# What is the difference between New York, New York State and Newark? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 10, 2011, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804 "2011-09-10T06:30:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/21 "2011-09-10T15:52:46Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Note that New York City was once only Manhattan. New York and Brooklyn were two of the largest cities in the U.S.A., so it was likely a big deal when they merged into a single city in 1898. What is the Dope without nitpicking? New York City in 1897 included Manhattan and a part of the Bronx. The merger brought in not only Brooklyn but 40 communities that make up the five boroughs we know today (other than a few fiddly bits around the edges that came later). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/22 "2011-09-10T15:59:02Z")
> [@CheeseDonkey](#): > > That’s a common misconception about Newark, New York. Most people think, due to its size and population, that it is its own town. > > It is merely a village, however, in Arcadia, which is in Wayne County. Adding to the confusion is that every state defines these terms differently. In Ohio, for example, the only difference between a city and a village is the size of the population. Otherwise they’re pretty much the same kind of entity. Once a village reaches X population, it automatically becomes a city. And “town” has no official meaning. Any place with a few houses and businesses can be called a town regardless of whether it is part of any formal municipal jurisdiction. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/23 "2011-09-10T18:45:53Z")
And to add to the confusion, most Americans mean New York City when they say New York. Certainly I do, even though I have to drive through 300 miles of New York State when I drive from Montreal. One time, I was at the customs house, therefore already in New York State, and when the guy asked me where I was heading I answered, “New York”. He asked where in New York? I answered “Brooklyn” and it was only much later that I realized what he was really asking. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/24 "2011-09-10T19:36:20Z")
Multiplying the confusion (because we’ve gone past the point of mere addition) it’s very difficult to determine what the official name of that city at the mouth of the Hudson River is. Is it New York or New York City? [Here](http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/?front_door=true) is “the official New York City Web site”. It goes back and forth in references to New York City and the City of New York. If you go to the official New York state [website](http://www.nysegov.com/citguide.cfm?context=citguide&content=munibyalpha&alpha=N), it describes the city as “New York, City of” in its list of municipalities. But if you go to this [page](http://www.nysegov.com/map-NY.cfm?countyName=nyc) you’ll see them refer to it successively as New York City, New York, and the City of New York. Wikipedia has an entry for New York City but the article states that the city’s name is New York. You don’t see this kind of confusion with Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, or Philadelphia. Or Kansas City, Salt Lake City or Atlantic City. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/25 "2011-09-10T19:42:50Z")
Actually, Los Angeles was originally “El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles del Río de Porciúncula”. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/26 "2011-09-10T19:43:55Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Adding to the confusion is that every state defines these terms differently. In Ohio, for example, the only difference between a city and a village is the size of the population. Otherwise they’re pretty much the same kind of entity. Once a village reaches X population, it automatically becomes a city. And “town” has no official meaning. Any place with a few houses and businesses can be called a town regardless of whether it is part of any formal municipal jurisdiction. Unlike Virginia, where a City and Town have no distinction with relationship to population or geographical area, but have a significant legal distinction. A “Town” is an incorporated area that is subject to the jurisdiction of the County it is in. A “City” is incorporated AND independent and answers only to the State of Virginia and the United States federal government - it answers to no County and is not subject to its jurisdiction (County cops can’t arrest in the City without City consent, etc, and City residents can’t vote in County elections). We have very tiny “Cities” here like Manassas Park. Whether or not an incorporated area is legally a Town or a City depends on its charter, not the latest census stats. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/27 "2011-09-10T19:46:55Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > JFK is in New York City, though. 🙂 Yep. As is LaGuardia Airport (both in Queens, for the benefit of the OP). There is also another Newark that one might be more likely to run into than Newark, NY, though of course far much less likely to run into than Newark, N.J. It is in Delaware, and like Newark, N.J., it’s on I-95, the major highway connecting most of the Eastern Seaboard cities. Its natives will be quick to point out that it is pronounced differently – in N.J. it’s NEW-erk (or NEW-rk), in Delaware you want to say “new-ARK.” In the interests of some sort of completeness for the OP, Newark N.J. is (I think) the biggest city in New Jersey, but not the capital, which is Trenton. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/28 "2011-09-10T20:11:46Z")
