Counties, Counties, Counties: Our Nations Subdivisions

Counties are everywhere. Every state has them, (except Louisiana who has parishes but its the same thing) but they are often very overlooked. Infact, I bet you may not even know what county you live in, or how may counties are in your state. Well, I am here to answer all your county questions.

What’s A County?

The Oxford definition of a county is: “A political and administrative division of a state, providing certain local governmental services.” This pretty much sums it up, but we aren’t done here. Every state is divided into counties. Some have a little, (Delaware only has 3) while others have a lot (Texas has 253). While the average number of counties per state is 62. But what does a county do? Well, their main purpose is to provide services for their citizens. They construct infrastructure, create police services, operate 911 call centers, run elections, build schools, etc. They can also pass laws, but their power is limited depending on the state. In Pennsylvania, counties can pass laws. But these laws must be legal under the State Legislature and the Constitution. In Pennsylvania, these laws are 3rd in the chain (Federal Laws, State Laws, County Laws, Town/Municipality Laws). All these laws must be legal according to the government above them. Every county also has a “capitol” called a county seat. This isn’t necessarily the largest city in the county, it is often decided on historical pedigree. For example, the largest city in Bucks County is Levittown, but the county seat is Doylestown. Counties are normally led by a group of people. These people are often elected and all serve different roles.

Fun County Stuff

In the state of Louisiana, they don’t have any counties, they have parishes. They operate the same way, but are given this name due to the states French and Spanish roots. In Virginia, the state have 95 counties, but 38 independent cities. These independent cities, take the role of a county. One of these independent cities includes the state capital: Richmond.

The state with the most counties is Texas, which is obvious due to its incredibly large size, but the state with the second most in Georgia with 159 counties. The reason this is, is because: back when people lived on farms, farmers wanted to go to other counties and get back home in one day. So, counties were made small so farmers could achieve this.

Conclusion

Well, you made it! You are officially introduced into counties of America. But please, don’t confuse this with English counties. They are entirely different and probably requires a whole other article. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments, and I will try my best to answer.

The End