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This is a list of counties and county-equivalents of the United States situated entirely or predominantly on islands. The United States of America is composed of 50 states, a federal district, 5 inhabited U.S. territories, and 9 minor outlying islands, which are in turn divided into counties or county-equivalents (parishes, boroughs, independent cities, census divisions, municipalities, or districts). However, within the 50 states, only a small fraction of those are situated entirely on islands.
The 100 county-equivalents in the U.S. territories (such as Puerto Rico) are all entirely on islands — they are listed separately. Including the 100-county equivalents in the U.S. territories, there are 123 counties in the U.S. that are all or partly on islands (out of a total of 3,242 counties). [note 1]
State | Body of water | County | Seat | Population (2015) | Island(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alaska | Pacific Ocean | Aleutians West [1] | None [1] | 5,702 [2] | Aleutian Islands, Pribilof Islands |
Gulf of Alaska | Kodiak Island | Kodiak | 13,889 | Afognak Island, Chirikof Island, Kodiak Island and surrounding islands, Semidi Islands Small part situated on the mainland. | |
Sitka | Sitka | 8,863 | Baranof Island, Chichagof Island Consolidated city-county | ||
Prince of Wales–Hyder | None [1] | 6,341 | Annette Island, Prince of Wales Island and surrounding islands The community of Hyder is an exclave situated on the mainland. | ||
Florida | Gulf of Mexico | Monroe | Key West | 77,482 | Florida Keys While most of the county is situated on the mainland, almost all of the population lives on islands. |
Hawaii | Pacific Ocean | Hawaii | Hilo | 196,428 | Island of Hawaii Hawaii is the only state situated entirely on islands. [note 2] |
Honolulu | Honolulu | 998,714 | Oahu, Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Consolidated city-county | ||
Kalawao | None [3] | 89 | Molokai | ||
Kauai | Lihue | 71,735 | Kauai, Niihau, Kaʻula, Lehua | ||
Maui | Wailuku | 164,637 | Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Molokini | ||
Massachusetts | Atlantic Ocean | Dukes | Edgartown | 17,356 | Martha's Vineyard, Elizabeth Islands, Nomans Land |
Nantucket | Nantucket | 10,172 | Nantucket Island, Muskeget Island, Tuckernuck Island Consolidated city-county | ||
Michigan | Lake Superior | Keweenaw | Eagle River | 2,168 | Keweenaw Peninsula, Isle Royale, Manitou Island The Keweenaw Waterway, which is partly natural, partly manmade and was created in the 1960s, divides the Keweenaw Peninsula in half and forms an island from the northern part. Keweenaw County is situated entirely on this "island". |
New York | Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound | Kings | None [4] | 2,636,735 | Long Island and neighboring small islands Conterminous with Brooklyn, a borough of New York City |
Nassau | Mineola | 1,361,350 | Long Island, Barnum Island, Jones Beach Island, Long Beach Barrier Island, other neighboring small islands | ||
Hudson River, East River | New York | None [4] | 1,644,518 | Manhattan Island, part of Ellis Island, Governors Island, Liberty Island, Randalls and Wards Islands, Roosevelt Island A small part (Marble Hill) is situated on the mainland. Conterminous with Manhattan, a borough of New York City. | |
Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound | Queens | None [4] | 2,339,150 | Long Island and neighboring small islands Conterminous with Queens, a borough of New York City | |
Lower New York Bay, Arthur Kill | Richmond | None [4] | 474,558 | Staten Island, Prall's Island, other small surrounding islands Conterminous with Staten Island, a borough of New York City | |
Atlantic Ocean, Long Island Sound | Suffolk | Riverhead | 1,501,587 | Long Island, Fire Island, Gardiners Island, Robins Island, Shelter Island, and other neighboring small islands | |
Rhode Island | Narragansett Bay | Newport | Newport | 82,243 | Aquidneck Island, Conanicut Island, Prudence Island, surrounding small islands Part of the county is situated on the mainland. The majority of the population resides on Aquidneck Island. |
Vermont | Lake Champlain | Grand Isle | North Hero | 6,861 | Grand Isle, Isle La Motte, North Hero Island, numerous smaller islands A part of the county is situated on the mainland. |
Washington | Puget Sound | Island | Coupeville | 80,593 | Camano Island, Whidbey Island, seven smaller islands |
San Juan | Friday Harbor | 16,252 | San Juan Islands |
The U.S. territories contain the following 100 county-equivalents, all of which are on islands: [5] [6]
American Samoa has 14 "counties", but these entities are not counted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Instead, American Samoa is divided into 5 county-equivalents — all of them in the Samoan Islands (except for Swains Island, which is part of the Tokelau island chain).
