governments Per Capita

The following table shows numbers of governments per capita by state using the data above and 2017 Census population estimates. States with the most total units of government per capita include North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.

State Total Local Units Per 100K General Purpose Governments Per 100K Special Districts Per 100K Alabama 24.5 10.8 13.7 Alaska 24.2 22.2 2.0 Arizona 9.3 1.5 7.8 Arkansas 51.3 19.2 32.1 California 11.3 1.4 9.9 Colorado 55.9 5.9 50.0 Connecticut 17.5 5.0 12.5 Delaware 34.9 6.3 28.6 District of Columbia 0.3 0.1 0.1 Florida 8.2 2.3 5.9 Georgia 13.3 6.6 6.6 Hawaii 1.5 0.3 1.2 Idaho 68.1 14.2 53.9 Illinois 54.1 22.1 32.0 Indiana 39.6 25.0 14.7 Iowa 61.7 33.1 28.6 Kansas 130.3 68.5 61.8 Kentucky 29.7 12.0 17.7 Louisiana 11.0 7.8 3.3 Maine 62.5 37.8 24.7 Maryland 5.7 3.0 2.7 Massachusetts 12.5 5.2 7.3 Michigan 28.7 18.6 10.1 Minnesota 65.4 48.8 16.6 Mississippi 32.4 12.7 19.7 Missouri 61.7 22.0 39.7 Montana 116.4 17.4 99.0 Nebraska 132.4 51.5 80.8 Nevada 6.4 1.2 5.2 New Hampshire 40.1 18.1 22.0 New Jersey 15.1 6.6 8.5 New Mexico 48.4 6.6 41.8 New York 17.6 8.1 9.5 North Carolina 9.4 6.3 3.1 North Dakota 352.8 227.5 125.3 Ohio 33.4 20.0 13.5 Oklahoma 46.5 17.0 29.6 Oregon 36.4 6.7 29.8 Pennsylvania 37.8 20.5 17.2 Rhode Island 12.2 3.7 8.5 South Carolina 13.4 6.3 7.1 South Dakota 219.4 146.5 72.9 Tennessee 13.5 6.5 7.0 Texas 18.9 5.2 13.7 Utah 19.9 9.0 11.0 Vermont 116.7 46.9 69.8 Virginia 6.1 3.8 2.3 Washington 25.6 4.3 21.3 West Virginia 35.8 15.8 20.0 Wisconsin 53.5 33.2 20.2 Wyoming 137.1 21.1 116.1

SOURCE: U.S. Census Bureau, 2017 Census of Governments

Local Governments U.S. Map

View an interactive map showing areas of the country with the most local governments.