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.
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.
Manhattan Rentals Under $3K on StreetEasyArticle continues below
Gramercy Park
338 East 15th Street
$2,600No Fee
1 |
1
Central Harlem
30 West 141st Street
$1,989No Fee
Studio |
1
Chelsea
335 West 19th Street
$2,530No Fee
Studio |
1
Central Harlem
6 East 132nd Street
$2,520No Fee
1 |
1
Central Harlem
6 East 132nd Street
$2,521No Fee
1 |
1
Central Harlem
6 East 132nd Street
$2,940No Fee
2 |
1
Chinatown
17 Essex Street
$2,100No Fee
Studio |
1
Yorkville
1570 First Avenue
$2,700No Fee
Studio |
1
Upper West Side
2731 Broadway
$2,595No Fee
Studio |
1
East Village
430 East 13th Street
$2,795No Fee
Studio |
1
Central Harlem
2750 Frederic Douglas Boulevard
$2,669No Fee
1 |
1
Manhattanville
521 West 134th Street
$3,000No Fee
1 |
1
Manhattan Homes Under $1M on StreetEasyArticle continues below
Sutton Place
333 East 53rd Street
$725,000
1 |
1
East Village
224 East 7th Street
$899,999
1 |
1
Manhattan Valley
510 West 110th Street
$729,000
1 |
1
Hudson Heights
116 Pinehurst Avenue
$990,000
3 |
1
Central Harlem
68 Bradhurst Avenue
$875,000
2 |
2
Lenox Hill
311 East 71st Street
$495,000
1 |
1
Hudson Heights
116 Pinehurst Avenue
$837,000
2 |
1
Kips Bay
201 East 25th Street
$575,000
1 |
1
Roosevelt Island
575 Main Street
$648,000
1 |
1
Upper West Side
111 West 96th Street
$985,000
3 |
1
Upper Carnegie Hill
1200 Fifth Avenue
$795,000
1 |
1
Upper East Side
135 East 83rd Street
$995,000
1 |
1.5
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.
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Bedford-Stuyvesant
1516 Fulton Street
$2,700No Fee
1 |
1
Fort Hamilton
8829 Fort Hamiltn Parkway
$1,950No Fee
1 |
1
Midwood
1145 East 35th Street
$1,899No Fee
1 |
1
Bushwick
96 De Sales Place
$2,567No Fee
2 |
1
Sheepshead Bay
2233 Ocean Parkway
$2,600No Fee
3 |
1
Williamsburg
293 Graham Avenue
$2,000No Fee
1 |
1
Midwood
1417 Avenue K
$1,950No Fee
1 |
1
East New York
1023 Hegeman Avenue
$2,700No Fee
3 |
2
Gravesend
1864 West 4th Street
$2,600No Fee
2 |
1
Greenwood
647 Fourth Avenue
$2,300No Fee
1 |
1
Stuyvesant Heights
1875 Atlantic Avenue
$2,650No Fee
1 |
1
Bath Beach
8635 21st Avenue
$1,900No Fee
1 |
1
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Midwood
622 Foster Avenue
$670,000
2 |
2
Bushwick
88 Beaver Street
$450,000
2 |
1
Marine Park
1918 East 37th Street
$719,000
3 |
1.5
Brighton Beach
2963 Ocean Parkway
$425,000
1 |
1
Prospect Heights
230 Park Place
$950,000
1 |
1
Canarsie
1251 East 104th Street
$649,000
3 |
1.5
Bay Ridge
460 Ovington Avenue
$320,000
1 |
1
Coney Island
2932 West Fifth Street
$360,000
2 |
1
East Flatbush
1655 Flatbush Avenue
$425,000
2 |
1
Brownsville
119 Lott Avenue
$895,964
7 |
3
Flatlands
5703 Avenue O
$724,900
3 |
2
Canarsie
705 East 93rd Street
$898,000
7 |
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.
