History
The idea of counties originated with the counties of England. English (after 1707, British) colonists brought to their colonies in North America a political subdivision that they already used in the British metropole: the counties. Counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the administrative workload in Jamestown. The House of Burgesses divided the colony first into four "incorporations" in 1617 and finally into eight shires (or counties) in 1634: James City, Henrico, Charles City, Charles River, Warrosquyoake, Accomac, Elizabeth City, and Warwick River. America's oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia, in Northampton (originally Accomac) County, dating to 1632. Maryland established its first county, St. Mary's in 1637. In 1639, the Province of Maine founded York County. Massachusetts followed in 1643. Pennsylvania and New York delegated significant power and responsibility from the colony government to county governments and thereby established a pattern for most of the United States, although counties remained relatively weak in New England.
When independence came, the framers of the Constitution left the matter to the states. Subsequently, state constitutions conceptualized county governments as arms of the state. In the twentieth century, the role of local governments strengthened and counties began providing more services, acquiring home rule and county commissions to pass local ordinances pertaining to their unincorporated areas. In 1955, delegates to the Alaska Constitutional Convention wanted to avoid the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model with different types of boroughs varying in powers and duties.
In some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties' smaller divisions usually called townships, 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.
The newest county in the United States is the consolidated city-county of Broomfield, Colorado, established in 2001 from parts of four existing counties. The newest county equivalents are the Alaskan census areas of Chugach and Copper River, both formed in 2019 from the now-defunct Valdez–Cordova Census Area, and the Alaskan boroughs of Petersburg established in 2013, Wrangell established in 2008, and Skagway established in 2007.
County variations
Consolidated city-counties
A consolidated city-county is simultaneously a city, which is a municipality (municipal corporation), and a county, which is an administrative division of a state, having the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities. The city 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 as name of city – name of county (e.g., Augusta–Richmond County in Georgia). The same is true of the boroughs 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 (e.g., City and County of Denver in Colorado).
Similarly, some of Alaska'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.
There are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U.S.,
- 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.
- 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 than France and Germany combined, is officially referred to by the Alaska state government as the Unorganized 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. 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.
- Louisiana parishes: The usage of the term "parish" for a territorial entity or local government in Louisiana dates back to both the Spanish colonial and French colonial periods when the land was dominated by the Catholic Church. New Orleans is a consolidated city-parish.
- 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. There are 41 such cities in the United States: Baltimore, Maryland; Carson City, Nevada; St. Louis, Missouri; and all 38 cities in Virginia, where any area incorporated as a city is outside of the county jurisdiction.
- Washington, D.C., 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 the U.S. Constitution, is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress. When founded in 1801, the district consisted of two counties and three cities. In 1846, Alexandria County (which now forms Arlington County and a portion of the independent city of Alexandria)—including the then City of Alexandria—was given back to Virginia. In 1871, the three remaining entities—the City of Washington, City of Georgetown, and Washington 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.
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, the boroughs of New York City are coextensive with counties and are therefore by definition also not county equivalents.
Territories
Most U.S. territories are directly divided into municipalities or similar units, which are mostly treated as county equivalents for statistical purposes:
- The 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico
- The two districts of the United States Virgin Islands, or the three main islands of the United States Virgin Islands
- The four municipalities of the Northern Mariana Islands
- The nine islands of the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands
- The three districts and two atolls of American Samoa
American Samoa has 15 of its own counties, but the U.S. Census Bureau treats these as minor civil divisions and the three districts and two atolls as county equivalents. while the USGS counts Guam's election districts (villages) as county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts the three main islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands as county equivalents, while the USGS counts the districts of the U.S. Virgin Islands (of which there are 2) as county equivalents. Many counties bear names of French or Spanish origin, such as Marquette County being named after French missionary Father Jacques Marquette.
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 the Louisiana Purchase and granting of statehood, government was often administered in towns where major church parishes 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.
County government
Organization
The structure and powers of a county government may be defined by the general law of the state or by a charter 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.
Counties are usually governed by an elected body, variously called the county commission, board of supervisors, commissioners' court, county council, county court, or county legislature. In cases in which a consolidated city-county or independent city exists, a city council usually governs city/county or city affairs. In some counties, day-to-day operations are overseen by an elected county executive or by a chief administrative officer or county administrator who reports to the board, the mayor, or both.
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 include county clerk, county treasurer, 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 county courthouse, is generally called the county 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.
Scope of power
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.
In Connecticut and Rhode Island,
counties are geographic entities, but not governmental jurisdictions. At the other extreme, Maryland counties and the county equivalent City of Baltimore handle almost all services, including public education, although the state retains an active oversight authority with many of these services. 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.
In most Midwestern and Northeastern states, counties are further subdivided into townships or towns, which sometimes exercise local powers or administration. Throughout the United States, counties may contain other independent, self-governing municipalities.
