List of counties in New York

Counties of New York
Location	State of New York
Number	62
Populations	4,836 (Hamilton) – 2,504,700 (Kings County)
Areas	33.77 square miles (87.5 km^2) (New York) – 2,821 square miles (7,310 km^2) (St. Lawrence)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	Cities, Towns, Indian Reservations

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.^[1] 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.^[2]

The FIPS county code is the five-digit Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 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 Info page for that county.^[3]

Five boroughs of New York City

Five of New York's counties are each coextensive with one of the five boroughs of New York City and do not have county governments. They are: New York County (Borough of Manhattan), Kings County (Borough of Brooklyn), Bronx County (Borough of the Bronx), Richmond County (Borough of Staten Island), and Queens County (Borough of Queens).

In contrast to other counties of New York state, the powers of the five boroughs of New York City are very limited, and in nearly all respects are governed by the city government.^[4] 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:

• The Bronx County Courthouse and the borough's main post office are located in the South Bronx. There is no longer a separate Bronx Borough Hall.
• Brooklyn Borough Hall, the Federal Building and Post Office, and county Supreme Court are in Downtown Brooklyn.
• The Municipal Building, where the Manhattan Borough President's office is located, and most courthouses are in the downtown Civic Center. The General Post Office is in Midtown Manhattan.
• Queens Borough Hall and a courthouse are in Kew Gardens. Another major courthouse, post office, and the Long Island Railroad hub are in Jamaica. Queens also has general post offices in Flushing, Long Island City and Far Rockaway.
• Staten Island Borough Hall, three courthouses, and the St. George Terminal transportation hub are in the St. George neighborhood.

