View source for Minor civil division

{{short description|Governmental divisions of U.S. counties, such as civil townships}}
A '''minor civil division''' (MCD) is a term used by the [[United States Census Bureau]] for primary [[government]]al and/or [[administrative division]]s of a [[county (United States)|county or county-equivalent]], typically a municipal government such as a city, town, or [[civil township]]. MCDs are used for statistical purposes by the Census Bureau, and do not necessarily represent the primary form of local government. They range from non-governing geographical survey areas to municipalities with weak or strong powers of self-government. Some states with large unincorporated areas give substantial powers to counties; others have smaller or larger incorporated entities with governmental powers that are smaller than the MCD level chosen by the Census.

As of 2010, MCDs exist in 29 states, the [[District of Columbia]], and Puerto Rico. In all other states where state-defined entities are not used for census purposes (mostly in the South and the West), the Census Bureau designates [[Census County Division]]s (CCDs). For several decennial censuses prior to the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]], 28 states used MCDs, but in 2008, Tennessee changed from CCDs to MCDs, bringing the total number of MCD states to 29.<ref name=Census2011definition>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/gtc/gtc_cousub.html |title=Geographic Terms and Concepts – County Subdivision |author=U.S. Census Bureau, Geography Division |date=February 2011 |access-date=July 10, 2012 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |archive-date=December 10, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161210164725/http://www.census.gov/geo/reference/gtc/gtc_cousub.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In states that use MCDs, when any land or water is not covered by a state-defined MCD, the Census Bureau creates additional entities as [[unincorporated area#U.S. Census Bureau|unorganized territories]], that it treats as equivalent to MCDs for statistical purposes.  Because MCDs are used to divide up counties, when a MCD-level municipality or unallocated territory or water spans county boundaries, that entity's boundaries are used to create multiple MCDs, one for each county. For water areas unallocated to any MCD, the Census Bureau assigns a default [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS]] county subdivision code of 00000 and an [[ANSI]] code of eight zeroes.<ref name=Census2011definition/> This typically happens when state and county boundaries extend into the ocean or [[Great Lakes]], but MCDs are not defined by the state for the unoccupied water. (For the ocean boundary of state vs. federal responsibility, see [[Tidelands]].)
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==Minor civil divisions by state and territory==
* [[Administrative divisions of American Samoa|American Samoa]] - counties are treated as MCDs; districts and atolls are treated as county equivalents.<ref name="outlying">{{cite web |url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/GARM/Ch7GARM.pdf |title=Puerto Rico and the Outlying Areas |year=1990 |author=[[United States Census]] |access-date=20 July 2021}}</ref>
* [[Template:Regions of Arkansas|Arkansas]] - [[List of Arkansas townships|townships]] (non-governing), one unorganized territory ([[Fort Chaffee]])
* [[Local government in Connecticut|Connecticut]] - towns and consolidated city-towns, unorganized water in [[Long Island Sound]]. [[Groton (city), Connecticut|Groton]] is the only city not consolidated with a town.  [[Naugatuck]] is the only borough coterminous with a town.
* [[District of Columbia]] - considered an undivided equivalent of state, county, and MCD.
* [[Administrative divisions of Guam|Guam]] - villages (technically election districts,<ref name="outlying" /> but these are currently all co-terminous). Some reports treat villages as county equivalents.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/economic-census/guidance-geographies/levels.html |title= 2012 Economic Census / Geographic Levels |author=[[United States Census]] |date=September 12, 2016}}</ref>
* [[Administrative divisions of Illinois|Illinois]] - townships in 85 counties, election precincts in 17 counties, unorganized water in [[Lake Michigan]]. [[Chicago]] spans two counties and is thus two separate MCDs.
* [[Administrative divisions of Indiana|Indiana]] - townships, one unorganized territory ([[Camp Atterbury]]), unorganized water in Lake Michigan
* [[Outline of Iowa#Administrative divisions of Iowa|Iowa]] - townships, cities, one unorganized water area (reservoir in [[Polk County, Iowa|Polk County]]). The city of [[Tabor, Iowa|Tabor]] spans two counties and constitutes two MCDs.
* [[Kansas]] - [[List of cities in Kansas|cities]], [[List of townships in Kansas|townships]] (some non-governing)
* [[Louisiana]] - parish governing authority districts (non-governing, used for elections), one city ([[New Orleans]])
* [[List of places in Maine|Maine]] - cities, towns, [[Plantation (Maine)|plantation]], American Indian reservations, unorganized territories (including one [[Gore (surveying)|gore]])
* [[Outline of Maryland#Administrative divisions of Maryland|Maryland]] - county election districts, one city ([[Baltimore]])
* [[Administrative divisions of Massachusetts|Massachusetts]] - cities, towns, unorganized water
