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Independent cities are classified by the United States Census Bureau as "county equivalents" and may also have similar governmental powers to a consolidated city-county or a unitary authority. However, in the case of a consolidated city-county, a city and a county were merged into a unified jurisdiction in which the county at least nominally ...
Virginia is divided into 95 counties and 38 cities. All cities are independent cities, which mean that they are separate from, and independent of, any county they may be near or within. Cities in Virginia thus are the equivalent of counties, as they have no higher local government intervening between them and the state government.
The three independent cities outside Virginia are Baltimore, Maryland; St. Louis, Missouri; and Carson City, Nevada. New York City displays many features associated with independent cities but is, in fact, a sui generis municipality that is coextensive with five counties. Counties invariably are administrative divisions of state government.
In these cities, which the United States Census Bureau calls "consolidated cities", statistics are recorded both for the entire consolidated government and for the component municipalities. A part of the consolidated government is called the "balance", which the Census Bureau defines as "the consolidated city minus the semi-independent ...
The United States Census counts government units across all States. This includes "special districts". To count the special districts the Census must define the special districts so as to address all such governmental entities across the broad spectrum of 50 states' definitions and interpretations. The Census's full definition is: [3]
Virginia counties and cities by year of establishment. The Commonwealth of Virginia is divided into 95 counties, along with 38 independent cities that are considered county-equivalents for census purposes, totaling 133 second-level subdivisions. In Virginia, cities are co-equal levels of government to counties, but towns are part of counties.
The smallest counties and county equivalents (in the 50 states) are the independent cities of Virginia with the extreme being Falls Church at 2.05 sq mi (5.3 km 2; 1,310 acres). [8] If the U.S. territories are included, the smallest county-equivalent is Kingman Reef , with a land area of 0.012 square miles (3.1 ha; 7.7 acres).
Most older cities are independent cities. In practice, many cities today are hybrids of both. For instance, they may directly operate parks programs, but contract with the county for police and fire services. Most contract cities do their own land use planning, since they were usually incorporated to exert local control over land use.