Alphabetical list

County	FIPS Code [3]	County seat [5]	Created [5]	Formed from [1]	Named for [2]	Density	2010 Population [5]	Area [5]	Map
Albany County	001	Albany	1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	James II of England (James VII of Scotland) (1633–1701), who was Duke of York (English title) and Duke of Albany (Scottish title) before becoming King of England, Ireland, and Scotland.	570.74	304,204	533 sq mi (1,380 km^2)
Allegany County	003	Belmont	1806	Genesee County	A variant spelling of the Allegheny River	47.34	48,946	1,034 sq mi (2,678 km^2)
Bronx County	005	none	1914[6]	New York County	Jonas Bronck (1600?–1643), an early settler of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam	24,118.20	1,385,108	57.43 sq mi (149 km^2)
Broome County	007	Binghamton	1806	Tioga County	John Broome (1738–1810), fourth Lieutenant Governor of New York	280.56	200,600	715 sq mi (1,852 km^2)
Cattaraugus County	009	Little Valley	1808	Genesee County	A Seneca word meaning "bad smelling banks", referring to the odor of natural gas which leaked from local rock formations	61.31	80,317	1,310 sq mi (3,393 km^2)
Cayuga County	011	Auburn	1799	Onondaga County	The Cayuga tribe of Native Americans	92.62	80,026	864 sq mi (2,238 km^2)
Chautauqua County	013	Mayville	1808	Genesee County	A Seneca word meaning "bag tied in the middle", in reference to the shape of Chautauqua Lake	89.94	134,905	1,500 sq mi (3,885 km^2)
Chemung County	015	Elmira	1836	Tioga County	A Lenape word meaning "big horn", which was the name of a local Native American village	216.23	88,830	410.81 sq mi (1,064 km^2)
Chenango County	017	Norwich	1798	Tioga County and Herkimer County	An Onondaga word meaning "large bull-thistle"	56.16	50,477	898.85 sq mi (2,328 km^2)
Clinton County	019	Plattsburgh	1788	Washington County	George Clinton (1739–1812), fourth Vice President of the United States and first and third Governor of New York	73.46	82,128	1,118 sq mi (2,896 km^2)
Columbia County	021	Hudson	1786	Albany County	Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the European explorer	97.37	63,096	648 sq mi (1,678 km^2)
Cortland County	023	Cortland	1808	Onondaga County	Pierre Van Cortlandt (1721–1814), first Lieutenant Governor of New York	98.28	49,336	502 sq mi (1,300 km^2)
Delaware County	025	Delhi	1797	Otsego County and Ulster County	Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr (1577–1618), an early colonial leader in Virginia	32.68	47,980	1,468 sq mi (3,802 km^2)
Dutchess County	027	Poughkeepsie	1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	Lady Anne Hyde (1637–1671), Duchess of York and wife of King James II of England	360.59	297,488	825 sq mi (2,137 km^2)
Erie County	029	Buffalo	1821	Niagara County	The Erie tribe of Native Americans	749.02	919,040	1,227 sq mi (3,178 km^2)
Essex County	031	Elizabethtown	1799	Clinton County	The county of Essex in England	20.55	39,370	1,916 sq mi (4,962 km^2)
Franklin County	033	Malone	1808	Clinton County	Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), the early American printer, scientist, and statesman	30.41	51,599	1,697 sq mi (4,395 km^2)
Fulton County	035	Johnstown	1838	Montgomery County	Robert Fulton (1765–1815), inventor of the steamship	104.19	55,531	533 sq mi (1,380 km^2)
Genesee County	037	Batavia	1802	Ontario County	A Seneca phrase meaning "good valley"	121.37	60,079	495 sq mi (1,282 km^2)
Greene County	039	Catskill	1800	Albany County and Ulster County	Nathanael Greene (1742–1786), the American Revolutionary War general	74.80	49,221	658 sq mi (1,704 km^2)
Hamilton County	041	Lake Pleasant	1816	Montgomery County	Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804), the early American political theorist and first Secretary of the Treasury	2.67	4,836	1,808 sq mi (4,683 km^2)
Herkimer County	043	Herkimer	1791	Montgomery County	Nicholas Herkimer (1728–1777), the American Revolutionary War general	44.25	64,519	1,458 sq mi (3,776 km^2)
Jefferson County	045	Watertown	1805	Oneida County	Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), the early American statesman, author of the Declaration of Independence, and third President of the United States	62.59	116,229	1,857 sq mi (4,810 km^2)
Kings County	047	none	1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	King Charles II of England (1630–1685)	25,848.30	2,504,700	96.9 sq mi (251 km^2)
Lewis County	049	Lowville	1805	Oneida County	Morgan Lewis (1754–1844), the fourth Governor of New York	21.00	27,087	1,290 sq mi (3,341 km^2)
Livingston County	051	Geneseo	1821	Genesee County and Ontario County	Robert Livingston (1746–1813), the early American statesman and New York delegate to the Continental Congress	102.18	65,393	640 sq mi (1,658 km^2)
Madison County	053	Wampsville	1806	Chenango County	James Madison (1751–1836), the early American statesman, principal author of the Constitution of the United States, and fourth President of the United States	110.94	73,442	662 sq mi (1,715 km^2)
Monroe County	055	Rochester	1821	Genesee County and Ontario County	James Monroe (1758–1831), the early American statesman and fifth President of the United States	544.91	744,344	1,366 sq mi (3,538 km^2)
Montgomery County	057	Fonda	1772	Albany County	Originally Tryon County after colonial governor William Tryon (1729–1788), renamed after the American Revolutionary War general Richard Montgomery (1738–1775) in 1784	122.49	50,219	410 sq mi (1,062 km^2)
Nassau County	059	Mineola	1899	Queens County	The Princes of Orange-Nassau ruled the Netherlands when Long Island was a Dutch colony	2,957.02	1,339,532	453 sq mi (1,173 km^2)
