County (United States)

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United States of America, showing states, divided into counties.
United States of America, showing states, divided into counties.

A county of the United States is a local level of government smaller than a state but almost always larger 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." 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). 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.[1]

Contents

[edit] Terminology

The term county equivalents includes three additional types of administrative divisions which are different from the type of county found in most states:

  1. 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.
  2. 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:
  3. 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.

[edit] City-county exceptions

As noted, the territory of most counties includes that of municipalities, within and smaller than the respective counties. However, there are some exceptions to this arrangement:

  1. By a series of annexations or other mergers, a city government 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.
  2. Several cities and counties around the country have consolidated city-county governments and are considered both a city and a county under state law. Denver, Colorado and San Francisco, California have been coextensive with their respective counties since the counties were created. On the other hand, Indianapolis, Indiana; Louisville, Kentucky; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Nashville, Tennessee unified with their respective counties after the two entities existed separately. There is also the "City and County of Honolulu", but this is unlike the others in that Hawaii has no incorporated cities and thus the "city" part of "city and county" is in this case a misnomer. Honolulu County contains the entire island of Oahu, which includes many dozens of communities and rural areas in addition to the urban area designated as the Honolulu CDP. Prior to its abolition in 1999, the government of Suffolk County, Massachusetts was largely administered by the Boston city council. In Nantucket County, Massachusetts, the Town of Nantucket board of selectmen act as county commissioners. The City and County of Broomfield in Colorado was created by a state constitutional amendment in 2001 because Broomfield existed in Adams, Boulder, Jefferson and Weld Counties. Broomfield is now a City and County, as is Denver.[1]
  3. The area now forming the five boroughs of New York City consisted, into the late 19th century, of three typical counties and parts of two others, each containing at least one city or town. These are still counties in name and in state law; nevertheless, since 1898 they have been entirely contained within the boundaries of the city, and following the creation of Bronx County in 1914, each borough now corresponds to one county.
  4. In several states (including Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin), a city may annex land within an adjacent county. That land is then subject to city government, but the respective counties continue to provide county-specific services and residents vote for county officials in the respective counties. Major cities that lie in multiple counties include: Abilene, Texas; Amarillo, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; Austin, Texas; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Columbus, Ohio; Houston, Texas; Kansas City, Missouri; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Tulsa, Oklahoma. The city of Appleton, Wisconsin lies within three counties (Outagamie, Calumet, and Winnebago), and is the county seat of Outagamie County. The city of Aurora, Illinois, a populous outlying suburb of Chicago, lies within four counties (Kane; DuPage; Will; and Kendall). The city of Dallas, Texas is in five counties: Dallas, Collin, Denton, Rockwall, and Kaufman.
  5. There are many cities that span county boundaries in Michigan, including its capital, Lansing. For a few years during the early 1970s, split cities briefly had authority to petition to change the county boundaries to accord with the city boundaries. The only city to take advantage of this brief opportunity was New Baltimore (previously split between Macomb County and St. Clair County; now completely in Macomb). This transfer of territory from St. Clair to Macomb was the first and only county boundary change in Michigan since the early 20th century.
  6. The city of Takoma Park, Maryland, which was originally part of both Prince George's County and Montgomery County, chose in a referendum to become wholly part of Montgomery County.
  7. Some of Alaska's boroughs have merged with their principal cities. These are known as unified city-boroughs. Due to the size of Alaskan boroughs, this has resulted in some of Alaska's cities, such as Sitka, ranking among the geographically largest cities in the world.

[edit] Statistics

Main article: 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.

This figure, however, 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, in the eastern United States the median land area of counties in Ohio is 1,138 km² (439.5 sq. miles) and in Georgia it is 888 km² (343 sq. miles), whereas in the western United States the median land area of counties in California is 3,977 km² (1535.5 sq. miles) and in Utah it is 6,286 km² (2,427 sq. miles)

By area, the largest county in the United States is North Slope Borough, Alaska at 94,763 square miles (245,435 km²) and the smallest county in the United States is Kalawao County, Hawaii at 13 square miles (34 km²). The largest county in the 48 contiguous states is San Bernardino County, California, at 20,105 mi²/52,073 km², and the smallest is New York County, New York at 22.96 mi²/59.47 km².

However, when county equivalents are included, both lose their status. The largest county equivalent by area is Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska at 147,843 square miles (382,912 km²) and the smallest is the independent city of Falls Church, Virginia at 2.0 square miles (5 km²).

At the 2000 U.S. Census, the median population of the 3,077 U.S. counties was 24,544 inhabitants, which is 1/33 as many inhabitants as the median population of a ceremonial county of England, and 1/21 as many inhabitants as the median population of a French département.

At the 2000 U.S. Census, only 16.1% of U.S. counties had more than 100,000 inhabitants, while 83.9% of U.S. counties had less 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 (or county equivalent) is Los Angeles County, California with 10,226,506 people as of 2005, and the least populous county is Loving County, Texas with 60 people 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 0.08 ppsm as of 2000. The least densely populated county equivalent is Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska with 0.04 ppsm as of 2000.

[edit] 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 have zero or multiple seats.

