Information Collection
Information Collection
The Governments Master Address File (GMAF) is updated continuously to add newly established units that meet Census Bureau criteria for independent governments, and to remove dissolved or inactive units. A governmental unit is considered inactive if it has no activity, receives no revenue, and has no officers currently.
Analysts review publicly available information on the Internet and contact state government officials, who monitor the creation of new governments, to find these new units. Analysts add new government units to the final counts when appropriate. The final counts reflect the number of governments in scope, i.e., active on June 30.
General - Purpose Governments
The GMAF universe of county, municipal, and township governments is continuously updated as these units of governments become established, dissolved, or reorganized. Decisions to add or delete county, municipal, or township governments to the GMAF are made on the basis of information obtained through the annual Boundary and Annexation Survey, which the Census Bureau's Geography Division conducts.
County Governments
Organized county governments are found throughout the nation, except in Connecticut, Rhode Island, the District of Columbia, and limited portions of other states where certain county areas lack a distinct county government. In Louisiana, county governments are officially designated as “parish” governments, and in Alaska they are designated as “borough” governments. Both parish and borough governments are classified as county governments for Census Bureau statistics on governments.
There are some cases where municipal and county governments have been consolidated or substantially merged. The composite units are counted as municipal governments in Census Bureau statistics on governments.
Some cities operate with autonomy from counties, taking on responsibilities often associated with county administration. This includes the cities of Baltimore and St. Louis, which are outside the areas of the adjacent counties of Baltimore and St. Louis. Carson City, Nevada is an independent city that borders three counties: Douglas, Lyon, and Washoe. In Virginia, there are 38 independent cities that are not part of any county. For further information on county-type areas without county governments, see Appendix A of the Individual State Descriptions report.
Municipal Governments
As defined for Census Bureau statistics on governments, the term “municipal governments” refers to political subdivisions within which a municipal corporation has been established to provide general local government for a specific population concentration in a defined area. This definition includes all active government units officially designated as cities, boroughs (except in Alaska), towns (except in the six New England states, and in Minnesota, New York, and Wisconsin), and villages. This concept corresponds generally to the “incorporated places” that are recognized in Census Bureau reporting of population and housing statistics, subject to an important qualification - the count of municipal governments in this report excludes places that are officially dissolved.
Township Governments
Town or township governments vary widely between states, and sometimes even within the same state, in the scope of services they provide. Thus, some town or township governments provide a wide range of public services, whereas other town or township governments provide only a limited range of public services.
The term “town or township governments” is applied to organized governments located in the following 20 states in the Northeast and the Midwest. In states designated with the symbol (T), they are typically referred to as towns: Connecticut (T), Massachusetts (T), New Hampshire (T), Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island (T), Indiana, Minnesota, New York (T), South Dakota, Kansas, Missouri, North Dakota, Vermont (T), Maine (T), Nebraska, Ohio, Wisconsin (T).
Special District Governments
Special district governments are independent, special purpose governmental units that exist as separate entities with substantial administrative and fiscal independence from general purpose local governments. Special district governments provide specific services. Most perform a single function, but in some instances, their enabling legislation allows them to provide several, usually related, types of services. The services provided by these districts range from basic social needs, such as hospitals and fire protection, to the less conspicuous tasks of mosquito abatement and upkeep of cemeteries.
The Census Bureau classification of special district governments covers a wide variety of entities, most of which are officially called districts or authorities. Not all public agencies so termed, however, represent separate governments. Many entities that carry the designation “district” or “authority” are, by law, so closely related to county, municipal, town or township, or state governments that they are classified as subordinate agencies of those governments in Census Bureau statistics on governments.
Public School Systems
The universe of public school systems, including both independent school district governments and dependent school systems, is primarily updated using directory files of local education agencies that the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics maintains. Census Bureau analysts examine discrepancies between the various files and update GMAF as needed according to Census Bureau classification criteria. Independent school districts and Educational Service Agencies (ESAs) were last canvased in the 2021 Government Units Survey (GUS).
Information obtained directly from various state education agencies is also used to update GMAF. These units are included in the published Census Bureau counts. Dependent public school systems operate within county, municipal, township, or state governments and are not classified as school district governments. The only charter schools included in Census Bureau statistics are those established and administratively controlled by another government entity (e.g. universities, cities, counties, or public school systems).
The GMAF is further refined based on information obtained through public sector annual surveys and census. Analysts also obtain directory listings from state agencies, which provide information on special purpose governments, names of associations, and contact information for state offices that oversee the activity of special districts.
The process for updating GMAF’s universe of governments includes these key steps:
1. Review state legislation that creates or authorizes various types of governments, primarily special districts.
2. Review published Federal, state, and private sources that list governments.
3. Determine the status of governments. Many entities that carry the designation "district" or "authority" are, by law, so closely related to county, municipal, town or township, or state governments that they are classified as subordinate agencies of those governments in Census Bureau statistics on governments.
4. Review state and local taxation materials as they relate to governments with the power to levy taxes.
5. Review election results as they relate to the universe of all governments.
6. Verify government status and characteristic information with state and local officials.
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