New York County	061	none	1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	King James II of England (1633–1701), who was Duke of York and Albany before he ascended the throne of England, Duke of York being his English title	46,961.00	1,585,873	33.77 sq mi (87 km^2)
Niagara County	063	Lockport	1808	Genesee County	An Iroquoian word perhaps meaning "a neck" between two bodies of water, "thunder of waters", or "bisected bottom land"	189.89	216,469	1,140 sq mi (2,953 km^2)
Oneida County	065	Utica	1798	Herkimer County	The Oneida tribe of Native Americans	193.63	234,878	1,213 sq mi (3,142 km^2)
Onondaga County	067	Syracuse	1792	Herkimer County	The Onondaga tribe of Native Americans	579.44	467,026	806 sq mi (2,088 km^2)
Ontario County	069	Canandaigua	1789	Montgomery County	An Iroquoian word meaning "beautiful lake"	163.04	107,931	662 sq mi (1,715 km^2)
Orange County	071	Goshen	1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	William of Orange-Nassau (1650–1702), who became King William III of England	444.35	372,813	839 sq mi (2,173 km^2)
Orleans County	073	Albion	1824	Genesee County	The French Royal House of Orléans	52.49	42,883	817 sq mi (2,116 km^2)
Oswego County	075	Oswego	1816	Oneida County and Onondaga County	The Oswego River, from an Iroquoian word meaning "the outpouring", referring to the mouth of the river	93.07	122,109	1,312 sq mi (3,398 km^2)
Otsego County	077	Cooperstown	1791	Montgomery County	A Native American word meaning "place of the rock"	62.07	62,259	1,003 sq mi (2,598 km^2)
Putnam County	079	Carmel	1812	Dutchess County	Israel Putnam (1718–1790), an American Revolutionary War general	405.33	99,710	246 sq mi (637 km^2)
Queens County	081	none	1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	Catherine of Braganza (1638–1705), Queen of England and wife of King Charles II of England	12,512.46	2,230,722	178.28 sq mi (462 km^2)
Rensselaer County	083	Troy	1791	Albany County	In honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer (before 1596 – after 1643), the early landholder in the Dutch New Amsterdam colony	239.74	159,429	665 sq mi (1,722 km^2)
Richmond County	085	none	1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond (1672–1723), the illegitimate son of King Charles II of England	4,572.98	468,730	102.5 sq mi (265 km^2)
Rockland County	087	New City	1798	Orange County	Early settlers' description of terrain as "rocky land"	1,566.27	311,687	199 sq mi (515 km^2)
St. Lawrence County	089	Canton	1802	Clinton County, Herkimer County, and Montgomery County	The St Lawrence River, which forms the northern border of the county and New York State	39.68	111,944	2,821 sq mi (7,306 km^2)
Saratoga County	091	Ballston Spa	1791	Albany County	A corruption of a Native American word meaning "the hill beside the river"	260.20	219,607	844 sq mi (2,186 km^2)
Schenectady County	093	Schenectady	1809	Albany County	A Mohawk word meaning "on the other side of the pine lands"	736.80	154,727	210 sq mi (544 km^2)
Schoharie County	095	Schoharie	1795	Albany County and Otsego County	A Mohawk word meaning "floating driftwood"	51.84	32,749	626 sq mi (1,621 km^2)
Schuyler County	097	Watkins Glen	1854	Chemung County, Steuben County, and Tompkins County	Philip Schuyler (1733–1804), the American Revolutionary War general and Senator from New York	53.63	18,343	342 sq mi (886 km^2)
Seneca County	099	Waterloo	1804	Cayuga County	The Seneca tribe of Native Americans	108.46	35,251	325 sq mi (842 km^2)
Steuben County	101	Bath	1796	Ontario County	Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730–1794), the Prussian general who assisted the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War	70.51	98,990	1,404 sq mi (3,636 km^2)
Suffolk County	103	Riverhead	1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	The county of Suffolk in England	629.31	1,493,350	2,373 sq mi (6,146 km^2)
Sullivan County	105	Monticello	1809	Ulster County	John Sullivan (1740–1795), an American Revolutionary War general	77.78	77,547	997 sq mi (2,582 km^2)
Tioga County	107	Owego	1791	Montgomery County	A Native American word meaning "at the forks", describing a meeting place	97.75	51,125	523 sq mi (1,355 km^2)
Tompkins County	109	Ithaca	1817	Cayuga County and Seneca County	Daniel D. Tompkins (1774–1825), the 6th Vice President of the United States	213.37	101,564	476 sq mi (1,233 km^2)
Ulster County	111	Kingston	1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	The Irish province of Ulster, then an earldom of the Duke of York, later King James II of England	157.19	182,493	1,161 sq mi (3,007 km^2)
Warren County	113	Queensbury	1813	Washington County	Joseph Warren (1741–1775), the early American patriot and American Revolutionary War general	75.53	65,707	870 sq mi (2,253 km^2)
Washington County	115	Fort Edward	1772	Albany County	Originally Charlotte County, renamed in 1784 after George Washington (1732–1799), the American Revolutionary War general and first President of the United States	74.72	63,216	846 sq mi (2,191 km^2)
Wayne County	117	Lyons	1823	Ontario County and Seneca County	General Anthony Wayne (1745–1796), the American Revolutionary War general	67.75	93,772	1,384 sq mi (3,585 km^2)
Westchester County	119	White Plains	1683	One of 12 original counties created in the New York colony	The city of Chester in England	1,898.23	949,113	500 sq mi (1,295 km^2)
Wyoming County	121	Warsaw	1841	Genesee County	A modification of a word from the Lenape language meaning "broad bottom lands"	70.73	42,155	596 sq mi (1,544 km^2)
Yates County	123	Penn Yan	1823	Ontario County and Steuben County	Joseph C. Yates (1768–1837), eighth Governor of New York	67.41	25,348	376 sq mi (974 km^2)

