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.

Murray Hill

150 East 37th Street

$2,995 No Fee

Studio |

Manhattanville

3333B Broadway

$2,250 No Fee

Studio |

Kips Bay

251 East 32nd Street

$2,550 No Fee

Studio |

Roosevelt Island

546 Main Street

$2,800 No Fee

Studio |

Hamilton Heights

523 West 135th Street

$2,669 No Fee

2 |

Lenox Hill

265 East 78th Street

$2,725 No Fee

1 |

Lenox Hill

516 East 79th Street

$2,850 No Fee

1 |

South Harlem

162 Lenox Avenue

$2,500 No Fee

1 |

Yorkville

432 East 89th Street

$2,507 No Fee

1 |

Washington Heights

515 West 168th Street

$2,425 No Fee

1 |

Yorkville

224 East 89th Street

$2,750 No Fee

1 |

Hell’s Kitchen

341 West 45th Street

$2,450 No Fee

Studio |

Lenox Hill

400 East 70th Street

$770,000

1 |

Lenox Hill

167 East 67th Street

$995,000

1 |

South Harlem

45 Central Park North

$685,000

2 |

Yorkville

445 East 86th Street

$470,000

1 |

Washington Heights

156-08 Riverside Drive West

$465,000

1 |

Lincoln Square

205 West End Avenue

$619,000

1 |

Chelsea

357 West 29th Street

$795,000

1 |

Turtle Bay

145 East 48th Street

$980,000

1 |

1.5

Turtle Bay

342 East 53rd Street

$545,000

1 |

Gramercy Park

242 East 15th Street

$985,000

1 |

Central Harlem

102 Bradhurst Avenue

$405,000

1 |

Midtown

17 West 54th Street

$790,000

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.

Bensonhurst

1779 81st Street

$2,675 No Fee

2 |

Flatbush

3101 Avenue H

$1,751 No Fee

1 |

Gravesend

265 Quentin Road

$1,960 No Fee

1 |

Ditmas Park

400 East 21st Street

$1,795 No Fee

1 |

Greenpoint

52 India Street

$2,650 No Fee

1 |

Kensington

272 Webster Avenue

$2,000 No Fee

1 |

Midwood

850 East 31st Street

$1,900 No Fee

Studio |

Bay Ridge

519 82nd Street

$1,900 No Fee

1 |

Bedford-Stuyvesant

57 Herkimer Street

$2,299 No Fee

1 |

Borough Park

1115 63rd Street

$1,800 No Fee

1 |

Weeksville

1705 Dean Street

$2,185 No Fee

1 |

Prospect Lefferts Gardens

150 Hawthorne Street

$2,000 No Fee

1 |

Bay Ridge

7101 Colonial Road

$288,000

1 |

Fort Hamilton

149 Marine Avenue

$519,000

2 |

1.5

Sheepshead Bay

2841 Ford Street

$699,000

2 |

Kensington

110 Ocean Parkway

$535,000

1 |

Farragut

579 East 43rd Street

$799,000

3 |

2.5

Fort Hamilton

350 91st Street

$649,000

1 |

Ditmas Park

415 Argyle Road

$799,000

2 |

Ditmas Park

400 East 17th Street

$565,000

2 |

Bedford-Stuyvesant

479 Lexington Avenue

$525,000

1 |

Brighton Beach

1014 Banner Avenue

$569,000

1 |

1.5

East New York

1755 Linden Boulevard

$850,000

5 |

Brownsville

289 Remsen Avenue

$659,000

3 |

2.5

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.

Sunnyside

48-42 44th Street

$2,300 No Fee

1 |

Sunnyside

45-44 42nd Street

$2,250 No Fee

1 |

Whitestone

151-36 14th Avenue

$2,200 No Fee

1 |

Forest Hills

69-81 108th Street

$2,275 No Fee

1 |

Sunnyside

44-15 43rd Avenue

$2,400 No Fee

1 |

Ditmars-Steinway

21-37 23rd Street

$2,200 No Fee

1 |

Kew Gardens

83-83 118th Street

$2,500 No Fee

2 |

Jamaica Estates

87-01 Midland Parkway

$2,350 No Fee

2 |

Oakland Gardens

224-36 64th Avenue

$2,300 No Fee

1 |

Forest Hills

111-38 76 Drive

$2,300 No Fee

1 |

Briarwood

139-21 85 Drive

$1,995 No Fee

1 |

Flushing

143-23 Barclay Avenue

$1,900 No Fee

1 |

Astoria

25-25 31st Avenue

$749,000

1 |

Kew Gardens

83-44 Lefferts Boulevard

$250,000

1 |

North Corona

112-25 34th Avenue

$235,000

1 |

Forest Hills

65-35 108th Street

$319,000

1 |

Jackson Heights

83-10 35th Avenue

$699,000

2 |

Floral Park

254-10 87 Drive

$728,000

3 |

1.5

Forest Hills

110-50 71 Road

$415,000

2 |

Pomonok

71-19 162nd Street

$448,000

1 |

Forest Hills

68-20 Selfridge Street

$265,000

1 |

South Richmond Hill

103-28 115th Street

$699,000

3 |

Oakland Gardens

220-06 67th Avenue

$250,000

2 |

Kew Gardens Hills

144-30 78 Road

$239,000

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.

Oakwood

2864 Hylan Boulevard

$2,000 No Fee

3 |

Oakwood

2850 Hylan Boulevard

$1,741 No Fee

2 |

Bulls Head

74 Freedom Avenue

$3,700 No Fee

4 |

Shore Acres

2 Andrease Street

$3,550 No Fee

4 |

2.5

Shore Acres

68 Courtney Loop

$1,580 No Fee

Studio |

Rosebank

202 Virginia Avenue

$3,500 No Fee

3 |

2.5

Pleasant Plains

22 Cranberry Court

$2,850 No Fee

3 |

2.5

Shore Acres

179 Hope Avenue

$2,400 No Fee

2 |

Saint George

5 Stuyvesant Place

$2,800 No Fee

1 |

Dongan Hills

30 Newberry Avenue

$2,700 No Fee

3 |

Saint George

5 Stuyvesant Place

$2,700 No Fee

1 |

Saint George

5 Stuyvesant Place

$4,000 No Fee

2 |

Rossville

39 Hemlock Court

$678,000

3 |

Emerson Hill

10 Alan Loop

$878,000

4 |

Rossville

35 Charleston Avenue

$575,000

3 |

2.5

Rossville

97 Crab Tree Avenue

$788,000

4 |

3.5

Mariners Harbor

113 Van Pelt Avenue

$550,000

5 |

Arlington

2701 Goethals Road North

$180,000

2 |

Rossville

54 Knesel Street

$1,388,888

4 |

4.5

Rossville

58 Knesel Street

$1,388,888

4 |

4.5

Rossville

50 Knesel Street

$1,388,888

4 |

4.5

Rossville

102 Alverson Avenue

$1,488,888

6 |

Rossville

98 Alverson Avenue

$1,488,888

6 |

Mariners Harbor

143 Simonson Avenue

$624,999

3 |

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.