Counties

Counties, inherited from English shires, serve as administrative arms of the states. The Census Bureau counts about 3,031 county governments. Louisiana calls its counties parishes and Alaska calls its equivalents boroughs, while Connecticut and Rhode Island have counties only as geographic units without governments, Connecticut having abolished county government in 1960. Counties vary enormously, from Los Angeles County, with about ten million residents, more than most states, to rural Texas counties with fewer than a hundred.

Counties typically run the courts and jails, the sheriff's office, elections, property assessment and records, public health and social services, roads outside cities, and in many places hospitals, parks, and airports. Most are governed by an elected board of commissioners or supervisors that sets budgets and policy, alongside separately elected officials such as the sheriff, clerk, assessor, treasurer, and prosecutor or district attorney. A growing number have an elected county executive or appointed county administrator.

Some cities and counties have merged into consolidated city-county governments, including San Francisco, Denver, Philadelphia, Nashville, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis. Counties rely heavily on property taxes and on state and federal funds, and they administer many state and federal programs, which makes unfunded mandates a frequent concern. The National Association of Counties represents them. Supporters of county government say it delivers services efficiently across rural and suburban areas, while critics say the many separately elected officials diffuse accountability.