Are there really 3141 counties in the United States?
There were 3141 counties and county-equivalent administrative units listed by the United States Bureau of the Census as of 2006. In Alaska they are called boroughs and in Louisiana they are called parishes. Examples of county-equivalent administrative units are independent cities (mainly in Virginia, but also a few others), several named census areas that are part of the larger Unorganized Borough in Alaska, and the District of Columbia which is neither a county nor a state. However for purposes of the Census, these are all considered the equivalent of counties. This can get complicated so if this topic interests you, check out Wikipedia’s County (United States) page for a technical discussion.
