TheUnited States Census Bureau uses the term "county equivalent" to describe places that are comparable to counties, but called by different names. Louisiana parishes, the organized boroughs of Alaska, independent cities, and theDistrict of Columbia are equivalent to counties for administrative purposes. Alaska's Unorganized Borough is further divided into11 census areas that are statistically equivalent to counties. In 2024, the U.S. Census Bureau began to also recognizeConnecticut's councils of governments, which took over some of the regional powers from the state's former county governments, as county equivalents.
Territories of the United States do not have counties; instead, the United States Census Bureau also divides them into county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau countsAmerican Samoa'sdistricts and atolls as county equivalents.[4][5] American Samoa locally has places called "counties", but these entities are considered to be "minor civil divisions" (not true counties) by the U.S. Census Bureau.[5]
As of 2022[update], there are 3,144 counties andcounty-equivalents in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.[7] If the 100 county equivalents in the U.S. territories are counted, then the total is 3,244 counties and county-equivalents in the United States.[8][9][4][5][b]
In some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties'smaller divisions usually calledtownships, though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called "towns". The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, depending on state law.
A consolidated city-county is simultaneously a city, which is amunicipality (municipal corporation), and a county, which is anadministrative division of a state, having the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities. Thecity limit or jurisdiction is coterminous with the county line, as the two administrative entities become a non-dichotomous single entity. For this reason, a consolidated city-county is officially remarked asname of city – name of county (i.e.,Augusta–Richmond County in Georgia). The same is true of theboroughs of New York City, each of which is coextensive with a county of New York State. For those entities in which the city uses the same name as the county,city and county of name may be used (i.e.,City and County of Denver in Colorado).
Similarly, some ofAlaska's boroughs have merged with their principal cities, creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among the geographically largest cities in the world, though often with population densities far below those of most urban areas.
The termcounty equivalents is used by theUnited States Census Bureau to describe divisions that are comparable to counties but called by different names:[21]
Alaska boroughs: The state adopted the term "borough" instead of "county" to reflect Alaska's system with different classes of boroughs varying in governmental powers.[22]
Alaska census areas: Nearly half of the land area of Alaska is not contained within any of Alaska's 19 organized boroughs. This vast area, larger thanFrance andGermany combined, is officially referred to by the Alaska state government as theUnorganized Borough and outside of other incorporated borough limits, has no independent "county" government, although several incorporated city governments exist within its boundaries; the majority of it is governed and run by the State of Alaska as an extension of state government.[c] The United States Census Bureau, in cooperation with the Alaska state government for census and electoral districting purposes, has divided the Unorganized Borough into 11 census areas for statistical purposes only.[d]
Independent cities: These are cities that legally belong to no county. They differ from consolidated city-counties in that in the case of a consolidated city-county, the county at least nominally exists, whereas in the case of an independent city, no county even nominally exists.[25] There are 41 such cities in the United States:Baltimore, Maryland;Carson City, Nevada;St. Louis, Missouri; and all 38 cities inVirginia, where any area incorporated as a city is outside of the county jurisdiction.[26][27]
Washington, D.C.,[28] outside the jurisdiction of any state, has a special status. The City of Washington comprises the entirety of the District of Columbia, which, in accordance with Article 1, Section 8 of theU.S. Constitution, is under the jurisdiction of theU.S. Congress. When founded in 1801, the district consisted of two counties and three cities. In 1846, Alexandria County (which now formsArlington County and a portion of the independent city ofAlexandria)—including the then City of Alexandria—wasgiven back to Virginia. In 1871, the three remaining entities—the City of Washington,City of Georgetown, andWashington County (which was coterminous with the district)—were merged into a consolidated government of District of Columbia by an act of Congress. Georgetown was abolished as a city by another act in 1895.
Connecticut councils of governments: County governments were abolished in Connecticut in 1960. Regional councils of governments (COGs) have since been developed as a means of cooperation and coordination between municipalities. Application for the COGs to be considered county equivalents for statistical purposes was made to the Census Bureau in 2019, approved in 2022, and was fully implemented by 2024.[29]
Consolidated city-counties are not designated county equivalents for administrative purposes; since both the city and the county at least nominally exist, they are properly classified as counties in their own right. Likewise, theboroughs of New York City are coextensive with counties and are therefore by definition also not county equivalents.
