There are 62 counties in the U.S. state of New York.
The first 12 counties were created in 1683 soon after the British took over the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam; two of these counties were later abolished, their land going to Massachusetts. These counties were carried over after independence in 1783, but most of the counties were created by the state in the 19th century. The newest county is the Bronx, created in 1914 from the portions of New York County that had been annexed from Westchester County in the late 19th century. New York's counties are named for various Native American words; British provinces, counties, cities, and royalty; early American statesmen and military personnel; and New York State politicians.
Authority Excepting the five boroughs of New York City, New York counties are governed by New York County Law and have governments run by either a Board of Supervisors or a County Legislature, and either an 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.
Throughout the state, including NYC, the court system and public prosecution is primarily a matter of state law but is generally organized along county lines, chosen by county voters.
Five boroughs of New York City
Except for the neighborhood of Marble Hill, which is part of the borough of Manhattan but located in Bronx County, the five New York City counties are each coextensive with its five boroughs. They are New York County (Manhattan), Kings County (Brooklyn), Bronx County (The Bronx), Richmond County (Staten Island), and Queens County (Queens). They are the smallest counties in New York by area.
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. Some officials are elected on a borough-wide basis. The five borough presidents deal with Borough matters, while the district attorneys and all county and state supreme court judges are generally concerned with the administration of state criminal and civil law and local ordinances in the county. 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 Concourse section of the Bronx. The separate Bronx Borough Hall burned down in 1969. 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.
List of counties
CountyFIPS CodeCounty seat Formed from Named for Density(Pop./mi2) (2025) AreaMap
Racial / Ethnic Profile of counties in New York (2020 Census) Racial / Ethnic Profile of counties in New York (2020 Census) Following is a table of counties in New York by race/ethnicity. The majority racial/ethnic group is coded per the key below.
Majority minority with no dominant groupMajority WhiteNew YorkMajority BlackMajority HispanicNew YorkMajority AsianMajority Native American
+ Racial and ethnic composition of counties in New York (2020 Census)(NH = Non-Hispanic) County Locationof County Total Population White alone (NH) % Black orAfrican American alone (NH) % Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) % Asian alone (NH) % Pacific Islander alone (NH) % Other race alone (NH) % Mixed race orMultiracial (NH) % Hispanic or Latino(any