Counties in the United States of America form the second-level administrative subdivisions after the 50 states and Washington, D.C., which is a city that is not in any other subdivision. For most states, counties represent a legitimate second level of government but some use them purely for statistical or administrative purposes with no incorporated government of the county. Presently, there are 3,144 counties or county equivalents in America. Most are named "[X] County" but in Louisiana a completely identical scheme exists for parishes that has evolved from French colonization (cf. Fayette County with Fayette Parish) and Alaska has a unique system of boroughs which are census-designated places used for statistical purposes—the Unorganized Borough is made of all non-continuous territory that is not part of another borough. Note that this list also includes historical counties which no longer exist or which merged into other states (e.g. due to Kentucky and West Virginia splitting from Virginia).