Most U.S. territories are directly divided into municipalities or similar units, which are mostly treated as county equivalents for statistical purposes:[4][2][5][30][31]
After people, the next most common source of county names are geographic features and locations, with some counties even being named after counties in other states, or for places in other countries, such as the United Kingdom (the latter is most common in the area of the originalThirteen Colonies in the case of the United Kingdom, or in places which had a large number of immigrants from a particular area for other countries). The most common geographic county name isLake.
Words fromNative American languages, as well as the names of Native American leaders and tribes, lend their names to many counties.[34] Many counties bear names of French or Spanish origin, such asMarquette County being named after French missionaryFather Jacques Marquette.[35]
The term for Louisiana's county equivalents,parishes (Fr.paroisse civile and Sp.parroquia), originates from the state's French and Spanish colonial periods. Before theLouisiana Purchase and granting of statehood, government was often administered in towns where major churchparishes were located. Of the original 19 civil parishes of Louisiana that date from statehood in 1807, nine were named after the Roman Catholic parishes from which they were governed.
The structure and powers of a county government may be defined by the general law of the state or by acharter specific to that county. States may allow only general-law counties, only charter counties, or both. Generally, general-law local governments have less autonomy than chartered local governments.[36]
In many states, the board in charge of a county holds powers that transcend all three traditional branches of government. It has the legislative power to enact laws for the county; it has the executive power to oversee the executive operations of county government; and it has quasi-judicial power with regard to certain limited matters (such as hearing appeals from the planning commission if one exists).
In many states, several important officials are elected separately from the board of commissioners or supervisors and cannot be fired by the board. These positions may includecounty clerk, countytreasurer, county surrogate,sheriff, and others.
District attorneys or state attorneys are usually state-level as opposed to county-level officials, but in many states, counties and state judicial districts have coterminous boundaries.
The site of a county's administration, and often the countycourthouse, is generally called thecounty seat ("parish seat" in Louisiana, "borough seat" in Alaska, or "shire town" in several New England counties). The county seat usually resides in a municipality. However, some counties may have multiple seats or no seat. In some counties with no incorporated municipalities, a large settlement may serve as the county seat.
The power of county governments varies widely from state to state, as does the relationship between counties and incorporated cities.
The powers of counties arise from state law and vary widely.[37]InConnecticut andRhode Island,[38][39]counties are geographic entities, but not governmental jurisdictions. At the other extreme,Maryland counties and the county equivalentCity of Baltimore handle almost all services, includingpublic education, although the state retains an active oversight authority with many of these services.[40]Counties in Hawaii also handle almost all services since there is no formal level of government (municipality, public education, or otherwise) existing below that of the county in the state.[41]
In most Midwestern and Northeastern states, counties are further subdivided intotownships ortowns, which sometimes exercise local powers or administration. Throughout the United States, counties may contain other independent, self-governingmunicipalities.
In New England, counties function at most as judicial court districts andsheriff's departments (presently, inConnecticut only as judicial court districts—and inRhode Island, they have lost both those functions and most others but they are still used by theUnited States Census Bureau and some other federal agencies for some federal functions), and most of the governmental authority below the state level is in the hands oftowns and cities. In several of Maine's sparsely populated counties, small towns rely on the county for law enforcement, and inNew Hampshire several social programs are administered at the state level. In Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of Massachusetts, counties are now only geographic designations, and they do not have any governmental powers. All government is either done at the state level or at the municipal level. In Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts, regional councils have been established to partially fill the void left behind by the abolished county governments.[e] The regional councils' authority is limited compared with a county government—they have authority only over infrastructure andland use planning, distribution of state and federal funds for infrastructure projects, emergency preparedness, and limited law enforcement duties.
In theMid-Atlantic andMidwest, counties typically provide, at a minimum, courts,public utilities, libraries, hospitals,public health services, parks, roads, law enforcement, and jails. There is usually a county registrar, recorder, or clerk (the exact title varies) who collectsvital statistics, holds elections (sometimes in coordination with a separate elections office or commission), and prepares or processes certificates of births, deaths, marriages, and dissolutions (divorce decrees). The county recorder normally maintains the official record of all real estate transactions. Other key county officials include thecoroner/medical examiner,treasurer,assessor,auditor,comptroller, anddistrict attorney.
In most states, thecounty sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county. However, except in major emergencies where clear chains of command are essential, the county sheriff normally does not directly control the police departments of city governments, but merely cooperates with them (e.g., undermutual aid pacts). Thus, the most common interaction between county and city law enforcement personnel is when city police officers deliver suspects to sheriff's deputies for detention or incarceration in the county jail.