race) %Albany314,848210,89566.98%40,66712.92%4940.16%24,3637.74%1660.05%1,8210.58%14,8474.72%21,5956.86%Allegany46,45642,32791.11%8091.74%910.20%3730.80%60.01%2180.47%1,6673.59%9652.08%Bronx1,472,654130,7968.88%419,39328.48%3,0870.21%67,7664.60%4570.03%16,3221.11%28,3701.93%806,46354.76%Broome198,683156,17378.60%11,5475.81%4130.21%9,3374.70%640.03%8640.43%10,0005.03%10,2855.18%Cattaraugus77,04267,55487.68%9961.29%2,6613.45%5600.73%90.01%2120.28%3,4354.46%1,6152.10%Cayuga76,24866,31386.97%2,7273.58%2240.29%3790.50%540.07%2530.33%3,6624.80%2,6363.46%Chautauqua127,657106,06383.08%2,8912.26%4970.39%7960.62%490.04%3630.28%5,2294.10%11,7699.22%Chemung84,14869,55982.66%5,0095.95%1980.24%1,4261.69%150.02%2280.27%4,7755.67%2,9383.49%Chenango47,22043,15391.39%3450.73%930.20%2360.50%150.03%1090.23%2,1524.56%1,1172.37%Clinton79,84369,25186.73%2,7533.45%2380.30%9571.20%240.03%2700.34%3,4944.38%2,8563.58%Columbia61,57050,79582.50%2,4213.93%700.11%1,4232.31%160.03%3480.57%2,9554.80%3,5425.75%Cortland46,80940,80187.16%8291.77%1130.24%1,0182.17%60.01%2040.44%2,1804.66%1,6583.54%Delaware44,30838,82187.62%1,0032.26%930.21%4801.08%70.02%1540.35%1,7653.98%1,9854.48%Dutchess295,911198,49567.08%30,12610.18%3870.13%10,6353.59%670.02%1,9560.66%12,0214.06%42,22414.27%Erie954,236678,23671.08%129,87413.61%4,6670.49%46,0904.83%1990.02%3,2540.34%32,2583.38%59,6586.25%Essex37,38133,71490.19%6101.63%740.20%2290.61%70.02%1330.36%1,6364.38%9782.62%Franklin47,55538,55981.08%1,6863.55%4,1028.63%1910.40%00.00%910.19%1,5393.24%1,3872.92%Fulton53,32447,05188.24%9661.81%890.17%3430.64%00.00%1640.31%2,5774.83%2,1344.00%Genesee58,38850,96087.28%1,3582.33%3610.62%4120.71%160.03%1730.30%2,3564.04%2,7524.71%Greene47,93139,49482.40%2,1594.50%1000.21%5001.04%30.01%2380.50%2,3284.86%3,1096.49%Hamilton5,1074,76993.38%300.59%140.27%120.23%10.02%50.10%1763.45%1001.96%Herkimer60,13954,65390.88%6821.13%760.13%3590.60%320.05%1530.25%2,6544.41%1,5302.54%Jefferson116,72192,75579.47%6,2715.37%4610.39%2,1851.87%3000.26%5010.43%6,2585.36%7,9906.85%Kings2,736,074968,42735.39%729,69626.67%3,9640.14%370,77613.55%7180.03%32,8971.20%113,1704.14%516,42618.87%Lewis26,58224,94293.83%1030.39%400.15%650.24%110.04%520.20%9093.42%4601.73%Livingston61,83454,61188.32%1,0711.73%1250.20%6531.06%60.01%2030.33%2,4443.95%2,7214.40%Madison68,01660,96589.63%1,0711.57%4350.64%6640.98%110.02%1870.27%3,0104.43%1,6732.46%Monroe759,443506,15366.65%112,71014.84%1,3200.17%32,2944.25%1810.02%2,9580.39%31,0824.09%72,7459.58%Montgomery49,53238,23777.20%9871.99%830.17%4790.97%90.02%2100.42%2,2154.47%7,31214.76%Nassau1,395,774779,45455.84%147,21610.55%1,7140.12%163,16511.69%2920.02%11,7800.84%35,7282.56%256,42518.37%New York1,694,251793,29446.82%199,59211.78%1,8950.11%219,62412.96%8820.05%13,3350.79%62,9893.72%402,64023.77%Niagara212,666173,69181.67%16,2067.62%2,2941.08%2,4391.15%450.02%7370.35%9,4364.44%7,8183.68%Oneida232,125180,98477.97%14,9896.46%5080.22%10,5224.53%720.03%7290.31%9,1303.93%15,1916.54%Onondaga476,516347,29072.88%54,41011.42%2,9400.62%20,1194.22%1060.02%1,9550.41%23,1244.85%26,5725.58%Ontario112,45897,39786.61%2,4392.17%1970.18%1,3741.22%230.02%4180.37%4,4974.00%6,1135.44%Orange401,310231,84857.77%41,34110.30%7540.19%11,6652.91%1040.03%12,0122.99%13,8423.45%89,74422.36%Orleans40,34334,03784.37%1,8404.56%1770.44%1540.38%120.03%1410.35%1,8954.70%2,0875.17%Oswego117,525105,71089.95%1,3701.17%4570.39%8700.74%190.02%3020.26%5,1814.41%3,6163.08%Otsego58,52451,49087.98%1,1892.03%1090.19%8131.39%70.01%1800.31%2,3444