County (United States)
United States of America showing states di-
vided into counties.
In the United States, a county is a local level
of government below the state (or federal ter-
ritory). Counties are used in 48 of the 50
states, while Louisiana is divided into par-
ishes and Alaska into boroughs.[1] These are
considered "county-equivalents", as are some
cities not designated as part of a county. The
U.S. Census Bureau lists 3,140 counties or
county-equivalent administrative units
in
total. There are on average 62 counties per
state.
In most Midwestern and Northeastern
states, counties are further 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 average U.S. county population is
about 100,000. The most heavily populated
county of the U.S., Los Angeles County, Cali-
fornia, has a population of approximately
9,880,000, which is a larger population than
all but eight states of the union. The least
populated county is Loving County, Texas,
with a population of 67. Kalawao County,
Hawaii, a former leper colony, is the next-
smallest county, with a population of 147.
The power of the county government var-
ies widely from state to state, as does the re-
lationship between counties and incorporated
municipal governments.[2] The distribution of
power between the state government, county
governments, and municipal governments is
defined in each state’s constitution.
Governance
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 mayor or a county executive. The pos-
ition of mayor is mostly ceremonial in some
states, while in others, the mayor is more
powerful than the commissioners or super-
visors.[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 ord