In most states, thestate courts and local law enforcement are organized and implemented along county boundaries.[42] However, nearly all of the substantive and procedural law adjudicated in state trial courts originates from the state legislature and state appellate courts. In other words, most criminal defendants are prosecuted for violations of state law, not local ordinances, and if they, the district attorney, or police seek reforms to the criminal justice system, they will usually have to direct their efforts towards the state legislature rather than the county (which merely implements state law).
A typical criminal defendant will be arraigned and subsequently indicted or held over for trial before a trial court in and for a particular county where the crime occurred, kept in the county jail (if he is not granted bail or cannot make bail), prosecuted by the county's district attorney, and tried before a jury selected from that county. But long-term incarceration is rarely a county responsibility, execution ofcapital punishment is never a county responsibility, and the state's responses to prisoners' appeals are the responsibility of thestate attorney general, who has to defend before the state appellate courts the prosecutions conducted by locally elected district attorneys in the name of the state. Furthermore, county-level trial court judges are officers of the judicial branch of the state government rather than county governments.
In many states, the county controls allunincorporated lands within its boundaries. In states with a township tier, unincorporated land is controlled by the townships. Residents of unincorporated land who are dissatisfied with county-level or township-level resource allocation decisions can attempt to vote to incorporate as acity,town, orvillage.
A few counties directly providepublic transportation themselves, usually in the form of a simple bus system. However, in most counties, public transportation is provided by one of the following: aspecial district that is coterminous with the county (but exists separately from the county government), a multi-county regional transit authority, or a state agency.
Inwestern andsouthern states, more populated counties provide many facilities, such as airports,convention centers, museums,recreation centers,beaches, harbors, zoos, clinics,law libraries, andpublic housing. They provide services such as child and family services, elder services, mental health services, welfare services, veterans assistance services,animal control,probation supervision, historic preservation, food safety regulation, and environmental health services. They have many additional officials likepublic defenders, arts commissioners, human rights commissioners, and planning commissioners.
There may be a county fire department and a county police department – as distinguished from fire and police departments operated by individual cities, special districts, or the state government. For example,Gwinnett County, Georgia, and its county seat, the city ofLawrenceville, each have their own police departments. (A separate county sheriff's department is responsible for security of the county courts and administration of the county jail.) In several southern states,public school systems are organized and administered at the county level.
Southern andMidwestern states generally tend to have more counties thanWestern orNortheastern states, as many Northeastern states are not large enough in area to warrant a large number of counties, and many Western states were sparsely populated when counties were created by their respective state legislatures. Thefive counties ofRhode Island andeight of the 14 counties ofMassachusetts no longer have functional county governments, but continue to exist as legal and census entities.Connecticut abolished county governments in 1960, leaving itseight counties as mere legal and census entities. In 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau recognized the state'snine councils of governments as replacement for the state's eight legacy counties for all statistical purposes; full implementation was completed in 2024.
The counties and county equivalents of the United States of America, by state or territory
County population map 2022 census estimates excl. CT
The average U.S. county population was 104,435 in 2019, while the median county,Nicholas County, West Virginia, had a population of 25,965 in 2019. The most populous county isLos Angeles County, California, with 10,014,009 residents in 2020. This number is greater than the populations of 41 U.S. states, and is only slightly smaller than the combined population of the 10 least populous states and Washington, D.C. It also makes the population of Los Angeles County 17.4 times greater than that of the least populous state, Wyoming.
The second most populous county isCook County, Illinois, with a population of 5,275,541.[50] Cook County's population is larger than that of 28 individualU.S. states and the combined populations of the six smallest states.[50]
The most densely populated county or county equivalent isNew York County, New York (coextensive with theNew York City Borough of Manhattan), with 72,033 persons per square mile (27,812 persons/km2) in 2015. TheYukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, is both the most extensive and the least densely populated county or county equivalent with 0.0380 persons per square mile (0.0147 persons/km2) in 2015.[50]
In the 50 states (plus the District of Columbia), a total of 981 counties have a population over 50,000; 592 counties have a population over 100,000; 137 counties have a population over 500,000; 45 counties have a population over 1,000,000; and 14 counties have a population over 2,000,000. At the other extreme, 35 counties have a population under 1,000; 307 counties have a population under 5,000; 709 counties have a population under 10,000; and 1,492 counties have a population between 10,000 and 50,000.[50]
At the2000 U.S. census, themedian land area of U.S. counties was 622 sq mi (1,610 km2), which is two-thirds of the median land area of aceremonial county of England, and a little more than a quarter of the median land area of a Frenchdépartement. Counties in the western United States typically have a much larger land area than those in the eastern United States. For example, the median land area of counties inGeorgia is 343 sq mi (890 km2), whereas inUtah it is 2,427 sq mi (6,290 km2).