Minimal scope
In New England, counties function at most as judicial court districts and sheriff's departments (presently, in Connecticut only as judicial court districts—and in Rhode Island, they have lost both those functions and most others but they are still used by the United 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 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 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. The regional councils' authority is limited compared with a county government—they have authority only over infrastructure and land use planning, distribution of state and federal funds for infrastructure projects, emergency preparedness, and limited law enforcement duties.
Moderate scope
In the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, 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 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). The county recorder normally maintains the official record of all real estate transactions. Other key county officials include the coroner/medical examiner, treasurer, assessor, auditor, comptroller, and district attorney.
In most states, the county 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., under mutual 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, the state courts and local law enforcement are organized and implemented along county boundaries. 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 of capital punishment is never a county responsibility, and the state's responses to prisoners' appeals are the responsibility of the state 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 all unincorporated 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 a city, town, or village.
A few counties directly provide public transportation themselves, usually in the form of a simple bus system. However, in most counties, public transportation is provided by one of the following: a special district that is coterminous with the county (but exists separately from the county government), a multi-county regional transit authority, or a state agency.
Broad scope
In western and southern states, more populated counties provide many facilities, such as airports, convention centers, museums, recreation centers,
beaches, harbors, zoos, clinics, law libraries, and public 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 like public 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 of Lawrenceville, 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.
Statistics
, there were 2,999 counties, 64 Louisiana parishes, 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas in Alaska, 9 councils of government in Connecticut, 41 independent cities, and the District of Columbia for a total of 3,144 counties and county equivalents in the 50 states and District of Columbia.
! Land area
!data-sort-type=number| Counties
!data-sort-type=number|Equivalents
!data-sort-type=number|Total
!Population
!Land area
|-
| Alabama
|align=right|5,157,699
|align=center|
|align=right|67
|align=right|—
|align=right|67
|align=right|76,981
|align=center|
|-
| Alaska
|align=right|740,133
|align=center|
| align="right" | —
| style="background: #EEEEEE;" align=right|30
|align=right|30
|align=right|24,671
|align=center|
|-
| Arizona
|align=right|7,582,384
|align=center|
|align=right|15
|align=right|—
|align=right|15
|align=right|505,492
|align=center|
|-
| Arkansas
|align=right|3,088,354
|align=center|
|align=right|75
|align=right|—
|align=right|75
|align=right|41,178
|align=center|
|-
| California
|align=right|39,431,263
|align=center|
|align=right|58
|align=right|—
|align=right|58
|align=right|679,849
|align=center|
|-
| Colorado
|align=right|5,957,493
|align=center|
|align=right|64
|align=right|—
|align=right|64
|align=right|93,086
|align=center|
|-
| Connecticut
|align=right|3,675,069
|align=center|
|align=right|—
|style="background: #EEEEEE;" align=right|9
|align=right|9
|align=right|408,341
|align=center|
|-
| Delaware
|align=right|1,051,917
|align=center|
|align=right|3
|align=right|—
|align=right|3
|align=right|350,639
|align=center|
|-
| District of Columbia
|align=right|702,250
|align=center|
| align="right" | —
| style="background: #EEEEEE;" align=right|1
|align=right|1
|align=right|702,250
|align=center|
|-
| Florida
|align=right|23,372,215
|align=center|
|align=right|67
|align=right|—
|align=right|67
|align=right|348,839
|align=center|
|-
| Georgia
|align=right|11,180,878
|align=center|
|align=right|159
|align=right|—
|align=right|159
|align=right|70,320
|align=center|
|-
| Hawaii
|align=right|1,446,146
|align=center|
|align=right|5
|align=right|—
|align=right|5
|align=right|289,229
|align=center|
|-
| Idaho
|align=right|2,001,619
|align=center|
|align=right|44
|align=right|—
|align=right|44
|align=right|45,491
|align=center|
|-
| Illinois
|align=right|12,710,158
|align=center|
|align=right|102
|align=right|—
|align=right|102
|align=right|124,609
|align=center|
|-
| Indiana
|align=right|6,924,275
|align=center|
|align=right|92
|align=right|—
|align=right|92
|align=right|75,264
|align=center|
|-
| Iowa
|align=right|3,241,488
|align=center|
|align=right|99
|align=right|—
|align=right|99
|align=right|32,742
