Place Codes are of two types. The five-digit Federal Information Processing Series (FIPS) place code is assigned based on alphabetical sequence within a state. If place names are duplicated within a state and they represent distinctly different areas, a separate code is assigned to each place name alphabetically by the primary county in which each place is located, or if both places are in the same county, they are assigned alphabetically by their legal descriptions (for example, “city” before “village”). Places also are assigned an eight-digit National Standard (NS) code.
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