Local government in the United States is structured in accordance with the laws of the individual states, territories and the District of Columbia. Typically each state has at least two separate tiers of local government: counties and municipalities. Some states have their counties further divided into townships. There are several different types of local government at the municipal level, generally reflecting the needs of different levels of population densities; typical examples include the city, town, borough and village.
The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution makes local government a matter of state rather than federal law, with special cases for territories and the District of Columbia. The states have adopted a wide variety of systems of local government. The US Census Bureau conducts the Census of Governments every five years to compile statistics on government organization, public employment, and government finances. The categories of local government established in this Census of Governments is a convenient basis for understanding local government: county governments, town or township governments, municipal governments and special-purpose local governments.
County governments are organized local governments authorized in state constitutions and statutes. Counties form the first-tier administrative division of the states. All the states are divided into counties for administrative purposes. A number of independent cities operate under a municipal government that serves the functions of both city and county. In areas lacking a county government, services are provided either by lower level townships or municipalities or the state.
Town or township governments are organized local governments authorized in the state constitutions and statutes of states, established to provide general government for a defined area, generally based on the geographic subdivision of a county. Depending on state law and local circumstance, a township may or may not be incorporated, and the degree of authority over local government services may vary greatly. In particular, towns in New England have considerably more power than most townships elsewhere and often function as independent cities in all but name, typically exercising the full range of powers that are divided between counties, townships and cities in other states.
Municipal governments are organized local governments authorized in state constitutions and statutes, established to provide general government for a defined area, generally corresponding to a population center rather than one of a set of areas into which a county is divided. The category includes those governments designated as cities, boroughs, towns, and villages. This concept corresponds roughly to the incorporated places that are recognized in Census Bureau reporting of population and housing statistics. Municipalities range in size from the very small to the very large, reflected in the range of types of municipal governments that exist in different areas.
New York City - City Hall
NYC City Hall is home to the government of the largest city in the US, and the municipality with the largest budget.
In most states, county and municipal governments exist side-by-side. In some states, a city can become independent of any separately functioning county government and function both as a county and as a city. Depending on the state, such a city is known as either an independent city or a consolidated city-county. Municipal governments are usually administratively divided into several departments, depending on the size of the city.