# U.S. cities (not metropolitan areas) that span multiple counties **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 25, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339 "2010-04-25T21:55:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/41 "2010-04-28T04:41:21Z")
Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![desdinova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8baadc/32.png) [@desdinova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/desdinova)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/42 "2010-04-28T05:33:46Z")
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma spans both Tulsa and Wagoner counties. The City of Tulsa crosses both Tulsa and Osage counties, I’m not talking about a metro area, just the incorporated city limits. I haven’t bothered checking but I know Catoosa is mainly in Rogers County, but I bet part of it spills over into Tulsa County at some point. Owasso may have some cross-breeding between Tulsa and Rogers counties as well, again I haven’t bothered checking. I haven’t even left the Tulsa area; I know Moore, Oklahoma City and Edmond span two or more counties. And this is a pretty tiny state of a little more than three million people. I don’t think this is all that unusual. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/43 "2010-04-28T08:55:49Z")
Randolph, Wisconsin population 1,774 home of Jung’s Seed The county line is length ways down highway 73 downtown. Accidents get really confusing over who’s jurisdiction it is. In which lane did the accident occur sir? ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/44 "2010-04-28T10:57:20Z")
> [@Neptunian\_Slug](#): > > I believe Portland, Oregon which is mainly Multnomah County spills into Washington and Clackamas counties. Portland is only in Multnomah county. Beaverton (and other cities) are in Washington county and Clackamas (and Milwaukie and Oregon City, etc.) is in Clackamas county. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/45 "2010-04-28T13:31:23Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > I think you’re thinking of Chestnut Hill, the non-Boston parts of which are in Middlesex County. Brookline is indeed in Norfolk County, and is an island mostly within Suffolk County, but it’s not part of Boston. In fact, when I look at a map, it looks to me like the entirety of Boston is within Suffolk County. For the record, Brookline, Mass. is about 90% surrounded by the City of Boston, but is a separate municipality (and in a separate county, where the county border follows the Brookline/Boston border). Neither municipality is in more than one county. Chestnut Hill is just a name for a neighborhood (straddling both Brookline and Boston) and no legal significance. But counties in Massachusetts don’t mean much anyway. Every part of the state is in an incorporated municipality, and there is no longer any county government-- it’s either state or local. The legal system still seems to care about counties for some reason (“I’m buying a house; I guess I need to look up which county I’m in again so I can register the deed correctly”), but they’re basically just historical legacies at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/46 "2010-04-28T13:49:36Z")
Connecticut is the same - I think they may have abolished counties entirely. > [@obfusciatrist](#): > > So per the Wikipedia list: > > 53 cities that span 3 counties. > … > 5 of those 63 cities and towns have populations under 1,000 (per Wikipedia pop. numbers) > … > 703 - Baltic, OH (3 counties) > … I’m a lifelong Ohioan and I _think_ I’ve heard of Baltic, but I couldn’t for the life of me tell you where in the state it is. Pretty obscure little burgh. Thanks for developing that list. ETA: Baltic, I see, is in NE Ohio. One of the counties it overlaps is Tuscarawas County, where I lived for 2 1/2 years. Maybe that’s where I heard of it? Dunno. I’m pretty sure I’ve never been there, anyway: [Baltic, Ohio - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic,_Ohio) ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/47 "2010-04-28T16:19:57Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Portland is only in Multnomah county. Beaverton (and other cities) are in Washington county and Clackamas (and Milwaukie and Oregon City, etc.) is in Clackamas county. According to the [Annexation page](http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/index.cfm?c=30357) on the City of Portland website, “[s]ome properties in Washington and Clackamas Counties are within the Portland’s urban service boundary and city limits.” ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/48 "2010-04-28T16:43:03Z")
To the best of my knowledge the states that have “abolished counties” mean that they eliminated county governments – Berkshire and Worcester, Fairfield and New Haven Counties remain on the state maps as geographic areas, for use, e.g., in narrowing down where in the state Podunk Junction is, but have no legislative or administrative officials. ===== To the best of my knowledge, however, while all this discussion of cities and villages lying athwart county and even state/province lines is fascinating, New York City stands alone in being the only city that occupies All of two or more counties. While city A may occupy all of county x with outliers into counties y and z, there is no other city that includes all of county x and all of county y, or more. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/49 "2010-04-28T17:11:10Z")
La Crescent, MN (population of about 5,000) is in Houston and Winona counties. > **[La Crescent, Minnesota](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Crescent,_Minnesota)** > > La Crescent (/lə ˈkrɛsənt/ lə KRESS-ənt) is a city in Houston and Winona counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 5,276 at the 2020 census. > La Crescent is located in the northeast portion of Houston County; the northern edge of the city falls into Winona County. The city is known as the "Apple Capital of Minnesota" because > John S. Harris planted the first apple trees in the midwest here, resulting in many orchards in the present-day city. It is recognized as a 'Tree City' b... Just the very north end is in Winona County - I’d guess 100 or so people. Brianb ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/50 "2010-04-28T17:12:59Z")
> [@](#): > > To the best of my knowledge the states that have “abolished counties” mean that they eliminated county governments – Berkshire and Worcester, Fairfield and New Haven Counties remain on the state maps as geographic areas, for use, e.g., in narrowing down where in the state Podunk Junction is, but have no legislative or administrative officials. And Massachusetts has not abolished all county governments. Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Norfolk, and Plymouth Counties still have county-level governments. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/51 "2010-04-28T17:16:56Z")
California law prohibits cities lines crossing county lines ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/52 "2010-04-28T17:22:33Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > California law prohibits cities lines crossing county lines So, if a police office found San Francisco wandering into San Mateo County, he could arrest the city? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/53 "2010-04-28T17:29:03Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > So, if a police office found San Francisco wandering into San Mateo County, he could arrest the city? That was part of Dirty Harry’s job because they knew he could actually do it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339/54 "2010-04-28T20:14:14Z")
You can be sure Carmel never wandered into another county on Eastwood’s mayoral watch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-cities-not-metropolitan-areas-that-span-multiple-counties/537339.md?page=2)