Counting Counties

As we study the United States of America, we are looking at each of the fifty states. But did you know that the USA is divided into more than just states? Each state is split into a certain number of counties. A county is a division of local government within a state. The powers of a county government, as well as the way it interacts with city governments, varies from state to state. In fact each state has a slightly different approach to its counties.

Louisiana and Alaska are especially unique. In fact, neither of these states even uses the word “county.” Louisiana is divided into parishes rather than counties, though the parishes are equivalent to a county. The term “parish” is leftover from Louisiana’s colonization by the heavily Catholic countries of Spain and France. Alaska, because of its sparse population, is divided into boroughs. The more heavily populated areas of Alaska are divided into sixteen boroughs. The rest of the state is referred to as the Unorganized Borough.

The number of counties in each state differs. Texas has the most, with a total of 254; while Delaware, with only three, has the fewest counties. The size of a county greatly depends on the state. For instance, Georgia’s 159 counties are all very small, because originally they were planned so that a farmer could easily reach the county seat (government headquarters) on horseback. While other states, like Arizona with only fifteen, have large counties.

The population of a county also varies quite widely. For instance, Loving County in Texas has only sixty-seven residents. But Los Angeles County in California contains over ten million people. Our county has nearly four million residents.

This week’s assignment: There will be no quiz over this blog entry, because we have a test on Friday. Your extra credit question on the test is: Where did the title of this blog come from? Find out before Friday and earn bonus points on your first exam of the school year.