The Commonwealth of Virginia is ivided into 95 counties and 39 independent cities, which are considered county-equivalents for census purposes. Note that the map in this article, taken from the official United States Census Bureau site, includes Clifton Forge as an independent city. This reflected the political reality at the time of the 2000 Census. However, in 2001, Clifton Forge relinquished its city charter and reincorporated as a town in Alleghany County, as in Virginia, all municipalities incorporated as towns are included within counties. For some counties, for statistical purposes, the Bureau of Economic Analysis combines any independent cities with the county that it was once part of (before the legislation creating independent cities took place in 1871).