Description: Counties (and equivalents)Counties are the primary legal divisions of most states. Most counties are functioning governmental units, whose powers and functions vary from state to state. In Louisiana, these primary divisions are known as parishes. In Alaska, the county equivalents consist of legally organized boroughs, municipalities, and "census areas" delineated for statistical purposes by the State of Alaska and the Census Bureau (since 1980). In four states (Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, and Virginia), one or more cities are independent of any county organization and thus constitute primary divisions of their states; the Census Bureau refers to these places as "independent cities" and treats them as the equivalents of counties for statistical purposes. The District of Columbia has no primary divisions and the jurisdiction is treated as the equivalent of a county. In Puerto Rico, municipios are the primary divisions and treated as county equivalents for statistical purposes. Legal changes to county boundaries or names are typically infrequent, but do occur from time to time.