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.

Fort George

511 West 186th Street

$2,881 base rent

2 |

Central Harlem

275 West 144th Street

$2,200 base rent

2 |

Yorkville

1589 Second Avenue

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

Central Harlem

210 West 133rd Street

$2,050 base rent

1 |

Central Harlem

2866 Frederick Douglass Boulevard

$2,550 base rent

2 |

South Harlem

201 West 119th Street

$2,900 base rent

3 |

Murray Hill

153 East 37th Street

$3,000 base rent

Studio |

Washington Heights

433 West 162nd Street

$2,300 base rent

1 |

Kips Bay

142 East 33rd Street

$2,945 base rent

Studio |

East Harlem

315 East 108th Street

$2,100 base rent

Studio |

East Harlem

151 East 106th Street

$2,850 base rent

2 |

Hamilton Heights

720 Riverside Drive

$2,425 base rent

1 |

Yorkville

33 East End Avenue

$980,000

2 |

Central Harlem

2460 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard

$449,000

4 |

Yorkville

345 East 80th Street

$795,000

1 |

Upper West Side

41 West 72nd Street

$550,000

1 |

Central Harlem

204 West 140th Street

$899,000

3 |

2.5

Inwood

70 Park Terrace West

$360,000

1 |

Lincoln Square

165 West End Avenue

$950,000

1 |

Murray Hill

310 Lexington Avenue

$515,000

1 |

Lenox Hill

1175 York Avenue

$849,000

2 |

Battery Park City

377 Rector Place

$975,000

1 |

East Harlem

309 East 108th Street

$949,000

3 |

Lincoln Square

1 Central Park West

$745,000

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.

Stuyvesant Heights

886 Hancock Street

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

Ditmas Park

1326 Ocean Avenue

$2,312 base rent

Studio |

Bushwick

1356 Bushwick Avenue

$2,650 base rent

1 |

Ditmas Park

1111 Foster Avenue

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

Weeksville

203 Rochester Avenue

$2,650 base rent

2 |

Ditmas Park

431 East 21st Street

$2,350 base rent

1 |

Bushwick

28 Stanhope Street

$2,000 base rent

Studio |

Weeksville

1357 Prospect Place

$2,700 base rent

2 |

Canarsie

1322 East 87th Street

$2,700 base rent

2 |

East Flatbush

897 New York Avenue

$2,667 base rent

1 |

Wingate

741 Fenimore Street

$2,600 base rent

1 |

1.5

East Flatbush

1667 Brooklyn Avenue

$2,350 base rent

Studio |

Brighton Beach

35 Sea Coast Terrace

$419,000

1 |

Homecrest

2011 East 27th Street

$949,000

3 |

East Flatbush

1268 East 52nd Street

$875,000

4 |

Fort Hamilton

302 96th Street

$355,000

1 |

Sheepshead Bay

2645 Homecrest Avenue

$310,000

1 |

Williamsburg

76 Richardson Street

$529,000

1 |

Brighton Beach

70 Oceana Drive West

$879,000

2 |

Coney Island

2940 West 5th Street

$379,000

2 |

Canarsie

1336 East 99th Street

$839,000

4 |

Homecrest

3019 Avenue T

$949,000

3 |

1.5

Coney Island

2928 West Fifth Street

$275,000

1 |

East Flatbush

449 East 49th Street

$499,000

3 |

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.

Woodside

53-01 32nd Avenue

$2,500 base rent

1 |

Woodside

53-01 32nd Avenue

$2,250 base rent

Studio |

Murray Hill (Queens)

144-49 Northern Boulevard

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

Rego Park

99-41 64th Avenue

$1,900 base rent

Studio |

Queens Village

90-45 207th Street

$2,200 base rent

1 |

Elmhurst

92-16 Whitney Avenue

$2,475 base rent

2 |

Astoria

33-78 11th Street

$2,500 base rent

2 |

Rego Park

99-46 62 Drive

$2,500 base rent

1 |

Middle Village

61-88 Dry Harbor Road

$2,100 base rent

1 |

Astoria

31-77 33rd Street

$2,500 base rent

1 |

Flushing

143-40 41st Avenue

$2,250 base rent

1 |

Murray Hill (Queens)

144-48 Roosevelt Avenue

$2,495 base rent

2 |

Rego Park

61-15 98th Street

$323,000

1 |

Jackson Heights

88-10 34th Avenue

$299,000

1 |

Ditmars-Steinway

22-20 78th Street

$429,000

1 |

Forest Hills

70-20 108th Street

$675,000

2 |

Rego Park

97-07 63 Road

$449,000

2 |

Jamaica

87-70 173rd Street

$169,999

1 |

Lindenwood

84-09 155th Avenue

$240,000

1 |

Jackson Heights

32-40 92nd Street

$349,000

2 |

Jackson Heights

91-08 32nd Avenue

$245,000

1 |

Woodside

40-22 61st Street

$695,000

1 |

Sunnyside

50-05 43rd Avenue

$325,000

1 |

Kew Gardens Hills

68-56 140th Street

$460,000

2 |

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

36 Hamilton Avenue

$1,750 base rent

1 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$2,668 base rent

Studio |

Saint George

5 Stuyvesant Place

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

Saint George

5 Stuyvesant Place

$3,692 base rent

2 |

Saint George

5 Stuyvesant Place

$2,584 base rent

1 |

South Beach

31 Jackson Avenue

$2,850 base rent

3 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$3,208 base rent

1 |

New Dorp Beach

48C Winham Avenue

$1,500 base rent

Studio |

West Brighton

869 Forest Avenue

$1,599 base rent

1 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$3,554 base rent

2 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$4,523 base rent

2 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$3,277 base rent

2 |

Bay Terrace

43 Cranford Street

$950,000

6 |

2.5

Port Richmond

49 Llewellyn Place

$950,000

4 |

Saint George

10 Bay Street Landing

$559,000

2 |

Rossville

1089 Sheldon Avenue

$880,000

3 |

2.5

Park Hill

43 Pierce Street

$530,000

2 |

1.5

Silver Lake

59 Fairway Lane

$1,550,000

5 |

3.5

Dongan Hills

33 Delaware Avenue

$825,000

3 |

2.5

Grant City

53 Grant Place

$849,000

3 |

Clifton

114 Warren Street

$490,000

3 |

1.5

Park Hill

191 Roff Street

$499,900

5 |

Saint George

155 Bay Street

$475,000

2 |

Silver Lake

15 Herkimer Street

$1,519,999

5 |

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.