Body of water: South Pacific Ocean
The entire island of Guam is counted as one county-equivalent by the U.S. Census Bureau. Guam is at the southern end of the Mariana Islands chain.
Body of water: Western Pacific Ocean
The Northern Mariana Islands is divided into 4 county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau (the 4 municipalities) — all of them are in the Mariana Islands: [note 3]
Body of water: Western Pacific Ocean
The 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico are counted as county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau. All of these county-equivalents are on islands. Most are on the main island of Puerto Rico, but some are on other islands, such as Culebra and Vieques.
Body of water: Caribbean Sea
The U.S. Virgin Islands is divided into 3 county-equivalents: the 3 main islands. Some minor islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands (such as Water Island) are grouped administratively with one of the three main islands.
Body of water: Caribbean Sea
The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands is divided into 9 county-equivalents [6] (8 island groups in the Pacific Ocean, and one island in the Caribbean Sea) — none of these islands have a permanent human population, though some (such as Wake Island) have temporary populations:
Body of water: Pacific Ocean (except Navassa Island, which is in the Caribbean Sea)
United States Minor Outlying Islands is a statistical designation defined by the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166-1 code. The entry code is ISO 3166-2:UM. The minor outlying islands and groups of islands consist of eight United States insular areas in the Pacific Ocean and one in the Caribbean Sea.
In the United States, a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic region with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term "county" is used in 48 U.S. states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes and boroughs, respectively.
A minor civil division (MCD) is a term used by the United States Census Bureau for primary governmental and/or administrative divisions of a county or county-equivalent, typically a municipal government such as a city, town, or civil township. MCDs are used for statistical purposes by the Census Bureau, and do not necessarily represent the primary form of local government. They range from non-governing geographical survey areas to municipalities with weak or strong powers of self-government. Some states with large unincorporated areas give substantial powers to counties; others have smaller or larger incorporated entities with governmental powers that are smaller than the MCD level chosen by the Census.
This article contains links to lists of hospitals in the United States, including U.S. States, the District, insular areas, and outlying islands. Links to more detailed state lists are shown. According to a report by the Sheps Center for Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina in 2017, 79 mostly rural hospitals have closed since 2010, mostly across the Southern United States.
In 45 of the 50 states of the United States, the county is used for the level of local government immediately below the state itself. Louisiana uses parishes, and Alaska uses boroughs. In Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, some or all counties within states have no governments of their own; the counties continue to exist as legal entities, however, and are used by states for some administrative functions and by the United States Census bureau for statistical analysis. There are 3,242 counties and county equivalent administrative units in total, including the District of Columbia and 100 county-equivalents in the U.S. territories.
In the law of the United States, an insular area refers to U.S.-associated jurisdictions not part of the 50 states or the District of Columbia. This includes fourteen U.S. territories administered under U.S. sovereignty, as well as three sovereign states each with a Compact of Free Association with the United States. The term also may be used to refer to the previous status of the Philippine Islands and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands when it existed.
Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the U.S. federal government. The various U.S. territories differ from the U.S. states and Native American tribes in that they are not sovereign entities. In contrast, each state has a sovereignty separate from that of the federal government and each federally recognized Native American tribe possesses limited tribal sovereignty as a "dependent sovereign nation". Territories are classified by incorporation and whether they have an "organized" government through an organic act passed by the Congress. U.S. territories are under U.S. sovereignty and, consequently, may be treated as part of the United States proper in some ways and not others. Unincorporated territories in particular are not considered to be integral parts of the United States, and the Constitution of the United States applies only partially in those territories.
The Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) is a unit of the United States Department of the Interior that oversees federal administration of several United States insular areas. It is the successor to the Bureau of Insular Affairs of the War Department, which administered certain territories from 1902 to 1939, and the Office of Territorial Affairs in the Interior Department, which was responsible for certain territories from the 1930s to the 1990s. The word "insular" comes from the Latin word insula ("island").
Title 48 of the United States Code outlines the role of United States territories and insular areas in the United States Code.
The following outline is provided as an overview and topical guide to Oceania.
The Manuʻa District is one of the three primary administrative divisions of American Samoa. The district comprises the Manuʻa Islands, which are located approximately 61 miles east of the main island, Tutuila. The Manuʻa District is considered to be a county-equivalent by the U.S. Census Bureau.