What is the difference between a county, a city, a township and a school district?

#One address, several governments

Picture a house in a small city. The county may keep property records and run the jail, while the city repairs streets and runs the police department. A school district may run the public schools, and a fire district or water district may serve the same block. Each of these may have its own board, its own budget and, often, its own power to tax.

#The five kinds the Census Bureau counts

The US Census Bureau counted 91,438 local governments in 2025 and sorts them into five types:

• Counties: 3,031, including what Louisiana calls parishes and the boroughs of Alaska.
• Municipalities, such as cities, villages and boroughs: 19,489.
• Towns and townships: 16,184, mostly in the Northeast and Midwest. The 2022 count found them in 20 states.
• Independent school districts: 12,535.
• Special districts for services such as fire protection, water or libraries: 40,199.

#Who leads each one

Most counties are run by an elected board, such as a board of commissioners or supervisors. Some counties also have a county executive, who may be elected or appointed. Many counties elect officers such as a sheriff, clerk or treasurer. A city or town may have a strong mayor, a council that hires a professional manager, or another form its charter sets. School boards usually hire the superintendent and control the district budget.

#No single national chart

Local government looks different from state to state. For example, Connecticut and Rhode Island have no county governments, and Philadelphia’s city and county have merged into one government. In Alaska, Hawaii, Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia, public schools are run by the state, a county or a city instead of an independent school district. Your state’s laws and your local charter set who does what where you live.