United States of America showing states divided into counties parishes (Louisiana) or Census Areas (Alaska). Administrative divisions of the United States First level States

--- Commonwealth --- Indian reservation --- Territories Second level County

Consolidated citycounty Third level Cities towns and villages

Civil township Contents 1 County geographical area 2 Consolidated city-counties 3 County seats 4 History 5 County names 6 Governance 7 Scope of power 7.1 Minimal scope 7.2 Moderate scope 7.3 Broad scope 8 Number of county equivalents per state 9 Statistics 10 County equivalents 11 Cities and counties 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 15 External links

In the United States a county is a geographic subdivision of a state (or federal territory) usually assigned some governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states; Louisiana is divided into parishes and Alaska into boroughs.1 Parishes and boroughs are called "county-equivalents" by the U.S. Federal Government as are certain independent cities which are not parts of counties. There are currently 3143 counties and county-equivalents in the United States.

The powers of counties arise from state law and vary widely.2 In some states including Connecticut34 counties are merely geographic entities without institutions. At the other extreme Maryland counties and the county-equivalent City of Baltimore handle almost all services including public education.5

The average number of counties per state is 62. The state with the most counties is Texas 254; the state with fewest is Delaware only three. As of the 2000 Census average county population was about 100000. The most populous county is Los Angeles County California with estimated population 9880000 (2009 Census estimate) greater than all but eight U.S. states. The least populous is Loving County Texas with 82 residents as of 2010. County geographical area

The largest county or county-equivalent is Unorganized Borough Alaska more than 330000 square miles (850000 km2). The five largest counties or county-equivalents are all in Alaska; elsewhere the largest by land area is San Bernardino County California more than 20000 square miles (52000 km2). The smallest county by land area is Kalawao County Hawaii only 13 square miles (34 km2). Consolidated city-counties

Independent cities such as Baltimore are not parts of counties. They differ from consolidated citycounties such as Indianapolis Indiana where a city and county have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. A consolidated city-county is simultaneously a city which is a municipal corporation (municipality) and a county which is an administrative division of a state having the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities. County seats

