A census of governments is taken at 5-year intervals as required by law under Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 161.  The 2017 Census of Governments (CoG), similar to those taken since 1957, covers three major components - government organization, public employment, and public finances.

The Individual State Descriptions report 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.