County seat

A county seat is the main town or city for a particular area called a county or civil parish. It is where important government offices and meetings happen. The word "seat" means a place where leaders or decisions are made, so the county seat is the center for local government in that area.

This idea is used in six countries around the world: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. In some places, like the U.S. state of Vermont, they call it a shire town instead of a county seat. No matter what it is called, the county seat is very important for the people who live there.

Canada

In Canada, some areas called counties help organize the government. Places like Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia use county seats as important towns for their local government work. In some parts, like Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, these towns are called "shire towns" instead of county seats.

China

Main article: Counties of China

County seats in China are the main towns for each county in the People's Republic of China. These centers have been important since ancient times, starting from the Warring States period. Over many years and different rulers, the number of counties grew. Today, there are 1,355 counties in mainland China.

Taiwan

Main article: County (Taiwan)

In Taiwan, the idea of counties started in 1661 by the Kingdom of Tungning. Later, the Qing empire kept using this system as more Han Chinese people moved there. By the end of that time, there were 11 counties in Taiwan.

After Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, the way areas were organized changed to fit the Japanese system. By 1945, when the Republic of China took control, Taiwan had 8 big areas called prefectures.

Today, Taiwan has 13 county seats. These places work as county-administered cities, urban townships, or rural townships.

Lists of county seats

See also: Counties of Taiwan

United States

Function

In the United States, a county is a part of a state with its own area and government. The main town or city where the county’s government works is called the seat of the county. Usually, important buildings like the county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, and records office are in the county seat. Some jobs, like taking care of roads, might be done in other places of the county, especially if the county is big.

A county seat is often a real town or city. But sometimes, the county seat can be the whole county itself, like in Arlington County, Virginia. Other times, the county seat might be part of a bigger town. For example, Ellicott City, the county seat of Howard County, Maryland, is not incorporated on its own but is part of a larger area.

U.S. counties with more than one county seat

Most counties have just one county seat. But some counties in several states have two or more county seats. These towns are usually on opposite sides of the county. This started a long time ago when it was hard to travel. Having two seats gives pride and jobs to both towns.

Bennington County, Vermont is special because it uses the term “shire town” instead of county seat and has two: Manchester, Vermont as the North Shire and Bennington as the South Shire. This is because the county is rugged and needs two places to govern from.

There are 33 counties with multiple county seats across 11 states.

Other variations

Alaska

Alaska uses “boroughs” instead of counties. The place where the borough government works is called the “borough seat.” Some areas, like the Unorganized Borough, Alaska, don’t have a borough government.

Louisiana

In Louisiana, counties are called “parishes,” and their main towns are called “parish seats.”

New England

In places like Maine and Massachusetts, counties mostly help with courts. Rhode Island has no county government at all. In Vermont, county government is only for courts and the sheriff.

In 2024, Connecticut will change how it uses counties and county seats.

South Dakota

Two counties in South Dakota have their main town and offices in another county.

Virginia

In Virginia, some county seats are independent cities not part of the county. For example, Fairfax City is the seat of Fairfax County, Virginia but is its own city.

Lists of U.S. county seats by state

The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254 counties. The state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with only 3.