A borough in some

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

s is a unit of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

or other

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

below the level of the state. The term is currently used in six states: *A type of

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

(also formerly

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

) *A subdivision of a consolidated city, corresponding to another present or previous political subdivision:

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

*In

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

only, a borough is a

county-equivalent In the United States, a county or county equivalent is an administrative subdivision of a state or territory, typically with defined geographic boundaries and some level of governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 states, whil ...

Specific states

Alaska

, the word "borough" is used instead of "county". Like counties, boroughs are administrative divisions of the state. Each borough in Alaska has a borough seat, which is the administrative center for the borough. The

Municipality of Anchorage A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the gov ...

is a consolidated city-borough, as are Sitka,

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

, Haines, Yakutat, and

Skagway The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with the large ...

. Nearly half of the state's area is part of the vast

Unorganized Borough The Unorganized Borough is composed of the portions of the U.S. state of Alaska which are not contained in any of its 19 organized boroughs. While referred to as the "Unorganized Borough", it is not a borough itself, as it forgoes that level o ...

, which has no borough-level government at all. The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

has divided the Unorganized Borough into ten

census area A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given population, usually displayed in the form of statistics. This term is used ...

s for statistical purposes.

Connecticut

In addition to cities,

also has another type of dependent municipality known as a borough. Boroughs are usually the populated center of a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

that decided to incorporate in order to have more responsive local government. When a borough is formed, it is still part of and dependent on its town. There are nine boroughs in Connecticut. One borough,

Naugatuck Naugatuck ( ) is a consolidated borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town, part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, had a population of 31,519 as of the 2020 Census. The town spans both sides of the Naug ...

, is coextensive and consolidated with its town. The other eight boroughs, such as Woodmont, have jurisdiction over only a part of their town. Boroughs in Connecticut are counted as separate municipal governments, but governmental functions performed in other parts of the state by town governments are performed by the parent town of the borough.

Michigan

, the term ''borough'' only applied to

Mackinac Island Mackinac Island ( , ; ; ; ) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac and "Mitchimakinak" in Ojibwemowin, meaning "Great Turtle". It is located in ...

from February 2, 1817, to March 25, 1847. The Borough government was established by William Henry Puthuff after the island was proclaimed to be a U.S. territory in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. The borough government was replaced by a

village government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

in 1847.

Minnesota

, "borough" was applied to one municipality, Belle Plaine, from 1868 to 1974.

New Jersey

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

are independent municipalities and are one of five types of municipal government, each operating separately at the equivalent level of the other four types of municipal government available in New Jersey:

Township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

Town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

City A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, and

Village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

. Many boroughs were formed out of larger townships, but even in such cases there is no continuing link between the borough and the township. Most boroughs were formed during the

Boroughitis Boroughitis (also borough fever or borough mania) was the creation in the 1890s, usually by referendum, of large numbers of small boroughs in the U.S. state of New Jersey, particularly in Bergen County. Attempts by the New Jersey Legislature to ...

phenomenon of the mid-1890s.

New York

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

is divided into five boroughs:

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, and

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

. Each of these is coterminous with a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

: Kings County, New York County, Queens County, Bronx County, and Richmond County, respectively. There are no county governments within New York City for legislative or executive purposes. The powers of the boroughs are inferior to the powers of the citywide government, but each borough elects a borough president, who in turn appoints some members of local community boards (see

Government of New York City The government of New York City, headquartered at New York City Hall in Lower Manhattan, is organized under the New York City Charter and provides for a mayor-council system. The mayor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for the ...

). The boroughs of New York City are generally treated as separate counties for judicial purposes and for some legal filings. New York City does not have a city-wide

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

's office. Instead, each borough elects a district attorney whose title is named after the respective county:

Bronx County District Attorney The Bronx County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for Bronx County, which is coterminous with the Borough of the Bronx, in New York City. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws. (Feder ...

, Kings County District Attorney,

New York County District Attorney The New York County District Attorney, also known as the Manhattan District Attorney, is the elected district attorney for New York County, New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws (federal l ...

Queens County District Attorney The District Attorney of Queens County is the elected district attorney for Queens County in New York State, coterminous with the New York City borough of Queens. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws. ...

, and Richmond County District Attorney. Boroughs do not exist in any other part of the

state of New York New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

Pennsylvania

's state laws that govern classes of municipalities, the term "borough" is used the way other states sometimes use the words "town" or "village." A borough is a self-governing entity that is generally smaller than a city. If an area is not governed by either a borough or city, then the area is governed as a township. Villages or hamlets are unincorporated and have no municipal government, other than the township in which they are found. By tradition, as recognized by publications of the state government, the only incorporated town in Pennsylvania is

Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania Bloomsburg is the only incorporated town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States, of which it is also the county seat. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located southwest of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre along ...

. The Pennsylvania Manualbr>117
/ref> In August 2005, there were 961 boroughs in the state.

Virginia

, under

Code of Virginia The Code of Virginia is the statutory law of the U.S. state of Virginia and consists of the codified legislation of the Virginia General Assembly. The 1950 Code of Virginia is the revision currently in force. The previous official versions were t ...

§ 15.2-3534, when multiple local governments consolidate to form a consolidated city, the consolidated city may be divided into geographical subdivisions called boroughs, which may be the same as the existing (i) cities, (ii) counties, or (iii) portions of such counties. Those boroughs are not separate local governments. For example, Chesapeake is divided into six boroughs, one corresponding to the former city of

South Norfolk South Norfolk is a local government district in Norfolk, England. The largest town is Wymondham, and the district also includes the towns of Costessey, Diss, Harleston, Hingham, Loddon and Long Stratton. The council was based in Long S ...

and one corresponding to each of the five magisterial districts of the former Norfolk County. In

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...

, the seven boroughs were abolished effective July 1, 1998.City of Virginia Beach Development Services Center, DSC INFORMATION NOTICE #63 - Correction May 15, 1998
(

PDF Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...

)

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

in the 19th century occasionally used the term "borough" for the type of

civil township A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States that is subordinate to a County (United States), county, most often in the northern and midwestern parts of the country. The term town is used in New England town, Ne ...

normally known as a town.

References

{{Reflist Local government in the United States