What County Is Manhattan In? Guide to NYC Counties

In most of America, a single county contains multiple cities and towns. But the city of New York is made up of five counties. So what county is Manhattan in? Unsurprisingly, that would be New York County. In fact, each of New York City’s five boroughs corresponds to its own county:

Manhattan = New York County
Brooklyn = Kings County
Queens = Queens County
Staten Island = Richmond County
The Bronx = Bronx County

While there is a centralized government for NYC, each of the boroughs has a certain amount of autonomy. Each also has representation in the city government. They’re recognized as their own counties primarily for judicial/legal reasons. For a deep dive into the geographical history, let’s get to know how each county came to be.

What County Is Manhattan In?
What County Is Brooklyn In?
What County Is Queens In?
What County Is Staten Island In?
What County Is the Bronx In?

What County Is Manhattan In?

When people think of New York City, they typically think of Manhattan. It was the city’s first borough and county. The 23-square-mile island was originally given the name “Mannahatta” (meaning “island of many hills”) by the indigenous Lenapes. It was renamed “Nieuw Amsterdam” by the Dutch and then “New York” by the British.

Manhattan quickly became the nation’s center of economic and political power. It was even the first capital of the United States. But in the late 19th century, Chicago began outpacing Manhattan. To stay competitive, Manhattan decided to expand. It incorporated its surrounding counties into the larger municipality of New York City, with itself as New York County. That’s why the answer to “What county is Manhattan in?” isn’t simply “Manhattan.”

The expansion was a smart move. Manhattan has a current population of 1.6 million, which nearly doubles from the influx of daily commuters. It also serves as the center of the US publishing, financial, and theater industries, among others. And it attracts millions of tourists annually — 66.6 million in 2019.

As you’d expect, this is a desirable place to live if you want to be in the center of everything. But it isn’t cheap. According to the StreetEasy Data Dashboard, as of August 2021, the median asking price for a home in Manhattan is $1.4 million. And the median asking rent is $3,100 per month.

South Harlem

15 West 116th Street

$2,967 No Fee

2 |

South Harlem

15 West 116th Street

$2,634 No Fee

1 |

Midtown

57 West 58th Street

$2,495 No Fee

Studio |

Gramercy Park

146 East 16th Street

$2,850 No Fee

Studio |

Roosevelt Island

546 Main Street

$2,450 No Fee

Studio |

South Harlem

217 West 123rd Street

$2,708 No Fee

Studio |

Upper West Side

304 West 75th Street

$2,800 No Fee

Studio |

Turtle Bay

246 East 51st Street

$2,720 No Fee

1 |

East Village

215 Avenue A

$2,700 No Fee

Studio |

Hamilton Heights

58 Hamilton Place

$2,300 No Fee

1 |

Manhattan Valley

844 Amsterdam Avenue

$2,500 No Fee

1 |

Upper West Side

412 West End Avenue

$3,000 No Fee

1 |

Battery Park City

300 Rector Place

$625,000

1 |

Hamilton Heights

725 Riverside Drive

$649,000

1 |

Lenox Hill

301 East 63rd Street

$399,999

2 |

Lincoln Square

185 West End Avenue

$750,000

1 |

Central Harlem

330 West 145th Street

$949,000

3 |

Beekman

434 East 52nd Street

$695,000

1 |

South Harlem

111 West 113rd Street

$650,000

1 |

Yorkville

400 East 85th Street

$700,000

1 |

Carnegie Hill

130 East 94th Street

$985,000

2 |

Yorkville

218 East 82nd Street

$425,000

1 |

Carnegie Hill

111 East 88th Street

$999,000

1 |

Hudson Heights

720 Ft Washington Avenue

$595,000

1 |

What County Is Brooklyn In?

In its early history, Brooklyn was just one of many small villages settled by the Dutch. They called it “Breukelen” after a town in the Netherlands that is likewise situated along a river. When the British took over, they Anglicized the name to “Brooklyn” and consolidated the surrounding villages into Kings County, after King Charles II.

The introduction of ferry service in 1814 allowed Manhattan workers to live in the more affordable Brooklyn and commute. This led to a population boom in Kings County, helping Brooklyn to become the third-largest city in the country by the mid-19th century. The completion of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883 made commuting even easier. So when Manhattan first came courting, Brooklyn was not overly enthusiastic about being incorporated. It eventually joined New York City in 1898.