> [@PaulParkhead](#): > > Probably wouldn’t have used Heathrow, although I know it’s actually in Middlesex, not London. It’s part of the general metro area, whereas you need to pass through green fields to get to the other two. Heathrow is in fact within Greater London, the administrative entity of Middlesex having ceased to exist decades ago. The minutiae of London administrative divisions is probably a topic for another thread, though. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/29 "2011-09-10T20:14:37Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Multiplying the confusion (because we’ve gone past the point of mere addition) it’s very difficult to determine what the official name of that city at the mouth of the Hudson River is. The full name is [The City of Jersey City](http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/30 "2011-09-10T20:58:08Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Multiplying the confusion (because we’ve gone past the point of mere addition) it’s very difficult to determine what the official name of that city at the mouth of the Hudson River is. Is it New York or New York City? It’s officially “New York.” Always has been. The “City of” is just a designation (there is the “City of University City” in Missouri, which isn’t redundant – “University City” could be the name of a village) and “New York City” is a way to differentiate it from the state. [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/31 "2011-09-10T21:15:43Z")
And just to add to the confusion, when it comes to American professional tackle football, both the New York Jets and New York Giants play their home games at a stadium located in the state of New Jersey. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/32 "2011-09-10T22:41:14Z")
A city is an incorporated entity in most states. Therefore, officially every city in New York State has to be referred to properly as the City of Buffalo, the City of Rochester, the City of New York, the City of Albany, etc. Similarly, the Village of Newark, the Village of Fairport, etc. Any reference to New York City is unofficial, just to distinguish it from the state. Nobody would ever say Buffalo City or Rochester City but those are exact analogs. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/33 "2011-09-10T22:48:19Z")
I don’t see how that conclusion follows from your premise. There’s nothing in the New York General Municipal Law that requires municipal corporations to style themselves in any particular way. It’s just a matter of tradition as far as I know. FWIW, the New York City charter begins, “§ 1. The city. **The city of New York** as now existing shall continue with the boundaries and with the powers, rights and property, and subject to the obligations and liabilities which exist at the time when this charter shall take effect.” Note that “city” is not capitalized in the bolded portion, and is therefore an adjective modifying the proper noun, so the name of the city is just “New York,” which is also the name of the state it’s in. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/34 "2011-09-10T22:49:35Z")
> [@CheeseDonkey](#): > > Don’t feel stupid. You’ll find many AMERICANS seem to assume the entirety of New York State is located within that one little strip of land on the Atlantic Ocean. > > That annoys us Western New Yorkers. Or anyone north of, say, Yonkers. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/35 "2011-09-10T22:59:35Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > There is much interesting detail at > [History of New York City - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_New_York_City) > and the history-by-period pages it links to. (I sure didn’t know that New York was named _Nouvelle-Angoulême_ before it was renamed _Nieuw Amsterdam_.) For the definitive account of Manhattan, I recommend “[The Iconography of Manhattan Island](http://clio.cul.columbia.edu:7018/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=5800727)”. This is an amazing 6-volume set, and is available at this link for both online and download (PDF) reading. It contains detailed records of every major (and most minor) event in Manhattan’s history, as well as reproductions of nearly a thousand original maps, illustrations, and other documents. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/36 "2011-09-10T22:59:43Z")
I realize that the official name of the city is New York. But my point, for which I provided cites, is that even in official government documents you’ll see the city called New York City. It would be easy to conclude that New York City is as official a name as Kansas City or Oklahoma City is. ---
**Author:** ![CheeseDonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@CheeseDonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheeseDonkey)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/37 "2011-09-10T23:11:17Z")
And just another fun fact since we are on a roll: There is also a New York, Texas (as well as a Texas, New York). ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/38 "2011-09-10T23:12:34Z")
> [@CheeseDonkey](#): > > And just another fun fact since we are on a roll: > > There is also a New York, Texas (as well as a Texas, New York). There is also a California, Maryland, near St. Mary’s City. Yes, I’ve been there. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/39 "2011-09-10T23:12:40Z")
> [@brocks](#): > > And just to add confusion, there’s also a village called Nyack in the suburbs of NYC. I was in my 20’s before I learned that it was a separate village, and not just slang for New York. Having seen it in print, I always thought it was how someone from Boston might pronounce New York. Later, I found out that natives pronounce it totally differently. How does postal addressing work? If I’m sending something to the Empire State building, is it New York, NY or Manhattan, NY? JFK Airport…New York, NY; Queens, NY; Jamaica, NY; Jamaica, Queens, NY? (plus zip code of course, which makes city and state redundant anyway) ---
**Author:** ![CheeseDonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@CheeseDonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheeseDonkey)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804/40 "2011-09-10T23:17:11Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > There is also a California, Maryland, near St. Mary’s City. Yes, I’ve been there. There is also an Egypt, Mexico, Cuba and Jamaica, New York. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-difference-between-new-york-new-york-state-and-newark/595804.md?page=3)