(Redirected from Counties of the United States)
A 'county of the United States' is a local level of government smaller than a
state and not smaller than a
city or
town, in a
U.S. state or territory. The word "
county" is used in 48 of the 50 states, while
Louisiana uses the term "
parish" and
Alaska uses the word "
borough."
[1] Including those, there are 3,077 counties in the
US, an average of 62 counties per state. The state with the fewest counties is
Delaware (three), and the state with the most is
Texas (254).
[2] In many states, counties are subdivided into
townships or towns and may contain other independent, self-governing
municipalities. The site of a county's administration and courts is called the ''
county seat''.
The
U.S. Census Bureau lists 3,141 counties or county-equivalent administrative units. The power of the county government varies widely from state to state, as does the relationship between counties and incorporated
municipal governments.
[3]
County equivalents
The term ''county equivalents'' includes three additional types of administrative divisions which are different from the type of county found in most states:
★ Alaska
census areas: Most of the land area of Alaska is not contained within any of Alaska's 16
boroughs. This vast area, larger than
France and
Germany combined, is referred to by the Alaska state government as the ''
Unorganized Borough'' and, outside municipal limits, has no local government. The
United States Census Bureau, in cooperation with the Alaska state government, has divided the Unorganized Borough into 11 census areas for statistical purposes.
★
Independent cities: These are cities that legally belong to no county in a state.
As of 2004, there are 42 such cities in the United States:
Baltimore, Maryland,
Carson City, Nevada,
St. Louis, Missouri and all 39 cities in
Virginia, where any municipality incorporated as a ''city'' (in contrast to ''town'') is by law severed from any county that might otherwise have contained it.
★ The
District of Columbia, a
federal district under the absolute jurisdiction of the
US Congress, which has for the last several decades allowed the District limited
home rule.
Cities and counties
In general, cities occupy a smaller area than the county which contains them. However, there are some exceptions to this rule:
★ A city may come to have exactly the same territory as the county that contains it, even though they remain separate governments. This is nearly the case in
Jacksonville,
Florida, which has incorporated all of
Duval County except for four smaller
suburban cities.
★ A city and its containing county may be merged to form a ''
consolidated city-county'', which is considered both a city and a county under state law. Examples include
Denver, Colorado and
San Francisco, California. Similarly, some of
Alaska's boroughs have merged with their principal cities, creating ''unified city-boroughs''. This has resulted in some of Alaska's cities ranking among the geographically largest cities in the world.
★ A city may extend across county boundaries -
Atlanta, Georgia;
Columbus, Ohio;
Kansas City, Missouri;
Houston, Texas; and
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma are examples. The city of
Dallas, Texas is in five counties.
★ The five
boroughs of New York City are counties, despite being wholly contained within
New York City
Statistics
Main articles: County statistics of the United States
At the
2000 U.S. Census, the
median land area of the 3,077 U.S. counties was 1,611 km² (622 sq. miles), which is only two-thirds of the median land area of a
ceremonial county of England, and only a little more than a quarter of the median land area of a French ''
département''. However, this figure hides large differences between the eastern and western United States. The land area of counties in the western United States is much larger than the land area of counties in the eastern United States. For example, the median land area of counties in
Georgia it is 888 km² (343 sq. miles), whereas in
Utah it is 6,286 km² (2,427 sq. miles)
The largest county equivalent by (total) area is
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska at 147,843 square miles (382,912 km²), while the largest county is
North Slope Borough, Alaska at 94,763 mi² (245,435 km²). The smallest county-equivlant is the
independent city of
Falls Church, Virginia at 2.0 square miles (5 km²), while smallest county is
Kalawao County, Hawaii at 13 mi² (34 km²). The smallest self-governing County is
Arlington, Virginia at 26 mi² (72 km²).
At the 2000 U.S. Census, only 16.7% of U.S. counties had more than 100,000 inhabitants. This reflects the essentially rural nature of U.S. counties, whose grid was designed in the 19th century, in a country still largely rural and only marginally affected by urbanization. Today, the vast majority of people in the United States are concentrated in a relatively small number of counties The most populous county equivalent is
Los Angeles County, California with 10,226,506 inhabitants
as of 2005, and the least populous county is
Loving County, Texas with 60 inhabitants as of 2005.