Queens Rentals Under $2,500 on StreetEasyArticle continues below
Ridgewood
18-20 Stanhope Street
$2,195No Fee
Studio |
1
Ridgewood
59-20 Menahan Street
$2,100No Fee
1 |
1
Forest Hills
111-45 76 Drive
$2,395No Fee
1 |
1
Astoria
21-17 31st Avenue
$2,500No Fee
Studio |
1
Elmhurst
42-16 80th Street
$2,150No Fee
1 |
1
Woodside
59-16 Woodside Avenue
$1,999No Fee
1 |
1
Ridgewood
21-24 Himrod Street
$1,500No Fee
Studio |
1
Flushing
36-20 Parsons Boulevard
$2,200No Fee
1 |
1
Woodside
41-52 63rd Street
$2,450No Fee
1 |
1
Astoria
46-06 30th Avenue
$1,475No Fee
Studio |
1
Kew Gardens
83-14 Lefferts Boulevard
$2,200No Fee
1 |
1
Sunnyside
44-15 43rd Avenue
$2,400No Fee
1 |
1
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Sunnyside
43-10 48th Avenue
$549,000
2 |
1
Kew Gardens
83-80 118th Street
$320,000
1 |
1
Woodside
70-65 Queens Boulevard
$535,000
1 |
1
Glendale
90-50 Union Turnpike
$549,999
3 |
1.5
Forest Hills
106-15 Queens Boulevard
$435,000
2 |
1
Briarwood
143-50 Hoover Avenue
$225,000
1 |
1
Ridgewood
21-08 Butler Avenue
$630,000
2 |
1
Briarwood
142-35 84 Drive
$260,000
1 |
1
Oakland Gardens
224-48 Horace Harding Boulevard
$399,888
2 |
1
Briarwood
139-06 Pershing Crescent
$230,000
1 |
1
Forest Hills
69-09 108th Street
$395,000
1 |
1
Kew Gardens
116-11 Curzon Road
$500,000
1 |
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.
Staten Island Rentals on StreetEasyArticle continues below
South Beach
16 Palisade Street
$1,350No Fee
1 |
1
Saint George
5 Bay Street
$2,580No Fee
Studio |
1
Saint George
5 Bay Street
$3,137No Fee
1 |
1
Saint George
5 Bay Street
$2,696No Fee
1 |
1
Saint George
5 Bay Street
$3,189No Fee
2 |
1
Saint George
5 Bay Street
$2,580No Fee
Studio |
1
Saint George
5 Bay Street
$4,500No Fee
2 |
2
New Springville
221 Braisted Avenue
$1,600No Fee
1 |
1
Saint George
30 Daniel Low Terrace
$1,650No Fee
1 |
1
Dongan Hills
6 Zoe Street
$2,500No Fee
2 |
1
Clifton
118 Osgood Avenue
$3,500No Fee
3 |
2
Westerleigh
245 Willard Avenue
$2,000No Fee
2 |
1
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Rossville
77 Wirt Avenue
$1,080,000
6 |
3.5
Arden Heights
305 Aspen Knolls Way
$489,000
2 |
1.5
Saint George
50 Fort Place
$399,000
3 |
2
Grymes Hill
976 Van Duzer Street
$750,000
3 |
1
Mariners Harbor
155 De Hart Avenue
$459,000
3 |
1
Port Richmond
119 Dubois Avenue
$825,000
3 |
2.5
Port Richmond
54 Mitchel Lane
$468,000
3 |
2
Great Kills
56 Heinz Avenue
$718,800
3 |
2
Rossville
16 Redwood Loop
$499,999
2 |
1.5
Elm Park
51 Newark Avenue
$549,000
3 |
3
Bay Terrace
4 Dewey Avenue
$950,000
3 |
2
New Springville
170 Steinway Avenue
$868,888
4 |
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.
Bronx Rentals Under $2,300 on StreetEasyArticle continues below
Fordham
2390 Creston Avenue
$1,322No Fee
1 |
1
Soundview
557 Sound View Avenue
$2,000No Fee
2 |
1
Parkchester
1847 Cross Bronx Expressway
$2,300No Fee
2 |
1
Mott Haven
276 Grand Concourse
$2,269No Fee
1 |
1
Riverdale
5535 Netherland Avenue
$2,017No Fee
1 |
1
Mott Haven
276 Grand Concourse
$2,264No Fee
Studio |
1
Concourse
299 East 161st Street
$2,250No Fee
1 |
1
Concourse
299 East 161st Street
$2,000No Fee
Studio |
1
Mott Haven
228 East 135th Street
$2,256No Fee
1 |
1
Melrose
333 East 150th Street
$1,895No Fee
2 |
1
Highbridge
985 Summit Avenue
$1,595No Fee
Studio |
1
Fordham
2364 Tiebout Avenue
$1,460No Fee
1 |
1
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