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.

Inwood

3880 Ninth Avenue

$2,956 base rent

Studio |

East Village

513 East 5th Street

$2,900 base rent

Studio |

Inwood

65 Payson Avenue

$2,125 base rent

Studio |

Inwood

502 West 213rd Street

$2,825 base rent

2 |

Central Harlem

215-219 West 145th Street

$2,300 base rent

1 |

Inwood

570 West 204th Street

$2,100 base rent

1 |

Yorkville

330 East 90th Street

$2,595 base rent

Studio |

Lower East Side

151 Allen Street

$2,800 base rent

Studio |

East Harlem

327 East 101st Street

$2,800 base rent

1 |

Upper West Side

308 West 109th Street

$2,995 base rent

Studio |

Fort George

80 Arden Street

$2,521 base rent

1 |

Central Harlem

140 West 133rd Street

$2,800 base rent

1 |

Lenox Hill

166 East 63rd Street

$975,000

1 |

Financial District

123 Washington Street

$995,000

1 |

Murray Hill

5 Tudor City Place

$625,000

1 |

Lenox Hill

515 East 72nd Street

$999,000

1 |

Yorkville

238 East 84th Street

$357,000

1 |

Hell’s Kitchen

333 West 56th Street

$705,000

1 |

Roosevelt Island

555 Main Street

$849,000

2 |

1.5

Hell’s Kitchen

635 West 42nd Street

$815,000

1 |

Central Harlem

305 West 150th Street

$375,000

1 |

Lenox Hill

520 East 72nd Street

$650,000

1 |

East Harlem

181 East 101st Street

$795,000

1 |

Upper West Side

27 West 84th Street

$499,000

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.

Crown Heights

954 Bergen Street

$2,100 base rent

Studio |

Flatbush

60 Clarkson Avenue

$2,250 base rent

Studio |

Bushwick

188 Suydam Street

$2,700 base rent

1 |

East Flatbush

1634 Flatbush Avenue

$2,414 base rent

Studio |

Bay Ridge

321 76th Street

$1,675 base rent

Studio |

Flatbush

2366 Bedford Avenue

$2,588 base rent

1 |

Midwood

1801 Ocean Avenue

$2,695 base rent

1 |

Sunset Park

449 61st Street

$1,758 base rent

1 |

Flatbush

3018 Farragut Road

$2,645 base rent

Studio |

Crown Heights

1177 Dean Street

$1,900 base rent

2 |

Stuyvesant Heights

1600 Fulton Street

$2,695 base rent

1 |

Fort Greene

72 Clermont Avenue

$2,350 base rent

Studio |

Homecrest

2384 Ocean Avenue

$949,000

3 |

Bay Ridge

6665 Colonial Road

$429,000

2 |

Flatbush

720 East 32nd Street

$299,999

1 |

Weeksville

1479 Sterling Place

$575,000

1 |

Weeksville

1479 Sterling Place

$520,000

1 |

Flatbush

575 Ocean Avenue

$235,000

1 |

Midwood

2807 Kings Highway

$210,000

1 |

Kensington

303 Beverley Road

$620,000

1 |

Sheepshead Bay

2475 East 11th Street

$419,000

3 |

Stuyvesant Heights

447 Decatur Street

$515,000

1 |

Midwood

1901 Ocean Avenue

$450,000

1 |

East New York

551 Sutter Avenue

$725,000

4 |

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.

Forest Hills

99-18 Metropolitan Avenue

$2,300 base rent

1 |

Flushing

143-08 Roosevelt Avenue

$2,100 base rent

1 |

Jackson Heights

35-34 84th Street

$2,295 base rent

1 |

Ridgewood

16-91 Linden Street

$2,300 base rent

1 |

Elmhurst

42-15 81st Street

$2,495 base rent

1 |

Rego Park

94-01 64 Road

$2,500 base rent

1 |

Briarwood

84-31 Van Wyck Expressway

$1,900 base rent

Studio |

Kew Gardens

83-84 116th Street

$2,100 base rent

1 |

Ditmars-Steinway

21-35 45th Street

$2,400 base rent

1 |

Middle Village

85-19 60 Drive

$2,300 base rent

1 |

Briarwood

141-24 84 Drive

$2,100 base rent

1 |

Forest Hills

103-26 68th Avenue

$2,450 base rent

1 |

Flushing

32-16 137th Street

$680,000

2 |

Kew Gardens Hills

147-28 Charter Road

$320,000

2 |

Jamaica Estates

87-40 Francis Lewis Boulevard

$300,000

2 |

St. Albans

200-06 115th Avenue

$699,000

3 |

Jackson Heights

35-45 78th Street

$749,000

2 |

Jackson Heights

32-42 92nd Street

$225,000

1 |

Elmhurst

91-23 Corona Avenue

$518,000

2 |

Glen Oaks

247-48 77 Crescent

$479,999

2 |

Woodside

60-11 Broadway

$249,000

3 |

Rego Park

99-72 66 Road

$669,000

3 |

2.5

Oakland Gardens

69-17 215th Street

$288,000

1 |

Rego Park

66-15 Thornton Place

$400,000

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

477 Saint Mark’s Place

$2,450 base rent

1 |

Great Kills

52 Harbour Court

$4,300 base rent

2 |

1.5

Saint George

141 Saint Marks Place

$1,895 base rent

1 |

Saint George

141 Saint Mark’s Place

$2,395 base rent

2 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$4,934 base rent

2 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$4,846 base rent

2 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$4,602 base rent

2 |

Saint George

5 Bay Street

$5,723 base rent

2 |

Tottenville

203 Main Street

$2,500 base rent

2 |

South Beach

16 Palisade Street

$1,475 base rent

Studio |

Tottenville

203 Main Street

$1,950 base rent

1 |

South Beach

16 Palisade Street

$1,775 base rent

1 |

Westerleigh

75 Muller Avenue

$949,000

5 |

Tottenville

7306 Amboy Road

$855,000

3 |

2.5

Bay Terrace

119 Redgrave Avenue

$739,000

3 |

New Springville

23 Gadsen Place

$360,000

1 |

Huguenot

150 Nicolosi Drive

$6,995,000

5 |

Richmondtown

12 Ilion Place

$1,140,000

4 |

4.5

Todt Hill

169 Four Corners Road

$2,399,000

4 |

3.5

Tottenville

44 Parker Street

$598,000

2 |

Eltingville

440 Eltingville Boulevard

$1,599,000

6 |

Lighthouse Hill

514 Lighthouse Avenue

$1,425,000

5 |

Westerleigh

20 Coale Avenue

$499,000

2 |

Westerleigh

302 Deems Avenue

$1,150,000

9 |

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.