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.

Hamilton Heights

616 West 143rd Street

$2,900 base rent

2 |

Upper West Side

216 West 100th Street

$2,450 base rent

Studio |

Lenox Hill

519 East 78th Street

$2,495 base rent

Studio |

Lenox Hill

527 East 78th Street

$2,450 base rent

Studio |

Hamilton Heights

454 West 146th Street

$2,200 base rent

1 |

Murray Hill

316 Lexington Avenue

$2,995 base rent

1 |

Central Harlem

136 Edgecomb Avenue

$2,250 base rent

1 |

Hamilton Heights

557 West 149th Street

$2,000 base rent

Studio |

Fort George

2 Sickles Street

$2,811 base rent

3 |

East Village

97 East 7th Street

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

Yorkville

510 East 88th Street

$2,695 base rent

Studio |

Inwood

93 Payson Avenue

$1,975 base rent

1 |

Fort George

140 Hillside Avenue

$500,000

1 |

Upper West Side

609 Columbus Avenue

$475,000

1 |

Battery Park City

21 South End Avenue

$525,000

1 |

Yorkville

340 East 93rd Street

$560,000

1 |

Fulton/Seaport

100 Beekman Street

$735,000

1 |

Upper East Side

140 East 83rd Street

$399,000

1 |

Yorkville

215 East 96th Street

$760,000

1 |

Upper East Side

1036 Park Avenue

$650,000

6 |

1.5

Turtle Bay

333 East 43rd Street

$725,000

2 |

Murray Hill

303 East 37th Street

$588,000

1 |

Hudson Heights

854 West 181st Street

$439,000

1 |

Murray Hill

120 East 36th Street

$929,000

3 |

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

156 Erasmus Street

$2,500 base rent

1 |

Stuyvesant Heights

732 Hancock Street

$2,695 base rent

1 |

East New York

479 Pennsylvan Avenue

$2,100 base rent

2 |

East Flatbush

1077 New York Avenue

$1,899 base rent

1 |

Ditmas Park

646 Argyle Road

$2,060 base rent

1 |

East Flatbush

1077 New York Avenue

$1,900 base rent

Studio |

Ditmas Park

646 Argyle Road

$2,110 base rent

1 |

Ditmas Park

646 Argyle Road

$2,060 base rent

1 |

Ditmas Park

646 Argyle Road

$2,110 base rent

1 |

Midwood

1500 Ocean Parkway

$1,995 base rent

1 |

Bedford-Stuyvesant

333 Hancock Street

$2,595 base rent

1 |

Flatbush

706 East 32nd Street

$2,550 base rent

1 |

Sheepshead Bay

2531 East 7th Street

$549,000

2 |

Park Slope

333 4th Street

$650,000

1 |

Canarsie

1048 East 94th Street

$749,999

4 |

East Flatbush

234 East 54th Street

$849,999

3 |

2.5

Canarsie

1247 East 85th Street

$890,000

4 |

Fort Hamilton

9437 Shore Road

$689,000

2 |

Brighton Beach

313 Brightwater Court

$219,000

1 |

Brighton Beach

35 Sea Coast Terrace

$549,999

2 |

Sheepshead Bay

2626 Homecrest Avenue

$245,000

1 |

Gravesend

2400 East 3rd Street

$365,000

2 |

Stuyvesant Heights

88 Marion Street

$575,000

1 |

Flatbush

720 East 32nd Street

$340,000

1 |

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

50-27 47th Street

$2,485 base rent

1 |

Jamaica

166-20 90th Avenue

$2,436 base rent

1 |

Jamaica

166-20 90th Avenue

$2,436 base rent

1 |

Jamaica

166-20 90th Avenue

$2,436 base rent

1 |

Jamaica

166-20 90th Avenue

$2,417 base rent

1 |

Hollis

195-24 Jamaica Avenue

$1,252 base rent

Studio |

Astoria

31-56 34th Street

$2,205 base rent

1 |

Forest Hills

67-15 Austin Street

$2,495 base rent

1 |

Flushing

139-55 35th Avenue

$2,350 base rent

1 |

Forest Hills

76-66 Austin Street

$2,300 base rent

1 |

Jamaica Estates

87-01 Midland Parkway

$2,300 base rent

1 |

Kew Gardens

83-75 118th Street

$2,200 base rent

1 |

Bayswater

32-30 Anchor Drive

$699,999

3 |

South Jamaica

137-03 130th Avenue

$699,999

3 |

Rego Park

61-24 Saunders Street

$269,000

1 |

Briarwood

84-31 Van Wyck Expressway

$329,000

2 |

Kew Gardens Hills

144-27 Grand Central Parkway

$385,500

2 |

1.5

Elmhurst

44-05 Macnish Street

$325,000

1 |

Kew Gardens

118-14 83rd Avenue

$299,000

1 |

Kew Gardens Hills

150-15 79th Avenue

$349,000

1 |

Bayside

220-55 46th Avenue

$410,000

1 |

Forest Hills

67-41 Burns Street

$339,000

2 |

South Jamaica

140-04 123rd Avenue

$429,900

2 |

Forest Hills

68-20 Selfridge Street

$385,000

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.

Mariners Harbor

3 Lockman Place

$3,811 base rent

3 |

Saint George

138 Hendricks Avenue

$4,000 base rent

4 |

New Brighton

171 Van Buren Street

$2,950 base rent

3 |

Travis

4004 Victory Boulevard

$3,140 base rent

3 |

South Beach

16 Palisade Street

$1,700 base rent

1 |

Tottenville

203 Main Street

$2,000 base rent

1 |

Saint George

5 Stuyvesant Place

$2,354 base rent

Studio |

Saint George

5 Stuyvesant Place

$2,585 base rent

1 |

Woodrow

548 Marcy Avenue

$1,650 base rent

1 |

Saint George

30 Daniel Low Terrace

$1,800 base rent

1 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$3,310 base rent

1 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$5,750 base rent

2 |

Dongan Hills

306 Cromwell Avenue

$775,000

3 |

New Dorp Beach

224 Mill Road

$725,000

3 |

1.5

Stapleton

22 Grove Street

$470,000

3 |

Graniteville

50 Caswell Lane

$525,000

2 |

1.5

Grymes Hill

124 Bertha Place

$1,999,000

5 |

4.5

Pleasant Plains

16 Carolyn Court

$1,588,000

4 |

2.5

Huguenot

112 Hampton Green

$635,000

3 |

1.5

Port Richmond

65 Floyd Street

$650,000

3 |

West Brighton

45 Winegar Lane

$599,000

3 |

3.5

Graniteville

11 Denton Place

$799,999

3 |

Graniteville

74 Sumner Avenue

$699,000

3 |

2.5

Westerleigh

126 Goodwin Avenue

$935,000

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.