A census of governments is taken at 5-year intervals as  required by law under Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 161.  This 2007 Census, similar to those taken since 1957, covers three major subject fields—government organization,  public employment, and government finances.

The “Individual State Descriptions” provides information  about the organization of state and local governments.  There is a separate summary for each state and the District  of Columbia. The summaries are divided according to the  five basic types of local governments recognized for the  U.S. Census Bureau’s classification of government units— county, municipal, township, school district, and special  district governments.