The most densely populated county (or county equivalent) is
New York County, New York (coextensive with the Borough of Manhattan, and consisting primarily of Manhattan island) with 66,940 people per square mile (ppsm) as of 2000, and the least densely populated county is
Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska with 0.0767 ppsm as of 2000. The least densely populated county equivalent is
Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska with 0.0449 ppsm as of 2000.
Number of counties per state
The list below also includes
county-equivalents.
Southern and
Midwestern states generally tend to have more counties than
Western or
Northeastern states.
Governance
In counties with functional governments (that is, outside of New England), they are usually governed by an elected
board of commissioners or
board of supervisors. In many counties there is a county mayor. The position of mayor is mostly ceremonial in some states, while in others, the mayor is more powerful than the commissioners or supervisors.
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 ordinances 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 (like hearing appeals from the planning commission if one exists).
As for the day-to-day operations of the county government, they are usually overseen by a county manager or chief administrative officer who reports to the board, the mayor, or both.
In many states, the county technically has a plural executive in that several important officials are elected separately from the board of commissioners or supervisors (implying they cannot be fired by the board). Obviously, this can create tension if such officials then disagree on how to best carry out their respective functions.
Scope of power
The power of county governments varies widely from state to state, as does the relationship between counties and incorporated cities. The government of the county usually resides in a municipality called the
county seat. However, some counties may have multiple seats or no seat.
Minimal scope
In
New England, counties function at most as judicial court districts (in
Connecticut and
Rhode Island, they have lost those functions) and most government power below the state level is in the hands of
towns and cities. In several of Maine's sparsely populated counties, small towns rely on the county for law enforcement, and in
New Hampshire several social programs are administered at the state level. In some
New England states, such as
Connecticut, parts of
Massachusetts, and
Rhode Island, counties are only geographic designations and do not have any governmental powers. All government is either done at the state level or at the municipal (town or city) level.
Moderate scope
Outside New England, counties typically provide, at a minimum,
public utilities,
libraries,
hospitals,
parks,
roads,
law enforcement, and
jails (the
American English term for short-term incarceration facilities). There is usually a county registrar, recorder, or clerk (the title varies) who collects
vital 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). Other key county officials include the
coroner/
medical examiner,
treasurer,
assessor,
auditor,
controller, and
district attorney.
In some states, the county
sheriff is the principal law enforcement officer in the county, but his jurisdiction is generally limited to areas outside of cities and towns. In parts of the U.S., counties are "policed" by sheriffs, and cities by police departments. In other areas, county law enforcement is called "County Police" while county sheriffs provide court services.
In most western states, the county controls all
unincorporated land within its boundaries. In states with a township tier, unincorporated land is controlled by the township. Residents of unincorporated land who are dissatisfied with county-level or township-level resource allocation decisions can incorporate as a
city or
village.
In turn, depending on the state, the city or village government can then choose to provide all its own services, or provide only some and allow the county to provide the rest. Usually, the key difference between "city" and "village" is that a city ''must'' provide all of its own services and equivalent county authorities have no jurisdiction without the city's permission; while villages (which remain subject to township governments in those states that have them), being usually rural or semi-rural jurisdictions, are typically required to provide only those services that they can, with the rest being provided by the county or township.
Broad scope
The largest counties provide many facilities, such as
airports,
convention centers,
museums,
beaches,
harbors,
zoos,
clinics, and
public housing. They provide services such as child and family services, elder services, mental health services, veterans assistance services,
animal control,
probation supervision, and historic preservation. They have many additional officials like
public defenders, arts commissioners, and planning commissioners. Finally, there may also be a county fire department.
See also
★
Lists of U.S. county name etymologies
★
List of Counties of the United States
References
1. An Overview of County Government
2. How Many Counties are in Your State?
3. Osborne M. Reynolds, Jr., ''Handbook of Local Government Law'', 2nd ed. (St. Paul, MN: West Group, 2001), 26.
External links
★
Geographic Areas Reference Manual by the
United States Census Bureau
★
National Association of Counties
★
HomeInfoMax- Cross-referencing and locating all U.S. Counties, Cities and ZIP Codes
★
U.S. County Formation Maps 1643-Present - Cumulative animated graphics.
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