How many governments exist in the United States?
The 1997 Census of Government says it best..."There were 87,504 governmental units in the United States as of June 1997. In addition to the Federal Government and the 50 state governments, there were 87,453 units of local government. Of these, 39,044 are general purpose local governments - 3,043 county governments and 36,001 subcounty general purpose governments, including 13,726 school distict governments and 34,683 special district governments."
