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.

Lower East Side

259 Broome Street

$2,500 No Fee

1 |

Hamilton Heights

22 Saint Nicholas Place

$2,400 No Fee

1 |

Yorkville

212 East 83rd Street

$2,200 No Fee

Studio |

Hell’s Kitchen

548 West 50th Street

$2,350 No Fee

Studio |

Financial District

116 John Street

$2,984 No Fee

Studio |

East Village

46 East 1st Street

$2,995 No Fee

Studio |

Yorkville

435 East 85th Street

$2,850 No Fee

Studio |

Upper West Side

53 West 72nd Street

$2,600 No Fee

Studio |

Lincoln Square

221 West 70th Street

$2,695 No Fee

1 |

Turtle Bay

330 East 49th Street

$2,600 No Fee

Studio |

Flatiron

131 East 23rd Street

$3,000 No Fee

Studio |

Central Harlem

2807 Fredric Douglas Boulevard

$2,450 No Fee

2 |

Lincoln Square

303 West 66th Street

$892,500

2 |

Midtown

24 West 55th Street

$760,000

1 |

Upper West Side

11 Riverside Drive

$645,000

1 |

Hudson Heights

116 Pinehurst Avenue

$675,000

2 |

Lower East Side

169 Allen Street

$559,000

1 |

Manhattan Valley

58 West 105th Street

$525,000

1 |

Murray Hill

20 East 35th Street

$849,000

1 |

Murray Hill

2 Tudor City Place

$799,000

2 |

Carnegie Hill

16 East 98th Street

$925,000

2 |

1.5

Gramercy Park

333 East 14th Street

$725,000

1 |

Chelsea

325 West 21st Street

$615,000

1 |

Midtown

110 East 57th Street

$895,000

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.

Flatbush

2513 Newkirk Avenue

$1,800 No Fee

1 |

Wingate

698 Empire Boulevard

$2,474 No Fee

1 |

Brownsville

171 East 96th Street

$2,125 No Fee

2 |

East Flatbush

4411 Church Avenue

$1,695 No Fee

Studio |

Crown Heights

1176 Park Place

$2,700 No Fee

1 |

Midwood

1013 Avenue J

$2,250 No Fee

2 |

Wingate

755 Fenimore Street

$2,095 No Fee

1 |

Park Slope

124 Berkeley Place

$2,695 No Fee

Studio |

Weeksville

207 Rochester Avenue

$2,675 No Fee

2 |

Bushwick

261 Evergreen Avenue

$2,599 No Fee

3 |

1.5

Bay Ridge

7315 Fifth Avenue

$2,100 No Fee

1 |

East Flatbush

281 East 53rd Street

$1,478 No Fee

2 |

Sheepshead Bay

3060 Ocean Avenue

$255,000

1 |

Homecrest

1877 East 12th Street

$420,000

2 |

Midwood

915 East 17th Street

$365,000

2 |

Gravesend

2400 East 3rd Street

$285,000

1 |

Borough Park

1238 63rd Street

$538,000

1 |

Bergen Beach

6214 Avenue T

$849,000

3 |

1.5

Borough Park

1238 63rd Street

$538,000

1 |

Stuyvesant Heights

764 Macon Street

$625,000

1 |

Sunset Park

863 50th Street

$788,000

2 |

Midwood

842 Ocean Parkway

$780,000

2 |

Brownsville

772 Mother Gaston Boulevard

$560,000

2 |

1.5

Marine Park

2119 East 35th Street

$915,000

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.

Ozone Park

94-04 149th Avenue

$2,500 No Fee

2 |

Astoria

44-21 30th Avenue

$2,400 No Fee

1 |

Sunnyside

44-15 43rd Avenue

$2,400 No Fee

1 |

Ridgewood

605 Fairview Avenue

$2,500 No Fee

2 |

Astoria

30-82 37th Street

$2,200 No Fee

1 |

Maspeth

60-48 56th Street

$2,150 No Fee

1 |

Forest Hills

75-23 113rd Street

$2,395 No Fee

1 |

Astoria

31-42 43rd Street

$2,200 No Fee

1 |

Jamaica

92-27 160th Street

$2,415 No Fee

1 |

Hunters Point

11-15 46 Road

$2,400 No Fee

1 |

Rego Park

63-33 Haring Street

$2,500 No Fee

1 |

Jamaica

153-10 88th Avenue

$2,228 No Fee

Studio |

Woodside

63-11 Queens Boulevard

$265,000

1 |

Jackson Heights

37-33 84th Street

$375,000

1 |

Pomonok

78-40 164th Street

$215,000

1 |

Kew Gardens

116-24 Grosvenor Lane

$518,000

2 |

Rego Park

63-84 Saunders Street

$498,000

2 |

Forest Hills

67-30 Dartmouth Street

$449,000

2 |

1.5

Middle Village

72-52 Metropolitan Avenue

$479,000

1 |

Middle Village

72-52 Metropolitan Avenue

$599,000

2 |

Forest Hills

111-20 73rd Avenue

$498,000

2 |

Jackson Heights

33-27 91st Street

$329,000

2 |

1.5

Bay Terrace (Queens)

23-20 Bell Boulevard

$349,000

2 |

Sunnyside

46-01 39th Avenue

$618,000

1 |

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

5 Stuyvesant Place

$3,850 No Fee

2 |

Saint George

5 Stuyvesant Place

$2,700 No Fee

1 |

Saint George

36 Hamilton Avenue

$1,795 No Fee

2 |

New Dorp Beach

244 Mill Road

$4,500 No Fee

3 |

Saint George

36 Hamilton Avenue

$1,650 No Fee

1 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$2,608 No Fee

Studio |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$2,608 No Fee

Studio |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$2,760 No Fee

1 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$3,086 No Fee

1 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$3,300 No Fee

2 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$4,629 No Fee

2 |

Grymes Hill

217 Arlo Road

$1,900 No Fee

1 |

New Springville

59 Radford Street

$1,349,000

5 |

Arrochar

118 Pouch Terrace

$849,000

6 |

3.5

Huguenot

311 Bertram Avenue

$1,788,000

5 |

3.5

Tompkinsville

194 Bay Street

$975,000

4 |

Eltingville

631 Katan Avenue

$588,000

3 |

1.5

Westerleigh

268 Leonard Avenue

$989,999

3 |

1.5

Grymes Hill

160 Bertha Place

$3,695,000

6 |

Richmondtown

93 Cranford Court

$575,000

2 |

1.5

Eltingville

34 Osage Lane

$839,000

4 |

Arrochar

82 Piedmont Avenue

$2,295,000

4 |

3.5

West Brighton

227 Taylor Street

$599,900

6 |

South Beach

20 Mallory Avenue

$920,000

4 |

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.