What is a county government?

A county government is a local government that serves a county, a geographic subdivision of a state typically larger than a city or town. There are roughly 3,000 counties in the United States across the 50 states. Most counties cover larger areas than cities, often including both urban and rural areas, smaller towns, and unincorporated land. Counties are called parishes in Louisiana and boroughs in Alaska, and Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of Massachusetts have abolished county governments while retaining counties as geographic boundaries.

The structure of county government varies by state. Most counties are governed by an elected board of commissioners or supervisors, often with three to seven members, who handle both legislative and executive functions. Some counties have a separately elected county executive who runs day-to-day operations, similar to a mayor at the city level. Many counties have additional elected officials including a sheriff (responsible for county law enforcement and operating the county jail), a county clerk (handling records and elections), a county treasurer (managing finances), a county assessor (handling property valuations for taxation), a district attorney or prosecutor, and judges of various trial courts.

County governments handle a range of services that vary by state but typically include county roads (often the main rural roads in a state), public health departments, public hospitals in some states, social services administration including welfare programs, recording of property deeds and other legal documents, registration of births and deaths, election administration, and operation of the county jail. In some states, particularly in the West, counties are major providers of services because there are large unincorporated areas not served by city governments. In other states, particularly in the Northeast, cities and towns provide most local services and counties play smaller roles.

Counties are funded primarily by property taxes, fees, and grants from state and federal governments. Most counties are required by state law to balance their budgets. County governments have significant impact in rural America, where they often provide most local government services. They also play important roles in election administration, since election logistics in most states are handled at the county level by elected county clerks or boards of elections. The largest county by population is Los Angeles County, California, with nearly 10 million residents, more populous than 41 of the 50 states. The smallest counties have fewer than 100 residents.