List of counties in New York


There are 62 counties in the state of New York. The original twelve counties were created immediately after the British takeover of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, although two of these counties have since been abolished. The most recent county formation in New York was in 1914, when Bronx County was created from the portions of New York City that had been annexed from Westchester County in the late 19th century and added to New York County. New York's counties are named for a variety of Native American words; British provinces, counties, cities, and royalty; early American statesmen and military personnel; and New York State politicians.
The FIPS county code is the five-digit Federal Information Processing Standard code which uniquely identifies counties and county equivalents in the United States. The three-digit number is unique to each individual county within a state, but to be unique within the entire United States, it must be prefixed by the state code. This means that, for example, while Albany County is 001, Addison County, Vermont, and Alachua County, Florida, are also 001. To uniquely identify Albany County, New York, one must use the state code of 36 plus the county code of 001; therefore, the unique nationwide identifier for Albany County, New York, is 36001. The links in the column FIPS County Code are to the Census Bureau's "QuickFacts" page for that county.

Authority

Excepting the five boroughs of New York City, New York counties have governments run by either a Board of Supervisors or a County Legislature and either elected County Executive or appointed county manager. Counties without charters are run by a Board of Supervisors, in which Town Supervisors from towns within the county also sit on the county Board of Supervisors. For counties with a charter, the executives generally have powers to veto acts of the county legislature. The legislatures have powers of setting policies, levying taxes and distributing funds.

Five boroughs of New York City

Five of New York's counties are each coextensive with New York City's five boroughs and do not have county governments. They are New York County, Kings County, Bronx County, Richmond County, and Queens County.
In contrast to other counties of New York, the powers of the five boroughs of New York City are very limited and in nearly all respects are governed by the city government. Only a few officials are elected on a borough-wide basis, such as the five borough presidents, district attorneys, and some judges. There are no official county seats, but the locations of borough halls and courthouses bestow certain neighborhoods an informal designation as county seats within their boroughs:
County
FIPS Code
County seat

Formed from
Named for
Density

Area
Map

Defunct counties

County
Created
Abolished
Fate
Charlotte County17721784Partitioned and renamed as Washington County
Cornwall County16651686Transferred to the part of Massachusetts that later became the state of Maine and partitioned; one of the 12 original counties created in the New York colony
Cumberland County17661777Transferred to Vermont and partitioned
Dukes County16831692Transferred to Massachusetts; one of 12 original counties created in the New York colony
Gloucester County17701777Transferred to Vermont and partitioned
Mexico County17921796Never settled or incorporated, reallocated to other counties
Tryon County17721784Renamed as Montgomery County

Proposed new counties

Clickable map