County (United States)

In the United States, a county or county equivalent is an administrative area that helps organize parts of a state or territory. Most states use the term “county,” but Louisiana calls them parishes and Alaska uses boroughs. These areas have set boundaries and some level of government to provide services to smaller areas like towns and villages.

The powers and roles of counties can change a lot from one state to another. Some towns are located in more than one county, while others have joined with their county to work together as consolidated city-counties. In a few places like Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of Massachusetts, counties exist only as names without any real government powers.

The number of counties in each state is different, ranging from just three counties of Delaware to 254 counties of Texas. Some counties have millions of people, like Los Angeles County, California, while others have only a few thousand. As of 2022^[update], there are 3,144 counties and county-equivalents across the 50 states and the District of Columbia. If we also count the areas in U.S. territories, the total reaches 3,244.

History

The idea of counties started in England. When people from England and later Britain settled in North America, they brought the idea of counties with them. Counties were one of the first ways to organize local government in the places that would become the United States. For example, Virginia created the first counties to help manage things in Jamestown.

As new states formed, they used counties in their own ways. Louisiana used a system called parishes, which came from when Spain and France controlled the area. In the 1900s, counties started to do more things for their communities, like making local rules for areas that are not part of a town or city. Alaska created its own special way of organizing areas, called boroughs.

Today, some places in the United States have combined city and county governments into one, like Broomfield, Colorado, which was formed in 2001.

County variations

Consolidated city-counties

Main article: Consolidated city-county

A consolidated city-county is both a city and a county at the same time, sharing powers and responsibilities of both. The city’s area matches exactly with the county’s area, making them one single unit. These are named using both the city and county names together, like Augusta–Richmond County in Georgia. Some parts of Alaska have also combined their cities and boroughs in the same way.

There are 40 places in the U.S. where a city and county have merged, including City and County of Denver, Colorado, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, and Nashville–Davidson County, Tennessee. Even after merging, some smaller towns inside these areas still keep a few of their own local powers.

County equivalents

The term county equivalents describes areas that work like counties but have different names:

• Alaska boroughs: Alaska uses “boroughs” instead of “counties.”
• Alaska census areas: Most of Alaska is not inside any borough and is managed by the state government. For counting purposes, it is split into 11 areas.
• Louisiana parishes: Louisiana uses “parishes” instead of “counties,” a name from its history.
• Independent cities: Some cities, like Baltimore, Maryland, are not part of any county.
• Washington, D.C.: This area is not part of any state and is managed by the U.S. Congress.

Most U.S. territories are split into areas that work like counties for counting purposes, such as the municipalities of Puerto Rico and the districts of the United States Virgin Islands.

Names and etymologies

See also: Lists of U.S. county name etymologies

Counties in the United States often get their names from people, places, or natural features. Many counties are named after important leaders or early settlers, with Washington County being the most common name, honoring George Washington. Other popular names include Jefferson County for Thomas Jefferson.

Counties can also be named after geographic features like lakes, rivers, or mountains, or after places in other countries. Some names come from the languages of Native American tribes or from French and Spanish influences, especially in states like Louisiana, where counties are called "parishes." These names reflect the history and culture of the people who lived in these areas long ago.

County government

The way a county government is set up and what it can do depends on the laws of the state where it is located, or sometimes a special rule just for that county called a charter. States can choose to let counties have more or less control over local matters.

Counties are usually run by a group of elected leaders. This group might be called the county commission, board of supervisors, commissioners' court, county council, county court, or county legislature. In places where a city and county are combined, like a consolidated city-county or independent city, the city council takes care of both city and county matters. Some counties have one person in charge of day-to-day work, called a county executive or county administrator, who reports to the elected group or the mayor.

In many states, the group in charge of the county has powers like making laws, running daily operations, and making decisions about certain special cases. Some important jobs, like county clerk, treasurer, or sheriff, are elected separately and cannot be removed by the group in charge.

The main office of the county, often where the courthouse is, is called the county seat. This is usually in a town, but some counties have more than one seat or none at all.

The powers of county governments differ a lot from state to state. In some places, like Connecticut and Rhode Island, counties are just names for areas without any real government powers. In others, like Maryland and Hawaii, counties take care of almost everything, including schools.

In many states, counties are divided into smaller areas called townships or towns. Counties can also include cities that run themselves.

In some areas, like New England, counties mainly handle courts and law enforcement, while towns and cities have most of the local government powers. In the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, counties usually provide services like courts, libraries, hospitals, health services, parks, roads, and law enforcement. In western and southern states, bigger counties offer many more services, such as airports, museums, public transportation, health services for children and families, and help for veterans.

Statistics

Main article: County statistics of the United States

Further information: List of United States counties and county equivalents

As of 2024, there are 2,999 counties, 64 Louisiana parishes, 19 organized boroughs, and 11 census areas in Alaska. There are also 9 councils of government in Connecticut, 41 independent cities, and the District of Columbia. This makes a total of 3,144 counties and county equivalents in the 50 states and District of Columbia. There are an additional 100 county equivalents in the territories of the United States. On average, each state has 62 counties, ranging from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas.

Southern and Midwestern states usually have more counties than Western or Northeastern states. Many Northeastern states are too small to have many counties, and Western states were often not very populated when counties were set up. Some counties in Rhode Island and Massachusetts no longer have active governments but still exist for legal and census reasons. Connecticut ended county governments in 1960, leaving its eight counties as legal and census entities only. In 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau started using the state's nine councils of government for statistics instead of the old counties, and this change was fully done by 2024.

Population

In 2019, the average county population in the U.S. was 104,435. The median county, Nicholas County, West Virginia, had 25,965 people in 2019. The most populous county is Los Angeles County, California, with 10,014,009 people in 2020. This is more than the population of 41 U.S. states. The second most populous county is Cook County, Illinois, with 5,275,541 people.

The least populous county is Loving County, Texas, with only 64 people in 2020. Eight county equivalents in the U.S. territories have no people living there.

Area

In the year 2000, the median land area of U.S. counties was 622 square miles (1,610 km²). Counties in the western U.S. are usually much larger than those in the eastern U.S. For example, the median county size in Georgia is 343 square miles (890 km²), while in Utah it is 2,427 square miles (6,290 km²).

The largest county or county equivalent is the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, covering 145,505 square miles (376,856 km²). The largest county is San Bernardino County, California, with 20,057 square miles (51,947 km²). The smallest county is Kalawao County, Hawaii, with just 11.991 square miles (31.058 km²).

Geographic relationships between cities and counties

In many states, cities can be in more than one county. For example, Dallas is in five different counties. New York City is special because it includes whole counties. Each part of the city, called a borough, is its own county: Manhattan is New York County, The Bronx is Bronx County, Queens is Queens County, Brooklyn is Kings County, and Staten Island is Richmond County. At least 32 states have cities that span multiple counties.