Today, Brooklyn is the most populous of NYC’s boroughs with 2.59 million residents spread across 69.4 square miles. The median asking rent here is $2,650 as of August 2021, while the median asking sale price is $925,000.

Crown Heights

796 Park Place

$2,250 No Fee

Studio |

Sheepshead Bay

2563 East 18th Street

$2,699 No Fee

3 |

1.5

Bushwick

27 Cooper Street

$2,695 No Fee

3 |

Canarsie

9823 Seaview Avenue

$2,700 No Fee

2 |

Bedford-Stuyvesant

158 Jefferson Avenue

$2,549 No Fee

1 |

Midwood

1022 East 36th Street

$2,000 No Fee

1 |

East Flatbush

824 East New York Avenue

$2,675 No Fee

1 |

Kensington

706 Ocean Parkway

$2,500 No Fee

Studio |

Flatbush

1359 Nostrand Avenue

$2,700 No Fee

1 |

Ditmas Park

408 East 18th Street

$2,550 No Fee

2 |

Crown Heights

808 Prospect Place

$2,658 No Fee

2 |

Canarsie

381 De Witt Avenue

$2,466 No Fee

2 |

East Flatbush

149 East 42nd Street

$879,999

3 |

Downtown Brooklyn

150 Myrtle Avenue

$945,000

1 |

Canarsie

1260 East 100th Street

$799,000

3 |

Coney Island

2940 West 5th Street

$389,000

2 |

Midwood

1689 East 21st Street

$898,000

3 |

Windsor Terrace

346 Coney Island Avenue

$885,000

2 |

Gravesend

2475 West 16th Street

$399,888

2 |

Canarsie

1160 East 85th Street

$829,000

4 |

Park Slope

706 Sackett Street

$763,000

1 |

Fort Hamilton

115 96th Street

$948,880

2 |

Brighton Beach

35 Sea Coast Terrace

$649,000

1 |

Sunset Park

4113 Seventh Avenue

$749,000

2 |

What County Is Queens In?

Just as Kings County was named after King Charles II, Queens County was named after his wife, Queen Catherine. But unlike other boroughs, Queens addresses can be tricky. For example, Queens residents typically list their neighborhood on mailing addresses rather than their borough or county name. (So “Astoria, NY,” as opposed to “Queens, NY.” There are multiple theories on how this came to be.

Another quirk is the hyphen in Queens street addresses. (For example, 79-01 35th Avenue.) Here’s an easy decoder: The first number is the nearest cross street. In this case, it’s 79th Street. The second number is how far up the block the building is from that cross street. The “01” in this example indicates that it’s the first building, and likely on the corner. With all that info right in the address itself, it’s virtually impossible to get lost!

That’s a good thing, since Queens is a sprawling 178 square miles — the largest borough by far. It’s home to 2.29 million residents, with a median asking price of $599,999 as of August 2021. The median asking rent is $2,250.

Jamaica

152-09 88th Avenue

$2,050 No Fee

Studio |

Sunnyside

41-25 44th Street

$2,095 No Fee

Studio |

Astoria

25-90 36th Street

$2,100 No Fee

1 |

Astoria

43-10 25th Avenue

$2,300 No Fee

2 |

Woodside

46-10 70th Street

$2,118 No Fee

Studio |

Jamaica

147-35 95th Avenue

$2,250 No Fee

1 |

Astoria

2-24 26th Avenue

$2,500 No Fee

Studio |

Kew Gardens

83-15 116th Street

$2,000 No Fee

1 |

Kew Gardens

83-80 118th Street

$2,175 No Fee

1 |

Kew Gardens

83-80 118th Street

$1,625 No Fee

Studio |

Kew Gardens

83-80 118th Street

$1,850 No Fee

1 |

Kew Gardens

83-75 118th Street

$2,350 No Fee

1 |

Forest Hills

110-11 Queens Boulevard

$559,000

1 |

Murray Hill (Queens)

144-49 Barclay Avenue

$650,000

2 |

St. Albans

183-65 Elmira Avenue

$728,000

2 |

Bay Terrace (Queens)

