List of counties in New York

New York is a big state in the United States, and it has 62 counties. Counties are like smaller parts that help organize the state. Some of the counties were created a long time ago, in 1683, when the British took over a place called New Amsterdam. Over time, more counties were added, and today there are 62.

Many of these counties have interesting names. Some names come from Native American words, while others are named after British places, important people, and leaders from New York. The newest county is the Bronx, which was created in 1914 from part of New York County. Counties help to organize towns, cities, and villages across the state.

Authority

Except for the five parts of New York City, each county in New York has its own rules and leaders. Some counties have a group of supervisors making decisions, while others have a main leader chosen by voters. In counties with special rules, the main leader can stop decisions made by the group.

Across the whole state, including New York City, courts and legal matters are mostly handled by state laws but are organized based on each county, as decided by the people living there.

Five boroughs of New York City

Five of New York's counties are each the same size as New York City's five boroughs. They are New York County (Manhattan), Kings County (Brooklyn), Bronx County (The Bronx), Richmond County (Staten Island), and Queens County (Queens). These are the smallest counties in New York by area.

Unlike other counties in New York, these five boroughs have very limited powers and are mostly governed by the city government. Some leaders are chosen by people across the whole borough. The five borough presidents handle matters for their boroughs. There are no official main places for the counties, but some neighborhoods are known because important buildings are there. For example, important buildings are in the Concourse area of the Bronx, Downtown Brooklyn, the Civic Center in Manhattan, Kew Gardens in Queens, and St. George on Staten Island.

