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.

Upper West Side

728 Amsterdam Avenue

$2,850 base rent

Studio |

Yorkville

1670 York Avenue

$2,695 base rent

Studio |

East Village

173 Loisaida Avenue

$2,900 base rent

Studio |

Chelsea

237 West 18th Street

$2,712 base rent

Studio |

Yorkville

328 East 93rd Street

$2,700 base rent

Studio |

Lenox Hill

117 East 60th Street

$2,850 base rent

Studio |

Inwood

500 West 213th Street

$2,240 base rent

1 |

Gramercy Park

210 East 21st Street

$2,950 base rent

Studio |

Turtle Bay

311 East 52nd Street

$2,995 base rent

1 |

Washington Heights

534 West 159th Street

$2,100 base rent

1 |

Washington Heights

532 West 159th Street

$1,800 base rent

Studio |

East Harlem

424 East 116th Street

$2,500 base rent

1 |

Midtown South

372 5th Avenue

$750,000

1 |

Central Harlem

121 West 131st Street

$799,000

1 |

Hamilton Heights

121 Edgecombe Avenue

$650,000

1 |

Yorkville

201 East 83rd Street

$760,000

1 |

Hell’s Kitchen

444 West 54th Street

$455,000

1 |

Midtown

205 West 57th Street

$650,000

1 |

Lincoln Square

170 West End Avenue

$799,000

1 |

Midtown

205 West 57th Street

$745,000

1 |

Fulton/Seaport

333 Pearl Street

$630,000

1 |

Lenox Hill

750 Park Avenue

$895,000

1 |

Hudson Heights

116 Pinehurst Avenue

$570,000

1 |

Hudson Heights

105 Bennett Avenue

$575,000

2 |

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.

East Flatbush

5727 Kings Highway

$2,650 base rent

1 |

Bedford-Stuyvesant

1221 Atlantic Avenue

$2,497 base rent

1 |

East New York

603 Bradford Street

$2,692 base rent

2 |

Sunset Park

253 62nd Street

$2,300 base rent

2 |

Fort Hamilton

126 Gatling Place

$2,500 base rent

1 |

Stuyvesant Heights

823 Hancock Street

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

Brighton Beach

2 West End Avenue

$2,600 base rent

1 |

Borough Park

1115 43rd Street

$2,600 base rent

2 |

Flatbush

2165 Clarendon Road

$2,395 base rent

Studio |

Stuyvesant Heights

1875 Atlantic Avenue

$2,635 base rent

1 |

Prospect Lefferts Gardens

1158 Nostrand Avenue

$2,699 base rent

2 |

Kensington

706 Ocean Parkway

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

Greenwood

233 18th Street

$830,000

1 |

Flatlands

1648 East 53rd Street

$739,000

3 |

East Flatbush

278 East 37th Street

$749,000

3 |

Fort Hamilton

8901 Shore Road

$389,000

1 |

Sheepshead Bay

2741 East 28th Street

$275,000

2 |

Prospect Heights

20 Butler Place

$950,000

2 |

Farragut

3604 Farragut Road

$950,000

3 |

Flatbush

1462 Flatbush Avenue

$799,999

3 |

Bushwick

511 Evergreen Avenue

$599,000

1 |

Gravesend

367 Avenue S

$249,000

1 |

Kensington

715 Ocean Parkway

$435,000

2 |

Fort Hamilton

9326 Lafayette Walk

$799,000

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.

Rego Park

97-40 64th Avenue

$2,300 base rent

1 |

Kew Gardens Hills

149-05 79th Avenue

$2,385 base rent

1 |

Kew Gardens

132-77 Metropolitan Avenue

$2,443 base rent

Studio |

Jamaica

88-36 139th Street

$2,090 base rent

Studio |

Astoria

25-45 47th Street

$2,350 base rent

1 |

Rego Park

61-40 Saunders Street

$2,200 base rent

1 |

Astoria

18-49 26th Road

$2,200 base rent

Studio |

Astoria

18-49 26th Road

$2,500 base rent

1 |

Astoria

2-24 26th Avenue

$2,400 base rent

Studio |

Kew Gardens Hills

72-25 153rd Street

$2,292 base rent

2 |

Briarwood

141-24 84th Drive

$2,100 base rent

1 |

Briarwood

143-25 84th Avenue

$2,050 base rent

1 |

Elmhurst

41-67 Judge Street

$338,000

1 |

South Jamaica

116-53 141st Street

$699,000

3 |

Bayside

216-17 48th Avenue

$279,000

1 |

Forest Hills

112-20 72nd Drive

$505,000

2 |

Kew Gardens Hills

67-50 136th Street

$429,000

3 |

Sunnyside

39-55 51st Street

$569,000

2 |

Sunnyside

52-05 39th Road

$569,000

2 |

Sunnyside

43-30 52nd Street

$599,000

2 |

Sunnyside

50-05 43rd Avenue

$335,000

1 |

Kew Gardens Hills

150-38 Union Turnpike

$629,999

2 |

Bay Terrace (Queens)

18-15 215th Street

$279,000

1 |

Elmhurst

94-11 60th Avenue

$390,000

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.

Arden Heights

42 Erika Loop

$3,700 base rent

3 |

2.5

West Brighton

225 North Burgher Avenue

$3,700 base rent

3 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$2,617 base rent

Studio |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$5,862 base rent

2 |

Saint George

95 Sherman Avenue

$2,975 base rent

2 |

Castleton Corners

252 Mountainview Avenue

$2,899 base rent

3 |

Woodrow

548 Marcy Avenue

$1,650 base rent

1 |

Emerson Hill

99 Stonegate Drive

$3,400 base rent

3 |

1.5

Charleston

325 Sharrotts Road

$5,000 base rent

3 |

Saint George

30 Daniel Low Terrace

$1,800 base rent

1 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$2,931 base rent

Studio |

Saint George

5 Stuyvesant Place

$2,750 base rent

1 |

Richmond Valley

615 Page Avenue

$1,449,000

4 |

3.5

Mariners Harbor

113 Van Pelt Avenue

$649,888

5 |

Dongan Hills

18 Zoe Street

$985,000

3 |

Midland Beach

482 Greeley Avenue

$728,000

2 |

1.5

Rossville

214 Mason Boulevard

$1,750,000

4 |

3.5

Tompkinsville

55 Austin Place

$425,000

2 |

Great Kills

6 Highland Road

$628,000

3 |

Arlington

3372 Richmond Terrace

$589,000

7 |

Lighthouse Hill

238 Saint Andrews Road

$1,150,000

3 |

Port Richmond

63 New Street

$699,000

4 |

Midland Beach

299 Colony Avenue

$750,000

3 |

Pleasant Plains

81 Sharrott Avenue

$1,090,000

6 |

3.5

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.