definition of fips code
The FIPS Codes shown here are 5-digit codes that are assigned to each county. The first two digits are for the State and the last three identify the County, or county equivalent. So, each State has its own 2-digit number, and each County within the state has its own 3-digit number, which are combined into a 5-digit number to uniquely identify every US county. For Example: Georgia's state number is 13, and Bryan county, GA is 029, so Bryan county's FIPS code is 13029. FIPS Codes are easier to handle in information systems than are county and state names. For more technical details :