definition
strict definition
FIPS code
The Federal Information Processing Standard used by the United States Government to identify geographic areas.
The FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) code is a numeric identifier, usually used for geographic regions such as counties and states.
The identifier belongs to the Federal Information Processing Standard system. A geographic name is a different kind of reference, and a numeric code from another issuing system is not a FIPS code solely because it identifies the same area.
More specific fields distinguish particular code forms. The FIPS place code identifies a place within its state, while a US Census GEOID can combine state and place components for a nationwide reference.