  • In New York:
    • In contrast to other counties of New York state, the powers of the five boroughs of New York City are very limited, and in nearly all respects subordinate to the city's.
  • In New England:
    • Counties function at most as judicial court districts (in Connecticut and Rhode Island, they have lost even those functions) and most government power below the state level is in the hands of towns and cities. However, 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.
    • County government was abolished in Connecticut in 1960, although the names remain for geographical purposes.
    • Massachusetts has abolished eight of its fourteen counties as well, leaving only those in the Southeastern part of the state with real governments, though vestigial judicial and law enforcement districts still follow the old county boundaries.
  • In Hawaii:
    • The county is the municipal level of government, similar to some single tier municipalities in Ontario, Canada (EX: Norfolk County, Prince Edward County, Brant County); there are no incorporated cities other than the consolidated City & County of Honolulu. No formal level of government below that of the county exists in Hawaii.
  • In California:
    • The county is the default unit of local government (all parts of the state's land are allocated to one of the state's 58 counties). Each county has a Board of Supervisors and is subject to mandatory duties under state law to provide its residents with services like law enforcement, healthcare, road maintenance, and so on. Balancing a county's mandatory and discretionary duties is a very difficult task; any sufficiently injured county taxpayer has standing to sue the county to enforce certain duties where financial distress is no excuse, such as healthcare.
    • If residents of a sufficiently large piece of unincorporated county land do not like their county's resource allocation decisions, they can incorporate a city. The city government then takes some of the tax revenue that would have gone to the county, and can impose additional taxes on its residents. It can then choose to provide almost all the services usually provided by the county (and more), or provide only a few and pay the county to do the rest. A city in this last arrangement is called a contract city; this type of contract is generally known among lawyers as the "Lakewood Plan," because it was pioneered by the city of Lakewood in 1954.[2]
    • The idea of "opting out" of county control in California has been taken to its logical extremes. Almost all of the city of Vernon is one large industrial zone, while almost all of the town of Los Altos Hills is zoned as residential.
    • Due to geographical variations in property tax and sales tax revenue (the primary revenue source for cities and counties) and differing attitudes towards priorities, there are interesting variations in the levels of various services from one city to the next. For example, the city of Santa Monica is far more generous when it comes to helping the homeless than other cities in Los Angeles County or the county government.
    • Also, county ordinances do not apply to cities unless they are ratified by each individual city. Thus, for instance, in Los Angeles County, a few cities have not ratified the ordinance requiring the posting of restaurant food safety ratings — even though it was passed many years ago — and in those cities, ratings need not be posted.
  • In Maryland:
    • Outside of Baltimore, which is an independent city, the county is the default unit of local government. Under Maryland law, counties exercise powers reserved in most other states at the municipal or state levels; hence, there is little incentive for a community to incorporate, especially in the urbanized home-rule counties. Many of the state's most populous and economically important communities, such as Bethesda and Silver Spring, are unincorporated and receive their municipal services from the county. In fact, there are no incorporated municipalities at all in either Baltimore County or Howard County.
    • The county (or Baltimore City) is also the provider of public schools. School districts as a separate level of government do not exist in Maryland.
  • In Texas:
    • The county controls all unincorporated land within its boundaries; however, counties do not have home rule authority (thus, it is frequent to see property with buildings in disrepair, junked vehicles, or overgrown lots in unincorporated areas). The county is responsible for providing essential services (except for fire and ambulance, which are often done by volunteer fire departments).
    • Incorporated cities are responsible for providing essential services, and may contract with the county for such (often the case with very small towns). Only cities larger than 5,000 population may elect home rule. There is no provision for consolidated city-county government, but contracts (called "interlocal agreements") between the city, county, and other governmental entities are permitted.
    • School districts are independent of county and city government (with the exception of the Stafford district, which is city controlled).
  • 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.

Outside New England, counties typically maintain law enforcement agencies, public utilities, library systems, collect vital statistics and prepare, and/or process the state, certificates of births, deaths, marriages, and dissolutions (divorce decrees). In some states, the county sheriff is the principal law enforcement officer in the county, usually limited to areas outside the jurisdiction 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" with county sheriffs providing court services.

[edit] Lists of counties by state

Main article: List of Counties of the United States

Lists of counties in the United States
(parishes in Louisiana; boroughs and census areas in Alaska)

Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas | Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota | Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming

[edit] Number of counties per state

Southern and Midwestern states generally tend to have more counties than Western or Northeastern states. Three states, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts have abolished some or all of their county governments. The list below also includes county-equivalents.

[edit] County name etymologies

Main article: Lists of U.S. county name etymologies

Many states have counties named after U.S. presidents such as Washington, Madison, Polk, Jefferson, etc. Counties are also commonly named after famous individuals, local Native American tribes once in the area, cities located within the county, and land or water features (for instance, Lake County, Illinois is named for its proximity to Lake Michigan).

[edit] Special cases

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The power of the county government varies widely from state to state, as does the relationship between counties and incorporated municipal governments.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Osborne M. Reynolds, Jr., Handbook of Local Government Law, 2nd ed. (St. Paul, MN: West Group, 2001), 26.
  2. ^ Reynolds, 48-49.

[edit] External links

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