In 48 of the 50 states of the
United States, the
county is used for the level of local government immediately below the state itself. Louisiana uses
parishes, and
Alaska uses
boroughs. In several states in
New England, some or all counties within states have no governments of their own; the counties continue to exist as legal entities, however, and are used by states for some administrative functions and by the United States Census bureau for statistical analysis. There are 3,142
counties and
county equivalent administrative units in total, including the
District of Columbia.