Defunct counties

County	Created [1]	Abolished [1]	Fate[1]
Charlotte County	1772	1784	Partitioned and renamed as Washington County
Cornwall County	1665	1686	Transferred 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 County	1766	1777	Transferred to Vermont and partitioned
Dukes County	1683	1692	Transferred to Massachusetts; one of 12 original counties created in the New York colony
Gloucester County	1770	1777	Transferred to Vermont and partitioned
Tryon County	1772	1784	Renamed as Montgomery County

Proposed new counties

County	Note
Adirondack County	Would hypothetically consist of portions of northern Essex County and southern Franklin County[7]
Peconic County	Would hypothetically consist of the five easternmost towns in Suffolk County on Long Island.[8]

Clickable map

Columbia

Rensselaer

Chautauqua

Cattaraugus

Allegany

Steuben

Chemung

Tioga

Broome

Delaware

Sullivan

Ulster

Dutchess

Putnam

Westchester

Rockland

Suffolk

Nassau

Queens

Kings

Richmond

New York

Bronx

Orange

Erie

Wyoming

Livingston

Ontario

Yates

Seneca

Schuyler

Tompkins

Cortland

Chenango

Otsego

Schoharie

Albany

Greene

Schenectady

Saratoga

Washington

Warren

Niagara

Genesee

Orleans

Monroe

Wayne

Cayuga

Onondaga

Madison

Montgomery

Fulton

Oneida

Oswego

Lewis

Jefferson

Herkimer

Hamilton

Essex

Saint Lawrence

Franklin

Clinton

See also

• List of former United States counties
• New York State City/County Management Association

References

1. "New York Formation Maps". Genealogy, Inc. Archived from the original on December 30, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
2. Beatty, Michael (2001). County Name Origins of the United States. McFarland Press. ISBN 0-7864-1025-6.
3. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
4. Benjamin, Gerald, Richard P. Nathan (1990). Regionalism and realism: A Study of Government in the New York Metropolitan Area. Brookings Institution. p. 59.
5. "Find A County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on August 4, 2010. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
6. Legislation splitting off Bronx County from New York County was enacted in 1912 with an effective date of January 1, 1914. Prior to 1874 the entire area had been part of Westchester County. See McCarthy, Thomas C. "A 5-Borough Centennial Preface for the Katharine Bement Davis Mini-History". New York City Department of Corrections. Retrieved 2008-01-25.
7. Lynch, Mike (2007-10-30). "North Elba Supervisor Candidate Debate". Plattsburgh Press Republican. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
8. Healy, Patrick (2004-02-11). "Growth Pains and Clout Heading East in Suffolk". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-01-20.