* [[Administrative divisions of Michigan|Michigan]] - townships, cities, unorganized water
* [[Outline of Minnesota#Administrative divisions of Minnesota|Minnesota]] - townships (mostly governing), cities, unorganized territories, unorganized water
* [[Outline of Mississippi#Administrative divisions of Mississippi|Mississippi]] - supervisors' districts (five per county, only used for electing county officials)
* [[Outline of Missouri#Administrative divisions of Missouri|Missouri]] - townships (mostly non-governing), one city ([[St. Louis]])
* [[Outline of Nebraska#Administrative divisions of Nebraska|Nebraska]] - townships (27 counties, mostly governing), election precincts (65 counties), election districts ([[Webster County, Nebraska|Webster County]]), cities, villages
* [[Local government in New Hampshire|New Hampshire]] - cities, towns, unincorporated townships (some of which are known as grants, locations, or purchases), unorganized water
* [[Local government in New Jersey|New Jersey]] - cities, towns, boroughs, villages, townships (governing), unorganized water
* [[Administrative divisions of New York (state)|New York]] - cities, towns, [[American Indian reservation]]s, unorganized territory, unorganized water. Each of the [[Boroughs (New York City)|boroughs of New York City]] is a county. The city of [[Geneva, New York|Geneva]] also spans county boundaries; the only part in [[Seneca County, New York|Seneca County]] is water.
* [[Outline of North Carolina#Administrative divisions of North Carolina|North Carolina]] - townships (non-governing), one city ([[Asheville, North Carolina|Asheville]]), four unorganized territories, and [[Cleveland County, North Carolina|Cleveland County]] is undivided after abolishing townships
* [[Outline of North Dakota#Administrative divisions of North Dakota|North Dakota]] - townships (mostly governing), cities, unorganized territories
* [[Administrative divisions of the Northern Mariana Islands|Northern Mariana Islands]] - municipal districts; municipalities are treated as county equivalents<ref name="outlying" />
* [[Administrative divisions of Ohio|Ohio]] - townships, cities, villages
* [[Local government in Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]] - townships (governing except for [[Cold Spring Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania|Cold Spring Township]]), boroughs, cities, 3 municipalities, 1 town, and 1 area of unorganized water
* [[Administrative divisions of Puerto Rico|Puerto Rico]] - [[Barrios of Puerto Rico|barrios and barrios-pueblo]], unorganized water
* [[Administrative divisions of Rhode Island|Rhode Island]] - towns, cities, unorganized water
* [[Outline of Tennessee#Administrative divisions of Tennessee|Tennessee]] - county commissioner districts (non-governing)
* [[Outline of South Dakota#Administrative divisions of South Dakota|South Dakota]] - cities, townships, unorganized territories
* [[Outline of Vermont#Administrative divisions of Vermont|Vermont]] - cities, towns (governing except 5 unincorporated), and four [[Gore (surveying)|gores]] (one of which is known as [[Warner's Grant, Vermont|Warner's Grant]])
* [[Administrative divisions of Virginia|Virginia]] - independent cities (each of which is also a county equivalent), districts (used for election of county supervisors, known as magisterial districts or election districts); [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington County]] is a single MCD
* [[Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands|US Virgin Islands]] - subdistricts (created by the territorial government explicitly for census purposes)
* [[Outline of West Virginia#Administrative divisions of West Virginia|West Virginia]] - [[List of magisterial districts in West Virginia|magisterial districts]] (used to elect county commissioners and school board members)
* [[Administrative divisions of Wisconsin|Wisconsin]] - towns (mostly governing, consolidated with county in [[Menominee County, Wisconsin|Menominee County]]), cities, villages, unorganized water

The United States also performs a census for the [[Republic of Palau]], which has an agreement of [[Associated state|free association]]. The U.S. Census considers all of Palau a county equivalent, and uses its [[States of Palau|states]] (formerly known as municipalities) as MCDs.<ref>{{cite web |author=U.S. Census Bureau |title=Guide to State and Local Census Geography |url=http://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/guidestloc/All_GSLCG.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161210054254/http://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/guidestloc/All_GSLCG.pdf |archive-date=10 Dec 2016}} (updated for 2010 Census)</ref>{{Failed verification|date=August 2024}}

==Notes==
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==References==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130319061814/http://www.census.gov/geo/reference/pdfs/GARM/Ch8GARM.pdf Chapter 8: County Subdivisions], U.S. Census Bureau, ''Geographic Areas Reference Manual'', November 1994

{{USCensus Geography}}
{{Articles on third-level administrative divisions of countries}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minor Civil Division}}
[[Category:Administrative divisions in North America|United States 3]]
[[Category:Political divisions of the United States]]
[[Category:United States Census Bureau geography]]