What workflow would ensure that County polygons fall within their respective State polygons?

Applying a topology rule to the Geodatabase feature dataset is a robust method for ensuring that County polygons fall within their respective State polygons. By establishing a topology rule, the system can validate spatial relationships between different geographic features within a dataset, specifically checking geometric integrity and spatial constraints.

Topology rules can define acceptable spatial relationships, such as ensuring that one set of features (Counties) must lie completely within another set (States). When these rules are enforced, any violations—like a County polygon extending beyond the boundaries of its corresponding State polygon—will be flagged for correction. This not only helps maintain data integrity but also ensures an organized structure within the geospatial data model, facilitating accurate spatial analysis and representation.

In contrast, simply clipping the Counties layer with the State layer would only alter the Counties layer to fit within the State boundaries at the moment of processing but would not inherently enforce any ongoing spatial relationship within the original dataset. Verifying the areas and summing them wouldn't address the spatial integrity needed, as those actions focus on measurements rather than spatial relationships.