Levels of Local Government

A Government for Every Function

The United States does not have a single system of local government. It has thousands of them — each created by state law, each with its own boundaries, its own elected or appointed officials, and its own sphere of responsibility.

The U.S. Census Bureau classifies local governments into five basic types: county, municipal, township, special district, and school district.[reference:0] These categories are not hierarchical. A resident may live within a county, a city, a school district, and a water district all at once — and each one taxes them, regulates them, and provides different services.

The Oldest Form of Local Government

Counties are one of America’s oldest forms of government, dating back to 1634, when the first county governments were established along the eastern shore of Virginia.[reference:1] Today there are 3,069 county governments across the United States, including parishes in Louisiana and boroughs in Alaska.[reference:2]

Counties are not uniform. Their structure, authority, and finances are determined by state constitutions and laws, and they vary enormously from state to state.[reference:3] In some states, counties are the primary unit of local government. In others, they serve mainly as administrative arms of the state, handling courts, jails, property records, and elections.

Counties are governed by locally elected officials — more than 19,350 county elected executives and board members nationwide — who are responsible for budgets, policies, and oversight.[reference:4] They help maintain roads and bridges, courthouses and jails, parks and pools, and public libraries, hospitals, and clinics.[reference:5]

In many rural areas, the county is the most important unit of government. In urban areas, it may be overshadowed by the city — or it may have been consolidated with the city into a single government, as in San Francisco, Denver, and Nashville.

The Incorporated City

A municipality is an incorporated area — a city, town, village, or borough — that has been granted a charter by the state. That charter defines the municipality’s powers, its form of government, and its procedures.[reference:6]

Municipalities provide the services residents interact with most directly: police and fire protection, parks and recreation, street maintenance, water and sewer, zoning and land use regulation, and local courts.

Not every American lives in a municipality. In most states, there are unincorporated areas — land that is not part of any city or town. Residents of those areas rely on county government, special districts, or state agencies for services that city dwellers receive from their municipality.

The New England Inheritance

Townships are a legacy of the colonial era. In New England, the town was the original unit of local government — a community of neighbors who gathered to make decisions collectively. The town meeting form of government, in which all eligible voters assemble to decide policy directly, still exists in about 5% of municipalities.[reference:7]

Outside New England, townships serve different functions. In the Midwest, they are often rural administrative units that maintain roads and assess property. In Pennsylvania and New Jersey, they may be full-service municipal governments. In some states, townships have been largely replaced by cities or have merged with them.

The township is a reminder that local government in America is not one system but many — each shaped by the history, geography, and political culture of the state that created it.

Government by Function

Special districts are the most numerous and least understood form of local government. There are roughly 38,000 of them nationwide, and they exist for a single purpose: to provide a specific service.

Examples include water districts, fire districts, library districts, mosquito abatement districts, transit authorities, port authorities, and cemetery districts.[reference:8] Some are governed by elected boards. Others are governed by boards appointed by city councils, county commissions, or governors.

Special districts have independent taxing authority in most states. That means they can levy property taxes, charge fees, or issue bonds without approval from the county or city government. This independence is their strength — it allows them to focus on a single mission without competing for general revenue. It is also their weakness — they are often less visible to voters and less accountable to the public.

Education as a Separate Government

School districts are independent governments responsible for public K–12 education. There are roughly 13,000 of them nationwide. They are governed by school boards that are usually elected, though in some cities they are appointed by the mayor or city council.

School districts have the power to levy taxes and issue bonds in most states. They set curriculum, hire and fire teachers and administrators, manage school facilities, and determine attendance boundaries. In some states, schools are administered directly by city or county government, but in most, they are a separate layer of local government with their own taxing authority.

For many Americans, the school district is the most important local government in their lives — and the one they are most likely to engage with, through school board meetings, parent-teacher organizations, and bond elections.

You Live Under Several Governments at Once

The most important thing to understand about local government is that it is not a hierarchy. It is a patchwork. A single address may be governed by a county, a city, a school district, a water district, a fire district, and a library district — each with its own boundaries, its own elected officials, and its own tax authority.

These overlapping layers can create confusion. Which government is responsible for fixing the pothole on your street? Which one sets your property tax rate? Which one decides whether a new development can be built in your neighborhood? The answer depends on where you live and how your state has organized its local governments.

But the overlap also creates opportunities. If you want to influence local policy, there are more points of access than in the federal system. You can speak at a city council meeting, run for school board, serve on a planning commission, or attend a water district hearing. The sheer number of local governments means that there are more ways for citizens to participate — and more ways for their voices to be heard.

“Local government is the government that touches your life every day. It is the government you can actually influence.” National Association of Counties, 2024