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.

Kips Bay

229 East 25th Street

$2,800 base rent

1 |

Washington Heights

636 West 158th Street

$3,000 base rent

Studio |

Central Harlem

210 West 133rd Street

$2,600 base rent

2 |

Washington Heights

573 West 161st Street

$2,975 base rent

1 |

Upper West Side

308 West 105th Street

$2,850 base rent

Studio |

Washington Heights

516 West 162nd Street

$2,299 base rent

1 |

East Harlem

169 East 102nd Street

$2,200 base rent

Studio |

Gramercy Park

216 East 17th Street

$2,950 base rent

Studio |

Central Harlem

37 West 126th Street

$3,000 base rent

1 |

Central Harlem

488 Saint Nicholas’s Avenue

$2,675 base rent

1 |

Soho

181 Prince Street

$2,800 base rent

1 |

South Harlem

307 West 111st Street

$3,000 base rent

2 |

Hell’s Kitchen

540 West 49th Street

$995,000

1 |

Upper West Side

11 Riverside Drive

$800,000

1 |

Chinatown

50 Bayard Street

$850,000

1 |

Manhattan Valley

510 West 110th Street

$739,000

1 |

Kips Bay

215 East 24th Street

$395,000

1 |

Washington Heights

834 Riverside Drive

$270,000

1 |

Battery Park City

70 Little West Street

$999,000

1 |

Hamilton Heights

603 West 148th Street

$885,000

2 |

Upper West Side

440 West End Avenue

$799,000

1 |

Hell’s Kitchen

547 West 47th Street

$949,000

1 |

Murray Hill

80 Park Avenue

$795,000

1 |

Lower East Side

568 Grand Street

$635,000

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

7823 16th Avenue

$2,250 base rent

1 |

Flatbush

1080 Rogers Avenue

$2,590 base rent

1 |

Crown Heights

1076 Dean Street

$2,700 base rent

1 |

Kensington

822 Mcdonald Avenue

$2,299 base rent

1 |

Bensonhurst

7705 14th Avenue

$2,100 base rent

1 |

Fort Greene

253 Cumberland Street

$2,395 base rent

Studio |

Prospect Lefferts Gardens

150 Hawthorne Street

$2,700 base rent

Studio |

Wingate

524 Midwood Street

$2,595 base rent

1 |

Crown Heights

765 Washington Avenue

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

Bushwick

188 Cooper Street

$2,530 base rent

1 |

East Flatbush

449 East 51st Street

$1,800 base rent

1 |

Flatbush

987 Rogers Avenue

$2,400 base rent

1 |

Canarsie

10825 Avenue N

$797,000

3 |

1.5

Park Slope

759 President Street

$699,000

1 |

Midwood

915 East 17th Street

$450,000

2 |

Homecrest

2271 Knapp Street

$269,000

2 |

Cypress Hills

19 Kiely Place

$825,000

6 |

Flatbush

310 Lenox Road

$345,000

1 |

Gerritsen Beach

47 Seba Avenue

$869,000

3 |

Gravesend

393 Avenue S

$295,000

1 |

Downtown Brooklyn

85 Livingston Street

$599,000

1 |

Bushwick

301 Stockholm Street

$655,000

1 |

Sheepshead Bay

2668 East 23rd Street

$899,000

3 |

Coney Island

2930 West 5th Street

$649,000

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.

Kew Gardens Hills

75-25 153rd Street

$2,250 base rent

1 |

Kew Gardens Hills

75-25 153rd Street

$2,250 base rent

1 |

Kew Gardens Hills

150-39 75th Avenue

$2,100 base rent

2 |

Forest Hills

103-10 Queens Boulevard

$2,495 base rent

1 |

Jackson Heights

35-21 86th Street

$1,850 base rent

Studio |

Elmhurst

42-47 79th Street

$2,200 base rent

1 |

North Corona

37-28 104th Street

$2,495 base rent

1 |

Briarwood

143-26 84 Road

$2,235 base rent

Studio |

Jamaica Hills

80-46 164th Street

$1,850 base rent

1 |

Forest Hills

110-16 72nd Avenue

$1,840 base rent

Studio |

Ditmars-Steinway

20-50 47th Street

$1,700 base rent

Studio |

Kew Gardens Hills

71-82 Parsons Boulevard

$2,197 base rent

Studio |

Flushing

139-35 35th Avenue

$499,999

1 |

Hollis

100-30 198th Street

$625,000

3 |

Jackson Heights

34-31 82nd Street

$640,000

3 |

St. Albans

194-35 114 Drive

$695,000

3 |

Forest Hills

67-35 Yellowstone Boulevard

$329,000

1 |

Rego Park

63-45 Saunders Street

$305,000

1 |

Jackson Heights

88-01 35th Avenue

$175,000

1 |

Corona

58-03 Calloway Street

$198,000

1 |

Woodside

70-09 45th Avenue

$559,000

1 |

Corona

108-38 41st Avenue

$498,888

2 |

1.5

Elmhurst

84-19 51st Avenue

$459,000

2 |

Ditmars-Steinway

22-39 78th Street

$569,000

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

$1,800 base rent

1 |

Grymes Hill

17 Tessa Court

$4,100 base rent

4 |

2.5

Port Richmond

67 Cottage Place

$1,800 base rent

Studio |

Saint George

477 Saint Mark’s Place

$2,600 base rent

1 |

Sunnyside (Staten Island)

341 Little Clove Road

$4,000 base rent

4 |

Tottenville

217 Main Street

$2,800 base rent

2 |

Todt Hill

29 Schmidts Lane

$4,995 base rent

4 |

2.5

Saint George

30 Daniel Low Terrace

$1,800 base rent

1 |

Elm Park

28 Morning Star Road

$4,000 base rent

4 |

Saint George

90 Bay Street Landing

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

Woodrow

317 Darlington Avenue

$3,500 base rent

3 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$3,092 base rent

1 |

New Springville

30 Amy Lane

$749,999

3 |

1.5

Grant City

100 Colfax Avenue

$320,000

1 |

Annadale

166 Sinclair Avenue

$1,248,000

5 |

3.5

Graniteville

33 Marc Street

$545,000

2 |

1.5

Todt Hill

44 Duncan Street

$1,100,000

3 |

2.5

Rossville

26 Foothill Court

$899,000

4 |

2.5

Grymes Hill

17 Tessa Court

$695,000

4 |

3.5

Travis

32 Wild Avenue

$888,888

3 |

3.5

Saint George

90 Bay Street Landing

$849,000

2 |

2.5

Saint George

90 Bay Street Landing

$799,999

2 |

2.5

Eltingville

459 Ridgewood Avenue

$699,999

3 |

2.5

Eltingville

259 Seidman Avenue

$799,999

4 |

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.