Unorganized territory
Unorganized territories, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, occur in 10 minor civil division (MCD) states (Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota) where portions of counties are not included in any legally established MCD or independent incorporated place. The U.S. Census Bureau recognizes such separate pieces of territory as one or more separate county subdivisions for statistical purposes. It assigns each unorganized territory a descriptive name, followed by the designation "unorganized territory." Unorganized territories were first used for statistical purposes in conjunction with the 1960 census. [1]Unorganized territories also exist in certain regions of Canada, such as Northern Ontario where there is no region-wide level of government.
Unorganized territory also refers to a unincorporated territory of the United States for which the United States Congress has not enacted an organic act. Typically unorganized territories were lands possessed by the federal U.S. government but undivided into territories, states or military-led departments.
American Samoa which is administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, is the only current unorganized territory.