definition
strict definition
census area
An area delimited for statistics in place of a county, used in Alaska where no borough exists.
A census area is an area the US Census Bureau delimits so that every part of a state falls inside some unit at county level. Alaska uses them for the land that no borough covers.
It has no government of its own. The state administers the territory directly, and the boundary exists so that statistics can be reported for it.
Because the Bureau redraws these when boroughs form or change, a census area can disappear between censuses while the land stays where it is.