<P> The U.S. federal government uses the term `` county equivalent '' to describe non-county administrative or statistical areas that are comparable to counties . Louisiana parishes ; the organized boroughs of Alaska ; the District of Columbia ; and the independent cities of the states of Virginia , Maryland , Missouri , and Nevada are equivalent to counties for administrative purposes . Alaska 's Unorganized Borough is divided into 10 census areas that are statistically equivalent to counties . As of 2018 , there are currently 3,142 counties and county - equivalents in the 50 states and District of Columbia . If the 100 county equivalents in the U.S. territories are counted , then the total is 3,242 counties and county - equivalents in the United States . </P>
<P> The U.S. federal government uses the term `` county equivalent '' to describe non-county administrative or statistical areas that are comparable to counties . Louisiana parishes ; the organized boroughs of Alaska ; the District of Columbia ; and the independent cities of the states of Virginia , Maryland , Missouri , and Nevada are equivalent to counties for administrative purposes . Alaska 's Unorganized Borough is divided into 10 census areas that are statistically equivalent to counties . As of 2018 , there are currently 3,142 counties and county - equivalents in the 50 states and District of Columbia . If the 100 county equivalents in the U.S. territories are counted , then the total is 3,242 counties and county - equivalents in the United States . </P>
how many states there is in the united states
how many states there is in the united states
50
50