List of counties

County	FIPS Code	County seat	Est.	Formed from	Named for	Density (Pop./mi2)	Pop. (2025)	Area	Map
Albany County	001	Albany	Nov 1, 1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	James II of England (James VII of Scotland) (1633–1701), who was Duke of York (English title) and Duke of Albany (Scottish title) before becoming King of England, Ireland, and Scotland.	602.67	321,225	533 sq mi (1,380 km2)
Allegany County	003	Belmont	Apr 7, 1806	Genesee County	A variant spelling of the Allegheny River	45.26	46,800	1,034 sq mi (2,678 km2)
Bronx County	005	none (sui generis)	Jan 1, 1914	New York County	The Bronx River	24,487.76	1,406,332	57.43 sq mi (149 km2)
Broome County	007	Binghamton	Mar 28, 1806	Tioga County	John Broome (1738–1810), fourth Lieutenant Governor of New York	273.76	195,736	715 sq mi (1,852 km2)
Cattaraugus County	009	Little Valley	Mar 11, 1808	Genesee County	A word from an uncertain Iroquoian language meaning "bad smelling banks", referring to the odor of natural gas which leaked from Cattaraugus Creek	57.55	75,390	1,310 sq mi (3,393 km2)
Cayuga County	011	Auburn	Mar 8, 1799	Onondaga County	The Cayuga tribe of Native Americans	86.07	74,365	864 sq mi (2,238 km2)
Chautauqua County	013	Mayville	Mar 11, 1808	Genesee County	Loanword from the Erie language describing Chautauqua Lake; language now lost and cannot be translated	82.75	124,126	1,500 sq mi (3,885 km2)
Chemung County	015	Elmira	Mar 20, 1836	Tioga County	A Lenape word meaning "big horn", which was the name of a local Native American village	195.75	80,415	410.81 sq mi (1,064 km2)
Chenango County	017	Norwich	Mar 15, 1798	Tioga County and Herkimer County	An Onondaga word meaning "large bull-thistle"	50.86	45,715	898.85 sq mi (2,328 km2)
Clinton County	019	Plattsburgh	Mar 4, 1788	Washington County	George Clinton (1739–1812), fourth Vice President of the United States and first and third Governor of New York	69.89	78,138	1,118 sq mi (2,896 km2)
Columbia County	021	Hudson	Apr 1, 1786	Albany County	Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the European explorer	92.85	60,168	648 sq mi (1,678 km2)
Cortland County	023	Cortland	Apr 8, 1808	Onondaga County	Pierre Van Cortlandt (1721–1814), first Lieutenant Governor of New York	91.33	45,850	502 sq mi (1,300 km2)
Delaware County	025	Delhi	Mar 10, 1797	Otsego County and Ulster County	Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (1577–1618), an early colonial leader in Virginia. Name applied to the bay, river, and Lenape Native Americans	30.18	44,305	1,468 sq mi (3,802 km2)
Dutchess County	027	Poughkeepsie	Nov 1, 1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	Mary of Modena (1658–1718), Duchess of York and wife of King James II of England	364.49	300,708	825 sq mi (2,137 km2)
Erie County	029	Buffalo	Apr 2, 1821	Niagara County	The Erie tribe of Native Americans	771.59	946,741	1,227 sq mi (3,178 km2)
Essex County	031	Elizabethtown	Mar 1, 1799	Clinton County	The county of Essex in England	19.02	36,438	1,916 sq mi (4,962 km2)
Franklin County	033	Malone	Mar 11, 1808	Clinton County	Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), the early American printer, scientist, and statesman	27.40	46,500	1,697 sq mi (4,395 km2)
Fulton County	035	Johnstown	Apr 18, 1838	Montgomery County	Robert Fulton (1765–1815), inventor of the steamship	97.97	52,216	533 sq mi (1,380 km2)
Genesee County	037	Batavia	Mar 30, 1802	Ontario County and land acquired in the Holland Purchase	A Seneca phrase meaning "good valley"	118.01	58,416	495 sq mi (1,282 km2)
Greene County	039	Catskill	Mar 25, 1800	Albany County and Ulster County	Nathanael Greene (1742–1786), the American Revolutionary War general	71.79	47,238	658 sq mi (1,704 km2)
Hamilton County	041	Lake Pleasant	Apr 12, 1816	Montgomery County	Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804), the early American political theorist and first Secretary of the Treasury	2.77	5,006	1,808 sq mi (4,683 km2)
Herkimer County	043	Herkimer	Feb 16, 1791	Montgomery County	Nicholas Herkimer (1728–1777), the American Revolutionary War general	40.62	59,219	1,458 sq mi (3,776 km2)
Jefferson County	045	Watertown	Mar 28, 1805	Oneida County	Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), the early American statesman, author of the Declaration of Independence, and third President of the United States	60.06	111,540	1,857 sq mi (4,810 km2)
Kings County	047	none (sui generis)	Nov 1, 1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	King Charles II of England (1630–1685)	27,388.68	2,653,963	96.9 sq mi (251 km2)
Lewis County	049	Lowville	Mar 28, 1805	Oneida County	Morgan Lewis (1754–1844), the fourth Governor of New York	20.53	26,479	1,290 sq mi (3,341 km2)
Livingston County	051	Geneseo	Feb 23, 1821	Genesee County and Ontario County	Robert Livingston (1746–1813), the early American statesman and New York delegate to the Continental Congress	96.00	61,438	640 sq mi (1,658 km2)
Madison County	053	Wampsville	Mar 21, 1806	Chenango County	James Madison (1751–1836), the early American statesman, principal author of the Constitution of the United States, and fourth President of the United States	101.39	67,120	662 sq mi (1,715 km2)
Monroe County	055	Rochester	Feb 23, 1821	Genesee County and Ontario County	James Monroe (1758–1831), the early American statesman and fifth President of the United States	549.42	750,506	1,366 sq mi (3,538 km2)
Montgomery County	057	Fonda	Mar 12, 1772	Albany County	Originally Tryon County after colonial governor William Tryon (1729–1788), renamed after the American Revolutionary War general Richard Montgomery (1738–1775) in 1784	122.06	50,046	410 sq mi (1,062 km2)
Nassau County	059	Mineola	Jan 1, 1899	Queens County	The Princes of Orange-Nassau ruled the Netherlands when Long Island was a Dutch colony	3,088.17	1,398,939	453 sq mi (1,173 km2)