The site of a county's administration and often the county courthouse is called the county seat ("parish seat" or "borough seat" in Louisiana or Alaska). Several Northeastern counties officially use the term "shire town" for the county seat. History 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.6 America's oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville Virginia in Northampton (originally Accomac) County dating to 1632.7 Maryland established its first county St. Mary's in 1637 and Massachusetts followed in 1643. Pennsylvania and New York delegated significant power and responsibility from state government to county governments and thereby established a pattern for most of the United States although counties remained relatively weak in New England.8 County names Common sources of county names are names of people geographic features places in other states or countries Native American tribes and animals. Quite a few counties bear names of French or Spanish origin.9 Counties are most often named for people often political figures or early settlers with over 2100 of the 3140 total so named. The most common county name with 31 is Washington County for America's first president George Washington. Up until 1871 there was a Washington County within the District of Columbia but it was dissolved by the District of Columbia Organic Act. Jefferson County for Thomas Jefferson is next with 27. The most recent president to have a county named for him was Warren Harding reflecting the slowing rate of county creation since New Mexico and Arizona became states in 1912. After people the next most common source of county names are geographic features and locations with some counties even being named after counties in other states or for places in countries such as the United Kingdom. The most common geographic county name is Lake. Native American tribes and animals lend their names to some counties. Quite a few counties bear names of French or Spanish origin9 such as Marquette County being named after French missionary Father Jacques Marquette. Governance In most Midwestern and Northeastern states counties are further subdivided into townships or towns and may contain other independent self-governing municipalities. Counties are usually governed by an elected board of supervisors county commission county freeholders county council or county legislature. In some counties there is a county executive.1 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). 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. In some small counties with no incorporated municipalities a large settlement may serve as the county seat. 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 all others) 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 some New England states such as in Connecticut parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island 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.10 The regional councils' authority is much more limited compared with a county governmentthe regional councils have no taxing authority or authority to issue permits; the aforementioned powers are delegated to the town governments. However the regional councils do have authority 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 controller 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 absolutely 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 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 (in states that do not have townships) 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. Finally there may also be a county fire department and even a county police department (as distinguished from fire and police departments operated by individual cities special districts or the state government). For example Albemarle County Virginia and its county seat the city of Charlottesville 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.) Maryland in particular vests its counties with broad powers including educational responsibilities (which are normally handled in all other states by school districts specific to particular cities towns or regions). Number of county equivalents per state There are on average 62.8 counties per state. The state with the fewest counties is Delaware (3) though it is unique among the United States in that each Delaware county is divided into units called "hundreds". The state with the most is Texas (254).11 Southern and Midwestern states generally tend to have more counties than Western or Northeastern states as many Northeastern states are not large enough in area to warrant a large number of counties and many Western states were sparsely populated when counties were created. Connecticut Massachusetts and Rhode Island have abolished county governments in whole or in part though the former county territories may be observed in the three states' state-level administrative districts. Number of Counties State Average County Population Approximately 254 Texas 98000 159 Georgia 62000 134 Virginia (95 counties and 39 cities)12 59000 120 Kentucky 36000 115 Missouri (114 counties and one city) 52000 105 Kansas 27000 102 Illinois 126000 100 North Carolina 94000 99 Iowa 31000 95 Tennessee 66000 93 Nebraska 19000 92 Indiana 70000 88 Ohio 131000 87 Minnesota 52000 83 Michigan 120000 82 Mississippi 36000 77 Oklahoma 48000 75 Arkansas 39000 72 Wisconsin 79000 67 Pennsylvania 188000 67 Florida 277000 67 Alabama 70000 66 South Dakota 12000 64 Louisiana (parishes) 70000 64 Colorado 79000 62 New York 315000. 58 California 637000 56 Montana 17000 55 West Virginia 33000 53 North Dakota 12000 46 South Carolina 99000 44 Idaho 35000 39 Washington 171000 36 Oregon 98000 33 New Mexico 61000 29 Utah 96000 24 Maryland (23 counties and one city) 237000 23 Wyoming 24000 21 New Jersey 415000 18 Alaska (boroughs) 34000 17 Nevada (16 counties and one city) 155000 16 Maine 82000 15 Arizona 440000 14 Vermont 44000 14 Massachusetts 471000 10 New Hampshire 132000 8 Connecticut 440000 5 Rhode Island 211000 5 Hawaii 259000 3 Delaware 295000 1 District of Columbia 600000 Source:1 Statistics Main article: County statistics of the United States A highway sign designating the border between Nicholas and Greenbrier counties in West Virginia along a secondary road. At the 2000 U.S. Census the median land area of the 3077 U.S. counties was 622 sq mi (1611 km) 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 dpartement. However this figure does not account for the differences among the United States counties themselves; counties in the western United States have a much larger mean land area than those in the eastern United States. For example the median land area of counties in Georgia is 343 sq mi (888 km) whereas in Utah it is 2427 sq mi (6286 km). The largest county equivalent by (total) area is Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area Alaska at 147843 square miles (382912 km) while the largest actual county is San Bernardino County California in southern California which includes the Mojave Desert at 20105 square miles (52071 km) in area. The second-largest county is Coconino County Arizona in the north-central part of the state which includes the Grand Canyon National Park. The smallest county equivalent is the independent