Local Government Units in States

For 2022 the U.S. Census Bureau reported the number of local governments in all the states.  As to be expected the smallest states had the fewest local governments.  However, the states with the most local government units were not necessarily the largest.  Illinois led the pack with  6930 units which was almost 1400 more than Texas (5533) which has nearly three times Illinois's population, and was over three times the average number of local government units (1781) for the entire country. 

The U.S. Census Bureau conducts the Census of Governments every five years, categorizing each government in the country. Local governments generally include counties (boroughs in Alaska and parishes in Louisiana) and municipalities or cities/towns. The number of local governments varies significantly in different states; some contain numerous jurisdictional boundaries and overlapping special districts.