212-30 23rd Avenue

$519,888

2 |

Elmhurst

42-25 80th Street

$688,000

2 |

Rego Park

65-50 Wetherole Street

$509,999

1 |

Corona

99-10 60th Avenue

$425,000

3 |

Kew Gardens

83-00 Talbot Street

$650,000

3 |

Woodside

70-09 45th Avenue

$725,000

2 |

Forest Hills

110-45 Queens Boulevard

$385,000

1 |

Ditmars-Steinway

22-30 76th Street

$405,000

1 |

Hammels

303 Beach 84th Street

$675,000

5 |

What County Is Staten Island In?

The Dutch called it “Staaten Eylandt,” but the British renamed it “Richmond” after the Duke of Richmond. Because of the continued usage of “Staten Island,” however, the borough was renamed that in 1977. It retains “Richmond” as the borough’s county name.

Fun fact: This 59-square-mile island was the object of a tug of war between New Jersey and New York for nearly 200 years! Each state disputed the other’s jurisdiction over Staten Island’s surrounding waters until the borders were finally settled in 1833. By the late 19th century, the quiet fishing and farming community was in need of substantial infrastructure investments. Thus, residents agreed to consolidate with NYC in 1898 by a margin of 5 to 1.

But that’s not the end of the story. Over the years, the scrappy island with a population of nearly 475,000 often changed its mind. It has tried to secede from NYC multiple times, very nearly succeeding in 1993. The latest attempt was in 2019, but that also came to naught.

Staten Island is extremely affordable compared to other boroughs. The median asking rent here as of August 2021 is $1,950. The median asking sale price is $659,000.

Saint George

218 Westervelt Avenue

$1,500 No Fee

Studio |

Grasmere

20 Kermit Avenue

$2,700 No Fee

3 |

1.5

Huguenot

291 Crown Avenue

$3,400 No Fee

2 |

South Beach

290 Lamport Boulevard

$2,800 No Fee

2 |

Stapleton

305 Broad Street

$2,700 No Fee

2 |

376

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$4,221 No Fee

2 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$2,777 No Fee

1 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$2,460 No Fee

Studio |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$2,447 No Fee

Studio |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$2,447 No Fee

Studio |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$3,210 No Fee

2 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$2,743 No Fee

1 |

Todt Hill

283 Ocean Terrace

$2,500,000

5 |

Saint George

10 Bay Street Landing

$539,000

2 |

1.5

New Springville

120 Devon Loop

$499,000

2 |

1.5

Meiers Corners

318 Harold Street

$1,299,000

5 |

Midland Beach

476 Midland Avenue

$788,000

5 |

Annadale

78 Stafford Avenue

$1,325,000

3 |

2.5

Tompkinsville

53 Willis Avenue

$625,000

3 |

3.5

New Dorp

297 Burbank Avenue

$779,000

2 |

Graniteville

24 Nadal Place

$899,999

4 |

Graniteville

63 Riegelmann Street

$959,999

4 |

Huguenot

36 Daffodil Court

$649,999

3 |

1.5

Saint George

10 Bay Street Landing

$449,800

1 |

What County Is the Bronx In?

Despite a dense population of 1.4 million, the Bronx manages to squeeze in some of the city’s largest swaths of green space. Its 57 square miles contain the New York Botanical Garden and Van Cortlandt Park. It’s also home to iconic destinations like Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Zoo.

The last of the boroughs to join NYC, the Bronx is also the only one that’s not part of an island. It’s named for Jonas Bronck, who established a Dutch settlement in 1639 and amassed a whopping 500 acres. No wonder early residents referred to the area as “Bronck’s Land,” which eventually morphed into “the Bronx.”

But unlike the other boroughs, the Bronx didn’t start out as its own county. NYC began annexing parcels of Westchester County in 1874. By 1898, the boundaries of the Bronx were taking shape. But it was still considered part of New York County until 1912, when it was established on its own as Bronx County.

The first subway connecting Manhattan to the Bronx opened in 1904. Subsequent subway lines allowed for an influx of new residents eager to commute to Manhattan from a more affordable area. The median rent in the Bronx is $2,075 as of August 2021. And the median asking sale price is $479,000, the lowest of all five boroughs.