Yes, a parish is the same as a county. Louisiana is the only state that calls its primary subdivisions parishes instead of counties, but the two are legally and functionally identical. Federal law spells this out directly, and every practical function a county performs elsewhere, a parish performs in Louisiana.
Federal Law Says They’re the Same
The equivalence is written into the first title of the United States Code. Under 1 U.S.C. ยง 2, the word “county” includes “a parish, or any other equivalent subdivision of a State or Territory of the United States.”1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 1 USC 2 – County as Including Parish, and So Forth Every federal funding formula, regulation, or grant program that references a county applies to a Louisiana parish without translation.
The U.S. Census Bureau classifies all 64 Louisiana parishes as county equivalents.2United States Census Bureau. Louisiana Federal agencies, courts, and contractors use Census geography to define service areas, draw electoral maps, and distribute aid, so a parish appears in every federal dataset in the exact slot a county would occupy. The Census Bureau’s own definition puts it plainly: counties are “the primary legal divisions of most states,” and in Louisiana, “these primary divisions are known as parishes.”3United States Census Bureau. Geographic Terms and Definitions
Both parishes and counties sit in the same place in the government hierarchy: between the state above and municipalities below. Both can hold property, enter contracts, and sue or be sued. Both have boundaries fixed by state law rather than by the local governments operating inside them.
Why Louisiana Uses the Word “Parish”
The term is a holdover from Louisiana’s colonial period under France and Spain, when Roman Catholic Church parishes doubled as civil administrative districts. When the United States acquired the territory through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, those church-based districts were already the units residents identified with, and American officials kept the structure in place.
For several decades afterward, Louisiana ran both counties and parishes at the same time. Counties handled elections and judicial business; parishes handled civil governance rooted in the old congregational boundaries. The overlap was confusing, and by the 1845 constitution the counties had faded from use. That constitution mentioned “parish” roughly a hundred times and dropped every reference to “county.” No law formally abolished the counties; they simply stopped functioning.
Louisiana’s broader legal tradition reinforces the distinct vocabulary. The state’s civil code descends from the French Napoleonic Code rather than English common law.4United States District Court Eastern District of Louisiana. Civil Law in Louisiana That affects contracts, property, and family law more than it affects the parish label itself, but it reflects the same continental European roots.
What Parishes and Counties Both Do
The core responsibilities are the same in Louisiana as anywhere else. Both parishes and counties handle:
- Recording property deeds, mortgages, liens, and marriage licenses through the clerk’s office.
- Assessing real property and collecting property taxes that fund schools, roads, and public health.
- Running elections, including maintaining voter registration and organizing polling places.
- Providing law enforcement through the sheriff’s office, which patrols areas outside incorporated cities and operates the local jail.
If you own property, pay taxes, register to vote, or record a deed, the experience in a Louisiana parish looks like the experience in a county elsewhere.
Where the Differences Actually Show Up
The differences between a parish and a typical county are structural rather than functional. Two are worth knowing.
First, the Louisiana sheriff serves as the ex officio tax collector for the parish, combining law enforcement and revenue collection in one elected office.5Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:5551 – Sheriff and Ex-Officio Tax Collector Bonds Most other states split those roles between a sheriff and a separate tax collector or treasurer. For a resident paying a property tax bill, the difference is only which office issues the notice.
Second, the governing body has a different name. In 38 of Louisiana’s 64 parishes, it’s called a police jury, a term used nowhere else in the country.6Louisiana House of Representatives. Local Government, Structure and Organization The name comes from an 1811 territorial act and uses the French sense of “police,” meaning general public administration. A police jury sets the parish budget, passes ordinances, and manages infrastructure, which is exactly what a board of commissioners or board of supervisors does in other states. The remaining 26 parishes operate under home rule charters with council-president or consolidated city-parish structures that resemble governments in other states more closely.
Other States With County Equivalents
Louisiana isn’t alone in using a different word. The Census Bureau recognizes county equivalents in several places.7United States Census Bureau. States, Counties, and Statistically Equivalent Entities Alaska has 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas covering the unorganized parts of the state.8United States Census Bureau. Alaska Virginia has 38 independent cities that stand outside any county and function as their own county-level jurisdictions. The District of Columbia has no counties at all and is treated as both a state equivalent and a county equivalent.
The label changes; the role in the federal system does not. A parish, a borough, an independent city, and a county are all the same tier of government, and federal law treats them that way.