city of Falls Church Virginia at 2.2 square miles (5.7 km) in area while the smallest actual county is Kalawao County Hawaii at 13 square miles (34 km) in land area.1 At the 2000 U.S. Census only 16.7% of U.S. counties had more than 100000 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 is Los Angeles County California with 9818605 inhabitants as of 2010 and the least populous county is Loving County Texas with 82 inhabitants as of 2010. The most densely populated county (or county equivalent) is New York County New York (coextensive with the Borough of Manhattan and consisting of Manhattan Island; Marble Hill a neighborhood originally on the island but now physically attached to The Bronx; and several small adjacent islands) with 66940 people per square mile (25846 per km or 38.691 square meters per person) as of 2000 and the least densely populated county is Lake and Peninsula Borough Alaska with 0.0767 people per square mile (0.0296 per km or 33.768 km per person) as of 2000. The least densely populated county equivalent is Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area Alaska with 0.0449 per square mile (0.0173 per km or 57.683 km per person) as of 2000. 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 18 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.A 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.B Independent cities: These are cities that legally belong to no county. As of 2004 there are 42 such cities in the United States including 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.13 Washington D.C. has a special status. It is not part of any state; instead in accordance with Article 1 Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution the city is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress. For a long time the District of Columbia and the City of Washington have been coterminous though originally they were not. All of the former counties within the District of Columbia have been abolished and they are of historical interest only. Cities and counties In general cities towns and other municipal governments almost always occupy a smaller area than the county which contains them and they sit only in that county (that is they are prohibited from annexing territory in more than one county). However there are exceptions: 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 Philadelphia; New Orleans Louisiana; Denver; Broomfield Colorado; San Francisco; Indianapolis; Jacksonville Florida; and Nashville Tennessee. Similarly some of Alaska's boroughs have merged with their principal cities creating unified city-boroughs. Such consolidations and mergers have resulted in creating cities that rank among the geographically largest cities in the world though often with population densities far below that of most urban areas. A city may extend across county boundaries in several states where the state constitution or state law authorizes it. In some states this practice is routine as expanding cities simply annex land in adjoining counties. For example Aurora Illinois once confined to Kane County has spread to a total of four counties. In the case of New York City the modern city was actually established as covering five counties in their entirety and today each of these is coextensive with one of the five boroughs of the city: Manhattan (New York County) The Bronx (Bronx County) Queens (Queens County) Brooklyn (Kings County) and Staten Island (Richmond County). See also List of the most populous counties in the United States List of the least populous counties in the United States Index of U.S. counties Lists of U.S. county name etymologies Notes  A: The Unorganized Borough Alaska formed by the Borough Act of 1961 is a legal entity run by the Alaska state government as an extension of State government14 it and the independently incorporated Unified Home Rule First Class and Second Class boroughs roughly correspond to parishes in Louisiana and to counties in the other 48 states.15  B: These 11 statistical areas are used solely by the United States Census Bureau to tabulate population and other census statistics within the Unorganized Borough; they have no legal basis in Alaska state or federal law other than for electoral representation and federal financial assistance purposes. References a b c d "An Overview of County Government". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/Overview.aspx. Retrieved 2011-02-22.  Osborne M. Reynolds Jr. Handbook of Local Government Law 2nd ed. (St. Paul MN: West Group 2001) 26. "Connecticut State Register and Manual Section VI: Counties". Connecticut Secretary of the State. http://www.ct.gov/sots/cwp/view.aspa3188&q392376. Retrieved 2010-01-23. "THERE ARE NO COUNTY SEATS IN CONNECTICUT. County government was abolished effective October 1 1960; counties continue only as geographical subdivisions."  "Facts & History". http://www.ri.gov/facts/trivia.php. Retrieved 2010-01-23. "Rhode Island has no county government. It is divided into 39 municipalities each having its own form of local government."  "Direct links to all 24 Maryland Local Education Agencies' web sites". http://www.msde.maryland.gov/MSDE/schoolsystems/. Retrieved 2011-01-22.  Harch Charles E. The First Seventeen years Virginia 1607-1624 Jamestown 350th Anniversary Historical 1957 p.20 pp.75-76 http://www.virginiaplaces.org/vacount/howstart.html. http://www.co.northampton.va.us/gov/oldcourthouse.html. Osborne M. Reynolds Jr. Local Government Law 3rd ed. (St. Paul: West 2009) 19. a b Kane Joseph Nathan; Charles Curry Aiken (2004). The American Counties: Origins of County Names Dates of Creation and Population Data 1950-2000. The Scarecrow Press Inc. p. vii-xii. ISBN 978-0810850361.  Unlike in Massachusetts Connecticut's regional councils do not conform to the old county lines but rather they are composed of towns that share the same geographic region and have similar demographics. "How Many Counties are in Your State". Click and Learn. http://www.clickandlearn.cc/FreeBlacklineMaps/Counties.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-26.  http://www.virginiaplaces.org/vacount/index.html "County & County Equivalent Areas". United States Census Bureau. April 19 2005. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/cob/cometadata.html. Retrieved 2007-12-08.  "Alaska Statutes Title 29 Chapter 03. The Unorganized Borough". Local Government On-Line Division of Community and Regional Affairs Alaska Department of Commerce Community and Economic Development. August 18 1998. http://www.commerce.alaska.gov/dca/LOGON/pubs/2903.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-17.  "Local Government in Alaska" (PDF). Local Boundary Commission Alaska Department of Commerce Community and Economic Development. February 2001. http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/lbc/pubs/LocalGovAK.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-17.  External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Counties of the United States Geographic Areas Reference Manual by the United States Census Bureau National Association of Counties U.S. County Formation Maps 1617-Present  Cumulative animated graphics. 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