Wikipedia:WikiProject Cities/U.S. municipality notes

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are many articles on municipalities in the United States that use vocabulary terms with special meanings. This article defines those terms, the usage of which may vary from state to state. Many of the articles were created by the Rambot and maintenance is coordinated by Wikipedia:WikiProject Cities.

Note: The articles linked have not yet been coordinated with the text of this page. This page is under construction.

1 County
2 Consolidated city-county
3 City
- 3.1 Independent city
4 Town
5 Township
6 Borough
7 Village
8 Hamlet
9 Neighborhood
10 Census-designated place (CDP)
11 See also

[edit] County

Main article: County (United States)

[edit] Consolidated city-county

Main article: Consolidated city-county

[edit] City

Main article: City

[edit] Independent city

Main article: Independent city

[edit] Town

Main article: Town (explains towns, hamlets, and villages)

In many states, a "town" is an incorporated municipality. (Confirmed for: MA, NH, NJ, PA, RI, TN, VA, NJ, possibly ME.)
In some states, there are no incorporated towns. (Confirmed for MI.)
In Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, "towns" have strong governmental powers and are incorporated municipalities, but are also considered to be minor civil divisions of a county like a civil township.
In some states, like New York and Wisconsin, towns may contain other incorporated municipalities, such as villages, but not cities.
In Wisconsin, civil townships are officially known as "towns".
In California, "Town" is an alternate name for "City" for incorporated municipalities. Very few cities call themselves "towns".

The Wikipedia follows U.S. Census usage.