Three thousand thirty-one (3,031) organized county governments are found in 48 states throughout the nation (except for Connecticut, Rhode Island, the District of Columbia). Limited portions of other states contain county areas that lack a distinct county government. In Louisiana, the county governments are officially designated as "parish" governments, and the "borough" governments in Alaska resemble county governments in other states. Both are classified as county governments for Census Bureau statistics on governments.
Not all geographic areas known as counties have county governments. 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. Moreover, the cities of Baltimore and St. Louis are outside the areas of the adjacent counties of Baltimore and St. Louis, and a similar situation exists among 38 independent cities in Virginia.
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