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.

Central Harlem

1856 Park Avenue

$2,538 base rent

Studio |

South Harlem

2166 Fred Douglas Boulevard

$2,400 base rent

1 |

Murray Hill

309 East 37th Street

$2,850 base rent

Studio |

Yorkville

333 East 89th Street

$2,995 base rent

Studio |

Central Harlem

303 West 146th Street

$2,750 base rent

1 |

East Harlem

124 East 117th Street

$2,695 base rent

1 |

Washington Heights

629 West 170th Street

$2,295 base rent

1 |

Yorkville

301 East 84th Street

$2,700 base rent

Studio |

Upper West Side

258 West 91st Street

$2,500 base rent

Studio |

Central Harlem

306 West 142nd Street

$2,395 base rent

Studio |

Central Harlem

306 West 142nd Street

$2,850 base rent

1 |

Upper West Side

102 West 80th Street

$2,900 base rent

Studio |

East Village

189 Avenue C

$755,000

1 |

Yorkville

444 East 87th Street

$520,000

1 |

Lenox Hill

123 East 75th Street

$635,000

1 |

Murray Hill

288 Lexington Avenue

$525,000

1 |

Lenox Hill

201 East 77th Street

$540,000

1 |

Upper West Side

170 West 81st Street

$675,000

1 |

Hell’s Kitchen

460 West 42nd Street

$990,000

1 |

Washington Heights

807 Riverside Drive

$999,000

4 |

Battery Park City

300 Albany Street

$589,000

1 |

West Chelsea

520 West 23rd Street

$949,000

1 |

Financial District

120 Greenwich Street

$795,000

1 |

Manhattan Valley

4 West 101st Street

$405,000

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.

Midwood

2918 Avenue I

$2,195 base rent

1 |

Stuyvesant Heights

562 Macon Street

$1,850 base rent

Studio |

Prospect Lefferts Gardens

285 Hawthorne Street

$1,727 base rent

1 |

Stuyvesant Heights

735 Hancock Street

$2,100 base rent

Studio |

Stuyvesant Heights

102 Patchen Avenue

$2,550 base rent

1 |

Prospect Lefferts Gardens

104 Empire Boulevard

$2,695 base rent

2 |

Flatbush

1620 New York Avenue

$2,503 base rent

1 |

Flatbush

110 Martense Street

$2,669 base rent

2 |

Stuyvesant Heights

799 Jefferson Avenue

$2,369 base rent

1 |

Flatbush

104 Linden Boulevard

$1,875 base rent

Studio |

Bushwick

105 Vanderveer Street

$2,383 base rent

1 |

Cypress Hills

68 Sunnyside Avenue

$2,699 base rent

2 |

Bay Ridge

7401 Shore Road

$599,999

2 |

Homecrest

1717 East 18th Street

$450,000

2 |

Park Slope

882 Union Street

$840,000

1 |

Park Slope

466 Prospect Avenue

$725,000

2 |

Wingate

446 Kingston Avenue

$385,000

2 |

Fort Greene

55 Carlton Avenue

$293,889

2 |

Fort Greene

55 Carlton Avenue

$293,889

2 |

Williamsburg

21 Powers Street

$900,000

1 |

Flatbush

2146 Cortelyou Road

$245,000

1 |

East New York

582 Hendrix Street

$649,000

3 |

Canarsie

1257 East 85th Street

$799,000

5 |

Brighton Beach

2964 Brighton 06th Street

$825,000

3 |

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.

Ditmars-Steinway

20-36 33rd Street

$2,400 base rent

Studio |

Kew Gardens

83-61 116th Street

$2,472 base rent

Studio |

Kew Gardens

85-21 Lefferts Boulevard

$2,400 base rent

1 |

Astoria

25-14 46th Street

$2,200 base rent

1 |

Jamaica

147-40 Archer Avenue

$2,400 base rent

Studio |

Ditmars-Steinway

20-68 32nd Street

$1,700 base rent

Studio |

Woodside

41-12 53rd Street

$2,500 base rent

1 |

Maspeth

64-05 53 Drive

$2,250 base rent

1 |

Jackson Heights

31-23 73rd Street

$2,300 base rent

1 |

Briarwood

139-05 85 Drive

$2,195 base rent

1 |

Richmond Hill

84-05 108th Street

$2,150 base rent

1 |

Rego Park

98-120 Queens Boulevard

$2,000 base rent

Studio |

Ditmars-Steinway

21-27 33rd Street

$299,000

2 |

Forest Hills

67-50 Thornton Place

$349,995

2 |

Flushing

41-42 College Point Boulevard

$595,000

1 |

Rego Park

99-05 63rd Drive

$360,000

2 |

Woodside

39-65 52nd Street

$398,800

1 |

Briarwood

139-05 85 Drive

$265,000

1 |

Briarwood

140-18 Burden Crescent

$349,000

3 |

Broad Channel

11-07 Cross Bay Boulevard

$599,000

3 |

Flushing

134-05 Dahlia Avenue

$680,000

2 |

Springfield Gardens

179-21 143rd Avenue

$719,888

3 |

2.5

Forest Hills

111-09 66th Avenue

$285,000

1 |

Jamaica

107-06 Guy R Brewer Boulevard

$448,000

3 |

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.

New Springville

190 Wellington Court

$1,600 base rent

1 |

Arlington

38 Holland Avenue

$3,300 base rent

3 |

Westerleigh

19 Goodwin Avenue

$3,500 base rent

1 |

Castleton Corners

79 Dongan Avenue

$2,400 base rent

2 |

New Springville

75 Elwood Avenue

$3,000 base rent

2 |

Saint George

50 Fort Place

$2,400 base rent

2 |

Travis

3954 Victory Boulevard

$2,300 base rent

2 |

Mariners Harbor

105 Mersereau Avenue

$3,100 base rent

3 |

Arrochar

32 Joseph Lane

$2,953 base rent

2 |

Great Kills

45 Ocean Road

$2,500 base rent

2 |

New Dorp Beach

85 Milton Avenue

$1,900 base rent

1 |

New Dorp

270 Greeley Avenue

$3,600 base rent

3 |

Oakwood

473 Tarrytown Avenue

$838,888

4 |

1.5

Princes Bay

38 Oswald Place

$1,649,000

6 |

4.5

Mariners Harbor

7 Jules Drive

$429,900

2 |

1.5

Annadale

14 Ibsen Avenue

$599,000

3 |

1.5

South Beach

142 Mclaughlin Street

$899,999

4 |

2.5

Annadale

58 Grantwood Avenue

$1,199,900

4 |

2.5

Park Hill

642 Richmond Road

$650,000

3 |

2.5

Arlington

68 South Avenue

$699,997

4 |

2.5

West Brighton

53 Pelton Avenue

$625,000

4 |

1.5

Oakwood

401 Isabella Avenue

$924,999

3 |

Shore Acres

186 Hope Avenue

$799,900

3 |

Annadale

246 Detroit Avenue

$1,225,000

4 |

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.