Help for Select Levels
Overview
DQS allows you to view aggregate data by state for one of eight different levels of government. State, all local, and all state and local government aggregate data are available for every state. Additionally, aggregate data are available for five types of local governments - county, municipal, township, special district, and school district. Not all types of local government exist in every state.
Notes for Use
Example: When "School District" is selected on this page, Property Tax revenues (or whichever variable is selected on the "Select Series" page) for all independent school districts are totaled and presented for the selected state(s).
Important: For inter-state comparisons, we highly recommend using the "State and Local" analysis level. The distribution of activity between state and local governments varies greatly from state to state: only the "State and Local" analysis level will fully capture government activity within a state. The "State and Local" series treats state and all local governments in a state as one observation; accordingly, transfers between state and local governments are not available at this level.
Additionally, we recommend combining the municipality and township level numbers for inter-state comparisons. Townships are only found in about half of all states. In addition, in some states school districts are dependent on a different level of government so school district revenues will be zero. See Hoo, Murray and Rueben (2006).
Data Availability
Finance data for some levels are not available for every year. These tables show which analysis levels are available for which years.
| Availability of US Totals, by year and level |
|---|
| Years |
State and Local |
State |
Local |
Local Government Detail |
| 2008-2010 |
X |
X |
X |
|
| 2007 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| 2004-2006 |
X |
X |
X |
|
| 2003 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| 2002 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| 2001 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| 2000-1998 |
X |
X |
X |
|
| 1997 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| 1996-1993 |
X |
X |
X |
|
| 1992-1977 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| Availability of State Totals, by year and level |
|---|
| Years |
State and Local |
State |
Local |
Local Government Detail |
| 2008-2010 |
X |
X |
X |
|
| 2007 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| 2004-2006 |
X |
X |
X |
|
| 2003 |
|
X |
|
|
| 2002 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| 2001 |
|
X |
|
|
| 2000-1998 |
X |
X |
X |
|
| 1997 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| 1996-1993 |
X |
X |
X |
|
| 1992-1977 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Note: Except for Census of Governments years (i.e., all those ending in "2" and "7"), the local government statistics in this data are based in part on a sample of local governments. They are therefore subject to sampling variability. Estimates of statistical errors for 1992 and later years are available from the Census Bureau. For earlier years, refer to the text in the "Government Finances" report series.
WARNING: FY 2003 and 2001 data for US Total of municipalities also includes townships.
The Government Finance and Employment Classification Manual provides definitions for the different local governments in Chapter 1.1 - Types of Government Entities.
"The Census Bureau identified 87,525 governments during the 2002 Census of Governments. In addition to the Federal Government and the 50 state governments, the Census Bureau recognizes five basic types of local governments.
- County Governments (3,034). Organized county governments are found throughout the nation, except in Connecticut, Rhode Island, the District of Columbia, and limited portions of other states where county areas lack a distinct county government. They are created to provide general government activities in specified geographic areas. In Census Bureau statistics, counties include those entities called boroughs in Alaska and parishes in Louisiana.
- Municipal Governments (19,429). Municipalities are sub-county general purpose governments established to provide general services for a specific population concentration in a defined area. Municipal governments include cities, boroughs (except in Alaska), villages, and towns (except in the six New England states, Minnesota, New York, and Wisconsin). Consolidated city-county governments are treated as municipal governments for Census Bureau statistics.
- Township Governments (16,504). Townships are sub-county general purpose governments established to provide general services for areas without regard to population concentrations. They include towns in the six New England states, Minnesota, New York, and Wisconsin, and townships in eleven other states.
- Special District Governments (35,052). These are established to provide only one or a limited number of designated services (functions) and have sufficient administrative and fiscal autonomy to qualify as independent governments.
- School District Governments (13,506). These are created to provide public elementary, secondary and/or higher education services and have sufficient administrative and fiscal autonomy to qualify as independent governments. They exclude school systems that are 'dependent' on a county, municipal, township, or state government."
Additional information is available from Chapter 1 on -
- the definition of a government entity,
- the parent government concept,
- dependent agencies, and
- the joint activities of government.
Sources
- Government Finance and Employment Classification Manual, http://www2.census.gov/govs/pubs/classification/2006_classification_manual.pdf.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances and Census of Governments (1977-2010).
- Hoo, S., Murray, S., Rueben, K. "Education Spending and Changing Revenue Sources." Tax Notes. April 10, 2006. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=1000942
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