Definition of Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 6-4 (FIPS 6-4)
The Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 6-4 (FIPS 6-4) is a published series of 5-digit codes uniquely identifying counties and county-equivalents in the United States.
What is the Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 6-4?
The Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 6-4 is a published series of 5-digit standard codes uniquely identifying the counties of the 50 U.S. States.
A FIPS code consists of 2 parts:
- The first 2 digits represent the state where a particular county is located.
- The remaining 3 digits uniquely identify the county itself.
Combined, the FIPS code identifies a county and its state. Every state ID is unique in the U.S., and within every state, every county ID is unique.
FIPS 6-4 codes always include a leading zero where the state ID is between 1 and 9, and the county ID is between 1 and 99, so the total number of digits is always 5. For example, code 06071 represents California (06) and San Bernardino County (071).
FIPS 6-4 is more inclusive than having a county-only focus
Besides official counties, FIPS 6-4 codes are also issued to county-equivalent state subdivisions on the mainland U.S.A., along with insular and freely associated areas. Counties are “first-order subdivisions” of every State. Following the same logic, every non-county entity, legally or statistically, is a first-order subdivision of a state — a county-equivalent. Therefore, the issuance of a FIPS code must occur.
Areas considered to be county-equivalents have assigned FIPS codes. Below are some examples:
- Parishes of Louisiana
- District of Columbia
- Boroughs of Alaska
- Independent cities of Maryland, Virginia, Missouri, and Nevada
- Insular areas of American Samoa, Guam, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
Assignment of FIPS 6-4 codes is based on an alphabetized list. Alabama has the state code 01, and Alabama’s Autauga County has the county code 001.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) was the mandated issuer of FIPS codes until 2008, when it dropped FIPS from its roster of geographical location standards. Since 2009, FIPS codes have been officially referred to as the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) 31-2009 and managed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
How is the FIPS 6-4 publication important to businesses?
The primary purpose of the FIPS 6-4 publication is to standardize the identification of U.S. counties and county equivalents for seamless information interchange across entities and data systems in different geographical locations.
FIPS 6-4 codes ensure smooth data exchanges across companies, technical communities, contractors, government agencies, and other entities that use county codes for communication, reporting, and analysis. They are helpful in numerous data transmission applications, from broadcasting weather conditions and census data to electronic banking and record management.
For businesses, FIPS 6-4 codes are invaluable in operations that require detailed geographical information. Below are some mention-worthy Uses of FIPS 6-4 by enterprises.
- Planning logistics: Businesses that need to ensure precise delivery routes or locate vendors and suppliers in a specific area can rely on FIPS 6-4 codes to efficiently plan their operations.
- Reading customer demographics to cU.S.tomize marketing strategies: Companies dealing with customers from different geographic locations can use FIPS 6-4 codes to target their marketing campaigns to specific areas or regions.
- Analyzing sales performance: Enterprises operating in different locations can use FIPS 6-4 codes to segment their markets by state and county and gain valuable insights about sales performance.
- Reporting taxes: Businesses can use FIPS 6-4 codes to calculate taxes and other levies across states.
- Managing remote employees: Companies with remote offices, branches, and subsidiaries in different states can use FIPS 6-4 codes to manage payrolls and benefits for staff in other locations.
The Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 6-4 is an essential tool for every business operation that relies on accurately identifying a geographical location. With FIPS codes, businesses can accurately gather, organize and exchange information from different regions throughout the United States.
A brief history of the Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 6-4
The initial publication of FIPS codes happened in the 1970s as FIPS 5-1 and FIPS 6-3 codes. FIPS 5-1 issued a 2-digit numeric code for every:
- S. State
- The District of Columbia
- Insular areas
- Freely associated states
This series also included the 2-letter state abbreviations initially introduced by the United States Postal Service (USPS) during the 1963 5-digit ZIP code establishment.
Meanwhile, FIPS 6-3 provided a 3-digit code identifying counties and equivalent first-order state subdivisions. Combined FIPS 5-1 and FIPS 6-3 codes uniquely represented every U.S. county and county-equivalent.
Today, the terms INCITS 31-2009 codes and FIPS 6-4 codes are generally used interchangeably to refer to the unique county and county-equivalent identifiers of the United States.
A refresh of FIPS 5-1 and FIPS 6-3 occurred in 1986 and 1990. As a result, they respectively became FIPS 5-2 and FIPS 6-4. Their usage continued until 2008 when the NIST dropped them and established the INCITS 31-2009 codes as replacements. While still serving the same purpose, the INCITS 31 – 2009 codes were refreshed to support new industry standards, federal specifications, and recommended practices for information security.
Following the NIST decision, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that it would start using INCITS 31 codes in place of FIPS codes after the 2010 Census. However, because the bureau had used the FIPS terminology to describe its codes for decades, it decided to continue using the FIPS name for its updated codes.
Today, the terms INCITS 31-2009 codes and FIPS 6-4 codes are generally used interchangeably to refer to the unique county and county-equivalent identifiers of the United States.
Other terms similar to Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 6-4
Federal Information Processing Standard Publication 6-4 summary
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Publication 6-4 is the U.S. government-designated standard that assigns codes to identify:
- Counties
- County equivalents
- Insular areas
- Freely associated areas of the United States.
FIPS 6-4 codes are officially referred to as the INCITS 31-2009 codes. They are managed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
The FIPS 6-4 publication standardizes the identification of counties and county-equivalents, resulting in streamlined information flow and reporting across the U.S. Both the government and private entities rely on FIPS codes for efficient inter-county operations.
FIPS codes are invaluable in business operations that require accurate, country-specific information, such as:
- Logistics planning
- Market research and segmentation
- Payroll and tax management for remote staff
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