| Summary |
In 48 states, the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report county detail in the same way, including cities within their respective counties. In Hawaii and Virginia, however, the Census disaggregates county and city detail, whereas the BEA reports county/independent city combinations.
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| Detail |
The U.S. federal document FIPS PUB 6-4 defines identifiers for "first-order subdivisions of each state and statistically equivalent entity," i.e., areas such as county, parish, borough, or independent city. We used these identifiers to create our geo codes for counties, which have the form AAnnn -- two letters denoting the state, and three digits for the county within.
An "independent city" is statistically equivalent to a county. The U.S. contains 41 in four states, 38 of them in Virginia (the others are in Maryland, Missouri and Nevada).
For these situations, the U.S. Census Bureau (BOC) reports the data for distinct areas. Conversely, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reports joint areas, and has defined geo codes in the 9000 series to represent them, which it calls "county/independent city combinations." The BEA combination areas pertain only to Virginia and, as an extension to the idea, Hawaii; that state has five counties and the BEA reports two of them as a combination.
For consistency with other county codes, we have changed the BEA 9000-series codes to three-digit values in the 900 series. For example:
- Albemarle County (VA) - FIPS 51003 - BOC-based code VA003
- Charlottesville city (VA) - FIPS 51540 - BOC-based code VA540
- Albemarle County + Charlottesville city (VA) - FIPS 51901 - BEA-based code VA901
The Moody's Analytics county estimates and county forecasts use the BEA's county definitions. For example, we estimate RPOPQ.HI901 instead of RPOPQ.HI005 and RPOPQ.HI009.
As of the 1994 publication of the Census Bureau's Geographic Areas Reference Manual, there were 3,141 counties or statistical equivalents in the 50 states and District of Columbia, a number that is subject to change. However, the BEA's reporting comprises only 3,111 counties (geo list CT_BEA.LST), and our Census Bureau geo list (CT_CEN.LST) includes 3,219 areas. Geo lists are available from the "Tools" menu.
| BEA-based code | Census-based codes | Title(s) | Remark |
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| HI901 |
HI005, HI009 |
Kalawao County and Maui County (HI) |
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| VA901 |
VA003, VA540 |
Albemarle County and Charlottesville city (VA) |
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| VA903 |
VA005, VA560, VA580 |
Alleghany County and Covington city (VA) |
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| VA907 |
VA015, VA790, VA820 |
Augusta County, Staunton city, and Waynesboro city (VA) |
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| VA909 |
VA019, VA515 |
Bedford County and Bedford city (VA) |
2013: Now an incorporated town within the county |
| VA911 |
VA031, VA680 |
Campbell County and Lynchburg city (VA) |
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| VA913 |
VA035, VA640 |
Carroll County and Galax city (VA) |
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| VA918 |
VA053, VA570, VA730 |
Dinwiddie County, Colonial Heights city, and Petersburg city (VA) |
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| VA919 |
VA059, VA600, VA610 |
Fairfax County, Fairfax city, and Falls Church city (VA) |
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| VA921 |
VA069, VA840 |
Frederick County and Winchester city (VA) |
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| VA923 |
VA081, VA595 |
Greensville County and Emporia city (VA) |
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| VA925 |
VA083, VA780 |
Halifax County and South Boston city (VA) |
1994: Now an incorporated town within the county |
| VA929 |
VA089, VA690 |
Henry County and Martinsville city (VA) |
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| VA931 |
VA095, VA830 |
James City County and Williamsburg city (VA) |
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| VA933 |
VA121, VA750 |
Montgomery County and Radford city (VA) |
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| VA939 |
VA143, VA590 |
Pittsylvania County and Danville city (VA) |
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| VA941 |
VA149, VA670 |
Prince George County and Hopewell city (VA) |
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| VA942 |
VA153, VA683, VA685 |
Prince William County, Manassas city, and Manassas Park city (VA) |
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| VA944 |
VA161, VA775 |
Roanoke County and Salem city (VA) |
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| VA945 |
VA163, VA530, VA678 |
Rockbridge County, Buena Vista city, and Lexington city (VA) |
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| VA947 |
VA165, VA660 |
Rockingham County and Harrisonburg city (VA) |
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| VA949 |
VA175, VA620 |
Southampton County and Franklin city (VA) |
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| VA951 |
VA177, VA630 |
Spotsylvania County and Fredericksburg city (VA) |
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| VA953 |
VA191, VA520 |
Washington County and Bristol city (VA) |
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| VA955 |
VA195, VA720 |
Wise County and Norton city (VA) |
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| VA958 |
VA199, VA735 |
York County and Poquoson city (VA) |
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In Virginia, the typical process is that an independent city relinquishes its charter and becomes an "independent town" within the county. In such cases, we change the area that we estimate from the combination to the county.
See also
Updates to this article
- Sep 2008 - Initial version by Andrew Vickrey.
- Oct 2023 - Phillip Thorne: Added geo titles, linked to geo lists.
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