.01%2,3924.09%Putnam97,66871,94273.66%2,4252.48%800.08%2,1462.20%120.01%5610.57%2,7422.81%17,76018.18%Queens2,405,464549,35822.84%381,37515.85%9,5760.40%656,58327.30%1,1100.05%55,4892.31%84,1123.50%667,86127.76%Rensselaer161,130124,60077.33%11,8007.32%3100.19%5,7113.54%170.01%7060.44%8,5045.28%9,4825.88%Richmond495,747277,98156.07%46,8359.45%6240.13%58,75311.85%1350.03%3,1410.63%11,3182.28%96,96019.56%Rockland338,329206,11360.92%33,7759.98%3900.12%20,4136.03%420.01%3,4451.02%7,7002.28%66,45119.64%St. Lawrence108,50596,55688.99%2,7882.57%1,1431.05%1,0891.00%190.02%2980.27%3,7803.48%2,8322.61%Saratoga235,509203,78186.53%3,7521.59%3010.13%7,4443.16%600.03%8330.35%10,6714.53%8,6673.68%Schenectady158,061104,87866.35%15,94310.09%9300.59%8,2815.24%1300.08%4,4692.83%10,9256.91%12,5057.91%Schoharie29,71426,65889.72%2770.93%680.23%2100.71%30.01%1230.41%1,3004.38%1,0753.62%Schuyler17,89816,61892.85%910.51%380.21%1080.60%10.01%430.24%6703.74%3291.84%Seneca33,81429,27386.57%1,2633.74%1510.45%2680.79%30.01%800.24%1,4094.17%1,3674.04%Steuben93,58484,33890.12%1,4161.51%2030.22%1,6161.73%120.01%3010.32%3,9804.25%1,7181.84%Suffolk1,525,920967,33063.39%107,2687.03%3,1020.20%65,0194.26%2410.02%9,4790.62%40,5222.66%332,95921.82%Sullivan78,62452,69167.02%6,0697.72%1740.22%1,5692.00%100.01%6020.77%3,5024.45%14,00717.82%Tioga48,45544,19591.21%4340.90%620.13%3700.76%120.02%1580.33%2,1074.35%1,1172.31%Tompkins105,74076,73772.57%4,2744.04%2480.23%10,4879.92%350.03%6220.59%6,2605.92%7,0776.69%Ulster181,851136,69575.17%10,1525.58%3060.17%3,7782.08%450.02%1,2180.67%8,5384.70%21,11911.61%Warren65,73759,29990.21%7361.12%1390.21%7291.11%00.00%1890.29%2,8934.40%1,7522.67%Washington61,30254,60589.08%1,5632.55%1490.24%3190.52%220.04%1430.23%2,7404.47%1,7612.87%Wayne91,28379,23086.80%2,3972.63%1710.19%4730.52%130.01%2720.30%4,2134.62%4,5144.95%Westchester1,004,457497,68449.55%131,01013.04%1,0170.10%64,9076.46%1500.01%8,6510.86%31,7043.16%269,33426.81%Wyoming40,53135,57987.78%1,8524.57%830.20%2170.54%60.01%770.19%1,2273.03%1,4903.68%Yates24,77423,04993.04%1450.59%280.11%930.38%80.03%770.31%7002.83%6742.72%
Defunct counties
CountyCreatedAbolishedFateCharlotte County17721784Partitioned. Western part renamed as Washington County and eastern part transferred to Vermont.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 colonyCumberland County17661777Transferred to Vermont and partitionedDukes CountyNovember 1, 16831692Transferred to Massachusetts; one of 12 original counties created in the New York colonyGloucester County17701777Transferred to Vermont and partitionedMexico County17921796Never settled or incorporated, reallocated to Oneida, Oswego and Jefferson Counties.Tryon County17721784Renamed as Montgomery County
Proposed new counties CountyNoteAdirondack CountyWould hypothetically consist of portions of northern Essex County and southern Franklin CountyPeconic CountyWould hypothetically consist of the five easternmost towns in Suffolk County on Long Island.
Clickable map
See also
List of United States counties and county equivalents List of former United States counties List of municipalities in New York List of towns in New York New York State City/County Management Association
References
Further reading
External links "Counties" at NY.gov