The most extensive county or county equivalent is theYukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, with a land area of 145,505 square miles (376,856 km2). All nine of the most extensive county equivalents are in Alaska. The most extensive county isSan Bernardino County, California, with a land area of 20,057 square miles (51,947 km2). The least extensive county isKalawao County, Hawaii, with a land area of 11.991 square miles (31.058 km2). The least extensive county equivalent in the 50 states is theindependent city ofFalls Church, Virginia, with a land area of 1.999 square miles (5.177 km2).[3] If U.S. territories are included, the least extensive county equivalent isKingman Reef, with a land area of 0.01 square miles (0.03 km2).[1]
Geographic relationships between cities and counties
In some states, a municipality may be in only one county and may not annex territory in adjacent counties, but in the majority of states, the state constitution or state law allows municipalities to extend across county boundaries. At least 32 states includemunicipalities in multiple counties.Dallas, for example, contains portions of five counties, while numerous other cities comprise portions of four counties.New York City is an unusual case because it encompasses multiple entire counties in one city. Each of those counties is coextensive with one of the fiveboroughs of the city:Manhattan (New York County),The Bronx (Bronx County),Queens (Queens County),Brooklyn (Kings County), andStaten Island (Richmond County).
^ TheUnorganized Borough formed by theBorough Act of 1961 is a legal entity, run by the Alaska state government as an extension of State government.[23] It and the independently incorporated Unified, Home Rule, First Class and Second Class boroughs roughly correspond to parishes in Louisiana and to counties in the other 48 states.[24]
^These 11 statistical areas are used solely by theUnited States Census Bureau to tabulate population and other census statistics within the Unorganized Borough; they have no legal basis in Alaska state or federal law other than for electoral representation and federal financial assistance purposes.
^Unlike in Massachusetts,Connecticut's regional councils do not conform to the old county lines, but rather, they are composed of towns that share the same geographic area and have similar demographics.
^Prior to July 1, 2016, there were 42 independent cities. At that time,Bedford, Virginia, gave up its city status and became a town withinBedford County.[43]
^Estimates have not been made available for the territories of American Samoa; Guam; the Northern Mariana Islands; the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands; and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Currently, outdated 2019 estimates have been kept in place for the named.
^On June 6, 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau formally recognizedConnecticut's nine councils of governments as county equivalents instead of the state's eight counties. Connecticut's county governments were disbanded in 1960, and the councils of governments took over some of the local governmental functions.Connecticut's eight historical counties continue to exist in name only, and are no longer considered for statistical purposes.
^The U.S. Census Bureau and theOffice of Management and Budget consider the entire District of Columbia to be a county equivalent.
^Although American Samoa has 15 counties,[46][47][48] they are not counted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The Bureau instead counts American Samoa's3 districts and 2 atolls as county equivalents.[49][4]
^Guam does not have counties. All of Guam is counted as one county equivalent by the U.S. Census Bureau.
^The Northern Mariana Islands do not have counties. The U.S. Census Bureau counts the 4 municipalities of the Northern Mariana Islands as county equivalents.
^Puerto Rico does not have counties. The U.S. Census Bureau counts Puerto Rico's78 municipalities as county equivalents.
^The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands do not have counties. The U.S. Census Bureau counts each of the 9 island groups in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands as county equivalents.
^The Minor Outlying Islands have no permanent residents. All reported population consists of temporary military and scientific habitation.
^The U.S. Virgin Islands do not have counties. The U.S. Census Bureau counts the three main islands (Saint Croix,Saint Thomas andSaint John) as county equivalents.
^"Facts & History". RetrievedJanuary 23, 2010.Rhode Island has no county government. It is divided into 39 municipalities each having its own form of local government.
^Neubauer, David W.; Fradella, Henry F. (2014).America's Courts and the Criminal Justice System (11th ed.). Belmont, California: Wadsworth. p. 103.ISBN978-1-285-06194-8.
