# US Dopers: Do you know what county you live in? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 16, 2011, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963 "2011-08-16T22:21:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/41 "2011-08-17T01:40:09Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > I recall meeting people in New England who didn’t know their county–[“town”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_town) was much more important there. (In New England, you are _always_ in a “town,” even in the countryside. There’s no such thing as unincorporated county land.) This is true in New York as well. You’re either in a Town or a City wherever you are. Counties in New York do provide a lot of services though, except in New York City where they do very little. There’s a lot of Manhattan residents who don’t know they actually live in New York County. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/42 "2011-08-17T01:42:09Z")
New York State is weird. I used to live in the Village of Ossining, which is in the Town of Ossining, which is in Westchester County. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/43 "2011-08-17T01:42:29Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Yep. But honestly, most of the county is wasteland full of nothing but snakes, insects and worthless claims. > > The rest is desert. Some of the most glorious desert in the world, if you ask me. My county is northwest of it: [Santa Clara](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Clara_County,_California) ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/44 "2011-08-17T01:43:05Z")
I live in the City _and_ County of San Francisco. Makes it easy to remember. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/45 "2011-08-17T01:48:44Z")
[Malheur County, Oregon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malheur_County,_Oregon), bigger than Vermont, but not so crowded (average population density of 3 people/square mile). In the western states, which use a county form of government I suppose everyone knows their county of residence. But, as others have noted, it is not that way everywhere. When I lived in Massachusetts, (Norfolk Co., FWIW) I was surprised to find that while counties did exist, they were such non-entities that it wasn’t surprising that some would not know their county. I never did figure out what the MA counties actually did…they were just kind of there. The town or city were the dominant unit of local government. SS ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/46 "2011-08-17T01:55:36Z")
Macomb County, MI. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/47 "2011-08-17T02:00:20Z")
Los Angeles County, Cali-for-ny-a! ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/48 "2011-08-17T02:09:58Z")
Da Bronx, baby! Although it is called a “borough” but sporadically. For example, Ruben Diaz Jr. is called the Borough President, but I went to jury duty in the Bronx County Courthouse. There was a old Lawn Order where Stone fooled an out-of-state lawyer by promising that he would not file another charge against his client in New York County, and then surprised the guy by filing charges in Kings County (Brooklyn). And Staten Island is Richmond County, but even the Borough President doesn’t use the name on his website. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/49 "2011-08-17T02:47:46Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > There was a old Lawn Order where Stone fooled an out-of-state lawyer by promising that he would not file another charge against his client in New York County, and then surprised the guy by filing charges in Kings County (Brooklyn). And Staten Island is Richmond County, but even the Borough President doesn’t use the name on his website. That’s because the borough is actually called Staten Island, and the borough presidents are officers of the borough, not the county. Richmond County is coterminous with the borough but a separate legal entity. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/50 "2011-08-17T02:54:19Z")
I live in Chicago but didn’t grow up here. I know the county I live in but not any of the neighboring counties. Honestly I can think off the top of only one other county in IL (Jo Daviess county, which I think really is spelled that way). ---
**Author:** ![OneMissedPost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@OneMissedPost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneMissedPost)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/51 "2011-08-17T02:54:20Z")
Yes. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/52 "2011-08-17T02:54:55Z")
Thanks to the idiot sheriff, I think everyone in the United States knows of my county, Maricopa, in Arizona. ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/53 "2011-08-17T03:53:23Z")
The small city of Schertz, Texas is splayed out over three counties: Bexar, Comal and Guadalupe. After reading this thread, I have all sorts of questions about how Schertz handles delivering county services to its residents. But I’m too lazy to Google that. I think I’ll just drop by City Hall and ask the receptionist next time I drive through Schertz. Oh, and in answer to the OP, yes, I do know my county. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/54 "2011-08-17T03:58:37Z")
I have no idea where I live. Does anyone know how I might find out? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/55 "2011-08-17T04:03:01Z")
I currently live in Lake County, Indiana. I was born in one of those “independent cities” that are in no county - this has occasionally resulted in hilarity when filling out bureaucratic forms. What county was I born in? None… ---
**Author:** ![Rushgeekgirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rushgeekgirl/32/3715_2.png) [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/56 "2011-08-17T04:27:01Z")
I hear the name of my county pretty much every day of my life. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/57 "2011-08-17T04:47:05Z")
Milwaukee County, WI and within that I currently live in the Town Of Cudahy but grew up in the Village of Whitefish Bay and have never lived in the City of Milwaukee. ---
**Author:** ![Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ed655f/32.png) [@Crown\_Prince\_of\_Irony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crown_Prince_of_Irony)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/58 "2011-08-17T04:52:58Z")
When I was a kid, I grew up in a town in California called Yuba City. Yuba City is the county seat of Sutter County, which also has a town called Sutter. Across the river from Yuba City is Marysville, which is the county seat of Yuba County.\* So I was a bit confused as a kid regarding which county I lived in. \*Apropos of nothing, those places all suck major ass. I currently live in Washington County, OR. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/59 "2011-08-17T05:03:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I live in the largest county (by area) in the US. According to Wiki, the 5 largest counties in the U.S. are in Alaska, where they call them boroughs. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963/60 "2011-08-17T05:16:51Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Thanks to the idiot sheriff, I think everyone in the United States knows of my county, Maricopa, in Arizona. [Hijack]Is he well liked there or controversial?[/Hijack] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-dopers-do-you-know-what-county-you-live-in/592963.md?page=4)