|align=center|
|-
| Kansas
|align=right|2,970,606
|align=center|
|align=right|105
|align=right|—
|align=right|105
|align=right|28,291
|align=center|
|-
| Kentucky
|align=right|4,588,372
|align=center|
|align=right|120
|align=right|—
|align=right|120
|align=right|38,236
|align=center|
|-
| Louisiana
|align=right|4,597,740
|align=center|
| align="right" | —
|style="background: #EEEEEE;" align=right|64
|align=right|64
|align=right|71,840
|align=center|
|-
| Maine
|align=right|1,405,012
|align=center|
|align=right|16
|align=right|—
|align=right|16
|align=right|87,813
|align=center|
|-
| Maryland
|align=right|6,263,220
|align=center|
|align=right|23
|style="background: #EEEEEE;" align=right|1
|align=right|24
|align=right|260,968
|align=center|
|-
| Massachusetts
|align=right|7,136,171
|align=center|
|align=right|14
|align=right|—
|align=right|14
|align=right|509,727
|align=center|
|-
| Michigan
|align=right|10,140,459
|align=center|
|align=right|83
|align=right|—
|align=right|83
|align=right|122,174
|align=center|
|-
| Minnesota
|align=right|5,793,151
|align=center|
|align=right|87
|align=right|—
|align=right|87
|align=right|66,588
|align=center|
|-
| Mississippi
|align=right|2,943,045
|align=center|
|align=right|82
|align=right|—
|align=right|82
|align=right|35,891
|align=center|
|-
| Missouri
|align=right|6,245,466
|align=center|
|align=right|114
|style="background: #EEEEEE;" align=right|1
|align=right|115
|align=right|54,308
|align=center|
|-
| Montana
|align=right|1,137,233
|align=center|
|align=right|56
|align=right|—
|align=right|56
|align=right|20,308
|align=center|
|-
| Nebraska
|align=right|2,005,465
|align=center|
|align=right|93
|align=right|—
|align=right|93
|align=right|21,564
|align=center|
|-
| Nevada
|align=right|3,267,467
|align=center|
|align=right|16
|style="background: #EEEEEE;" align=right|1
|align=right|17
|align=right|192,204
|align=center|
|-
| New Hampshire
|align=right|1,409,032
|align=center|
|align=right|10
|align=right|—
|align=right|10
|align=right|140,903
|align=center|
|-
| New Jersey
|align=right|9,500,851
|align=center|
|align=right|21
|align=right|—
|align=right|21
|align=right|452,421
|align=center|
|-
| New Mexico
|align=right|2,130,256
|align=center|
|align=right|33
|align=right|—
|align=right|33
|align=right|64,553
|align=center|
|-
| New York
|align=right|19,867,248
|align=center|
|align=right|62
|align=right|—
|align=right|62
|align=right|320,439
|align=center|
|-
| North Carolina
|align=right|11,046,024
|align=center|
|align=right|100
|align=right|—
|align=right|100
|align=right|110,460
|align=center|
|-
| North Dakota
|align=right|796,568
|align=center|
|align=right|53
|align=right|—
|align=right|53
|align=right|15,030
|align=center|
|-
| Ohio
|align=right|11,883,304
|align=center|
|align=right|88
|align=right|—
|align=right|88
|align=right|135,038
|align=center|
|-
| Oklahoma
|align=right|4,095,393
|align=center|
|align=right|77
|align=right|—
|align=right|77
|align=right|53,187
|align=center|
|-
| Oregon
|align=right|4,272,371
|align=center|
|align=right|36
|align=right|—
|align=right|36
|align=right|118,677
|align=center|
|-
| Pennsylvania
|align=right|13,078,751
|align=center|
|align=right|67
|align=right|—
|align=right|67
|align=right|195,205
|align=center|
|-
| Rhode Island
|align=right|1,112,308
|align=center|
|align=right|5
|align=right|—
|align=right|5
|align=right|222,462
|align=center|
|-
| South Carolina
|align=right|5,478,831
|align=center|
|align=right|46
|align=right|—
|align=right|46
|align=right|119,105
|align=center|
|-
| South Dakota
|align=right|924,669
|align=center|
|align=right|66
|align=right|—
|align=right|66
|align=right|14,010
|align=center|
|-
| Tennessee
|align=right|7,227,750
|align=center|
|align=right|95
|align=right|—
|align=right|95
|align=right|76,082
|align=center|
|-
| Texas
|align=right|31,290,831
|align=center|
|align=right|254
|align=right|—
|align=right|254
|align=right|123,192
|align=center|
|-
| Utah
|align=right|3,503,613
|align=center|
|align=right|29
|align=right|—
|align=right|29
|align=right|120,814
|align=center|
|-
| Vermont
|align=right|648,493
|align=center|
|align=right|14
|align=right|—
|align=right|14
|align=right|46,321
|align=center|
|-
| Virginia
|align=right|8,811,195
|align=center|
|align=right|95
|style="background: #EEEEEE;" align=right|38
|align=right|133
|align=right|66,250
|align=center|
|-
| Washington
|align=right|7,958,180
|align=center|
|align=right|39
|align=right|—
|align=right|39
|align=right|204,056
|align=center|
|-
| West Virginia
|align=right|1,769,979
|align=center|
|align=right|55
|align=right|—
|align=right|55
|align=right|32,181
|align=center|
|-
| Wisconsin
|align=right|5,960,975
|align=center|
|align=right|72
|align=right|—
|align=right|72
|align=right|82,791
|align=center|
|-
| Wyoming
|align=right|587,618
|align=center|
|align=right|23
|align=right|—
|align=right|23
|align=right|25,549
|align=center|
|-class=sortbottom style="background:#fbfbbb"
|United States<br> (50 states and the District of Columbia)
|align=right|340,110,988
|align=center|
|align=right|2,999
|align=right|145
|align=right|3,144
|align=right|108,178
|align=center|
|-
| American Samoa