COUNTY is a five-digit numeric variable. The first two digits give the FIPS state code; the last three digits give the FIPS county code.
00000 = Not identified
CPS geographies change with new delineations defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) after each decennial census. These updates affect the availability of COUNTY codes over time. Analysis using COUNTY codes between the following OMB delineations (i.e. vintages) should exercise caution:
- For ATUS respondents whose CPS month-in-sample 8 interview occurred through April 2004, COUNTY codes are based on the 1993 OMB delineation.
- For ATUS respondents whose CPS month-in-sample 8 interview occurred from May 2004 through April 2014, COUNTY codes are based on the 2003 OMB delineation.
- For ATUS respondents whose CPS month-in-sample 8 interview occurred from May 2014 through April 2025, COUNTY codes are based on the 2013 OMB delineation. There are some variations in codes among these samples, outlined in the following tables:
- May 2014 through June 2015 CPS month-in-sample 8 records use the 2013 OMB delineation, 2014 version
- July 2015 through February 2016 CPS month-in-sample 8 records use the 2013 OMB delineation, 2015 version
- March 2016 through April 2025 CPS month-in-sample 8 records use the 2013 OMB delineation, 2016 version
- For ATUS respondents whose CPS month-in-sample 8 interview occurred in May 2025 or later, COUNTY codes are based on the 2023 OMB delineation.
Description
COUNTY gives the Federal Information Processing (FIPS) state and county codes for the respondent's county of residence. Counties are assigned codes alphabetically within states. COUNTY also identifies areas that are not part of any specific county, such as independent cities.
Geographic data below state level will not be disclosed if certain population thresholds are not met. In general, geographic divisions with fewer than 100,000 people will not be identified. For this reason, there are many unidentified counties.
COUNTY was added to the data by the Census Bureau, not collected from respondents. To preserve respondent confidentiality, not all counties are identified. For cases where county information is suppressed for confidentiality, additional COUNTY codes may be inferred from PLACEFIPS. These inferred county assignments are based on Census place-to-county population overlaps and should be interpreted as geographic classifications derived by IPUMS rather than as observed respondent county identifiers.
County assignments inferred from PLACEFIPS are based on the county containing the largest share of the place population. Some derived county identifiers represent exact county-place relationships, while others reflect places that cross county boundaries. IPUMS provides the variable COUNTYERR to indicate whether a COUNTY code was reported directly in the source data or inferred from PLACEFIPS, along with the estimated level of commission error associated with county codes derived from PLACEFIPS.
For samples with inferred county assignments derived from PLACEFIPS, see COUNTYERR for information on the source and estimated error associated with COUNTY codes.
User Note: COUNTY assignments derived from PLACEFIPS are subject to both commission error and omission error. COUNTYERR reports only commission error (the percentage of the associated PLACEFIPS population residing outside the assigned county) and does not capture county residents who cannot be assigned through PLACEFIPS-based inference. As a result, low COUNTYERR values do not imply complete or representative county coverage. Inferred COUNTY codes should therefore be interpreted as derived geographic classifications rather than directly observed county identifiers and should not be used to produce representative county-level statistics.
Comparability
This variable is comparable across years. COUNTY codes are based on the Office of Management and Business (OMB) geographic delineations that are updated every 10 years, with some variation in between. For lists of COUNTY codes with labels by OMB delineation, see the codes tab.
In January 2023, the Census Bureau made a significant change to the way confidentiality is protected for individuals in small geographic areas. Geography is now partially synthesized for areas with a population below the threshold of 100,000. This change will be phased in as new respondents enter the CPS, beginning with month-in-sample 1 in January 2023. These changes affect the following geographic variables: METRO, INDIVIDCC, and COUNTY. For more information, see the Census Bureau's 2023 Current Population Survey User Note.
Some counties have undergone changes over time. Prince George's county, MD lost a city July 1, 1997. Boulder, Jefferson and Weld counties, CO lost area and population to form Broomfield County on November 15, 2001. Newport News city, VA added population from York County, VA on July 1, 2007. Any analysis of these counties across time may have to take these changes into account.
Universe
- CPS households.
Availability
- 2003-2025