New York County	061	none (sui generis)	Nov 1, 1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	King James II of England (1633–1701), who was Duke of York and Albany before he ascended the throne of England, Duke of York being his English title	49,300.03	1,664,862	33.77 sq mi (87 km2)
Niagara County	063	Lockport	Mar 11, 1808	Genesee County	The Iroquoian name of a tribe within the Neutral Nation, the exact translation of which remains disputed	183.26	208,912	1,140 sq mi (2,953 km2)
Oneida County	065	Utica	Mar 15, 1798	Herkimer County	The Oneida tribe of Native Americans	186.64	226,392	1,213 sq mi (3,142 km2)
Onondaga County	067	Syracuse	Mar 5, 1794	Herkimer County	The Onondaga tribe of Native Americans	578.89	466,584	806 sq mi (2,088 km2)
Ontario County	069	Canandaigua	Jan 27, 1789	Land acquired in the Phelps and Gorham Purchase	An Iroquoian word meaning "beautiful lake"	170.89	113,130	662 sq mi (1,715 km2)
Orange County	071	Goshen	Nov 1, 1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	William of Orange-Nassau (1650–1702), who became King William III of England	497.82	417,669	839 sq mi (2,173 km2)
Orleans County	073	Albion	Nov 12, 1824	Genesee County	The French Royal House of Orléans	48.75	39,825	817 sq mi (2,116 km2)
Oswego County	075	Oswego	Mar 1, 1816	Oneida County and Onondaga County	The Oswego River, from an Iroquoian word meaning "the outpouring", referring to the mouth of the river	90.37	118,569	1,312 sq mi (3,398 km2)
Otsego County	077	Cooperstown	Feb 16, 1791	Montgomery County	A Native American word meaning "place of the rock"	60.41	60,589	1,003 sq mi (2,598 km2)
Putnam County	079	Carmel Hamlet	Jun 12, 1812	Dutchess County	Israel Putnam (1718–1790), an American Revolutionary War general	402.55	99,028	246 sq mi (637 km2)
Queens County	081	none (sui generis)	Nov 1, 1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	Catherine of Braganza (1638–1705), Queen of England and wife of King Charles II of England	13,227.41	2,358,182	178.28 sq mi (462 km2)
Rensselaer County	083	Troy	Feb 7, 1791	Albany County	In honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer (before 1596 – after 1643), the early landholder in the Dutch New Netherland colony	241.37	160,510	665 sq mi (1,722 km2)
Richmond County	085	none (sui generis)	Nov 1, 1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond (1672–1723), the illegitimate son of King Charles II of England	4,890.63	501,290	102.5 sq mi (265 km2)
Rockland County	087	New City	Feb 23, 1798	Orange County	Early settlers' description of terrain as "rocky land"	1,795.96	357,397	199 sq mi (515 km2)
St. Lawrence County	089	Canton	Mar 3, 1802	Clinton County, Herkimer County, and Montgomery County	The St Lawrence River, which forms the northern border of the county and New York State	37.39	105,488	2,821 sq mi (7,306 km2)
Saratoga County	091	Ballston Spa	Feb 7, 1791	Albany County	A corruption of a Native American word meaning "the hill beside the river"	285.95	241,343	844 sq mi (2,186 km2)
Schenectady County	093	Schenectady	Mar 27, 1809	Albany County	A Mohawk word meaning "on the other side of the pine lands"	774.20	162,581	210 sq mi (544 km2)
Schoharie County	095	Schoharie	Apr 6, 1795	Albany County and Otsego County	A Mohawk word meaning "floating driftwood"	48.20	30,176	626 sq mi (1,621 km2)
Schuyler County	097	Watkins Glen	Apr 17, 1854	Chemung County, Steuben County, and Tompkins County	Philip Schuyler (1733–1804), the American Revolutionary War general and Senator from New York	49.49	16,924	342 sq mi (886 km2)
Seneca County	099	Waterloo	Mar 24, 1804	Cayuga County	The Seneca tribe of Native Americans	101.18	32,883	325 sq mi (842 km2)
Steuben County	101	Bath	Mar 18, 1796	Ontario County	Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730–1794), the Prussian general who assisted the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War	65.42	91,855	1,404 sq mi (3,636 km2)
Suffolk County	103	Riverhead	Nov 1, 1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	The county of Suffolk in England	651.53	1,546,090	2,373 sq mi (6,146 km2)
Sullivan County	105	Monticello	Mar 27, 1809	Ulster County	John Sullivan (1740–1795), an American Revolutionary War general	80.83	80,586	997 sq mi (2,582 km2)
Tioga County	107	Owego	Feb 16, 1791	Montgomery County	A Native American word meaning "at the forks", describing a meeting place	90.73	47,453	523 sq mi (1,355 km2)
Tompkins County	109	Ithaca	Apr 7, 1817	Cayuga County and Seneca County	Daniel D. Tompkins (1774–1825), the 6th Vice President of the United States	218.59	104,047	476 sq mi (1,233 km2)
Ulster County	111	Kingston	Nov 1, 1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	The Irish province of Ulster, then an earldom of the Duke of York, later King James II of England	157.91	183,330	1,161 sq mi (3,007 km2)
Warren County	113	Queensbury	Mar 12, 1813	Washington County	Joseph Warren (1741–1775), the early American patriot and American Revolutionary War general	74.74	65,020	870 sq mi (2,253 km2)
Washington County	115	Fort Edward	Mar 12, 1772	Albany County	Originally Charlotte County, renamed in 1784 after George Washington (1732–1799), the American Revolutionary War general and first President of the United States	70.16	59,353	846 sq mi (2,191 km2)
Wayne County	117	Lyons	Apr 11, 1823	Ontario County and Seneca County	General Anthony Wayne (1745–1796), the American Revolutionary War general	65.93	91,250	1,384 sq mi (3,585 km2)
Westchester County	119	White Plains	Nov 1, 1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	The city of Chester in England	2,031.49	1,015,743	500 sq mi (1,295 km2)
Wyoming County	121	Warsaw	May 14, 1841	Genesee County	A modification of a word from the Lenape language meaning "broad bottom lands"	66.68	39,741	596 sq mi (1,544 km2)
Yates County	123	Penn Yan	Feb 5, 1823	Ontario County and Steuben County	Joseph C. Yates (1768–1837), eighth Governor of New York	65.28	24,547	376 sq mi (974 km2)

Defunct counties

Proposed new counties

Clickable map