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
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. Likewise, the five boroughs of New York City are counties, despite being wholly contained within New York City.
Statistics
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-equivalent 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.
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Governance
In counties with functional governments (that is, outside of New England), they are usually governed by an elected board of supervisors, county commission, or county council. In some 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 sometimes overseen by a county manager or chief administrative officer who reports to the board, the mayor, or both.
In some 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, public health services, parks, roads, law enforcement, and jails. 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 most states, the county sheriff is the principal law enforcement officer in the county.
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.
A few counties provide public transportation themselves; this usually comes 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, a multi-county regional transit authority, or a state agency.
Broad scope
The largest counties provide many facilities, such as airports, convention centers, museums, 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. Finally, there may also be a county fire department (as distinguished from fire departments operated by individual cities, special districts, or the state government).
See also
References
- ^ An Overview of County Government. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ How Many Counties are in Your State?. Click and Learn. Retrieved on 2007-04-24.
- ^ 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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Lists of counties in the United States (parishes in Louisiana; boroughs and census areas in Alaska) |
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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 |
| Second-level administrative divisions of North America |
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Belize · Canada · Costa Rica · Cuba · Dominican Republic · El Salvador · Guatemala · Haiti · Honduras · Mexico · Nicaragua · United States |
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