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Consolidated city-county government

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A consolidated city-county is the "formal joining of a city (or cities) with a surrounding county government," according to the National League of Cities.[1] The new, unified government assumes the responsibilities of the former governments. For example, instead of having both a county council and a city council, most consolidated city-counties have one governing council for the entire jurisdiction as well as one chief executive, such as a mayor.[1]

There are often other governmental bodies within the consolidated city-county that remain autonomous, such as school boards and special districts. The prior jurisdictions that formed a consolidated city-county may also continue to exist even after the new consolidated city-county takes on all governmental responsibilities.[1]

This page contains:

List of consolidated city-counties

The table below lists consolidated city-counties in the United States as well as which state they are in, their population, and their type of government.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Check out our methodology section below for information on how city-counties were added to this list.

Consolidated city-counties
CityCountyStatePopulationGovernment typeYear consolidated
AnchorageAnchorage BoroughAlaska291,247Hybrid1975[7]
HainesHaines BoroughAlaska2,080Council-manager2002[8]
JuneauJuneau BoroughAlaska32,255Council-manager1970[9]
SitkaSitka BoroughAlaska8,458Hybrid1971[10]
WrangellWrangell BoroughAlaska2,127Council-manager2008[11]
YakutatYakutat BoroughAlaska657Hybrid1992[12]
San FranciscoSan Francisco CountyCalifornia873,965Strong mayor1856[13]
BroomfieldBroomfield CountyColorado74,112Council-manager2001[14]
DenverDenver CountyColorado715,522Strong mayor1902[15]
JacksonvilleDuval CountyFlorida949,611Strong mayor1968[16]
AthensClarke CountyGeorgia128,671Council-manager1990[17]
AugustaRichmond CountyGeorgia206,607Council-manager1996[18]
ColumbusMuscogee CountyGeorgia206,922Council-manager1971[19]
CussetaChattahoochee CountyGeorgia9,565City commission2003[20]
GeorgetownQuitman CountyGeorgia2,235Council-manager2006[20]
MaconBibb CountyGeorgia157,346Council-manager2014[21]
PrestonWebster CountyGeorgia2,348City commission2009[22]
StatenvilleEchols CountyGeorgia3,697City commission2008[23]
HonoluluHonolulu CountyHawaii350,964Strong mayor1907[24]
IndianapolisMarion CountyIndiana897,041Strong mayor1970[25]
Kansas CityWyandotte CountyKansas156,607Council-manager1997[26]
TribuneGreeley CountyKansas1,182City commission2009[27]
LexingtonFayette CountyKentucky322,570Strong mayor1974[28]
LouisvilleJefferson CountyKentucky782,969Strong mayor2003[29]
Baton RougeEast Baton Rouge ParishLouisiana227,470Strong mayor1947[30]
LafayetteLafayette ParishLouisiana241,753Strong mayor1996[31]
New OrleansOrleans ParishLouisiana383,997Strong mayor1805[32]
HoumaTerrebonne ParishLouisiana109,580Strong mayor1984[33]
BostonSuffolk CountyMassachusetts675,647Strong mayor1999[34]
NantucketNantucket CountyMassachusetts14,255Council-managerUnknown
AnacondaDeer Lodge CountyMontana9,421Strong mayor1977[35]
ButteSilver Bow CountyMontana35,133Strong mayor1977[36]
Los AlamosLos Alamos CountyNew Mexico19,419Council-manager1969[37]
CamdenCamden CountyNorth Carolina10,355Council-manager2006[38]
PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia CountyPennsylvania1,603,797Strong mayor1854[39]
HartsvilleTrousdale CountyTennessee11,615Strong mayor2001[40]
LynchburgMoore CountyTennessee6,461Strong mayor1988[41]
NashvilleDavidson CountyTennessee715,884Strong mayor1963[42]

Methodology

City-counties were included in the table above if they were formed by a formal joining or merging of at least one city and one county. Independent cities were not included. In independent cities, the city is governmentally independent of any county organization and is not considered to reside within the boundaries of any county. Because of this, a county cannot exist within an independent city. In consolidated city-counties, both the city and the county still exist despite sharing a government. The United States Census Bureau considers independent cities as equivalent to counties.[43][44]

Cities that became counties (or equivalent jurisdictions) were also not included in the table above. In those cases, the former city was dissolved and a larger entity was created to reflect the type of government needed. There was no consolidation.

Process to consolidate a city and county

Most consolidation processes include some or all of the following steps:[1]

  • Putting the consolidation to a vote via a ballot initiative for the residents of the proposed city-county.
  • Getting approval for the consolidation from the state legislature.
  • Drafting a charter to define the new consolidated government structure.

Most (75%) consolidation efforts since 1970 have been rejected at the ballot. Successful consolidations often go through multiple ballot initiative attempts.[1]

List of state ballot measures related to city-county consolidation

The table below lists state-level ballot measures that were related to city-county consolidation as well as which states they were in, their election date, their status, yes and no votes, and a summary of the measure.

Consolidated city-counties
Ballot measureStateElection dateStatusYes votesNo votesMeasure summary
California Proposition 5, City and County Government Consolidation Amendment (1918)CaliforniaNovember 5, 1918Approved195,998183,610Authorize counties with populations of 200,000 or more to make charters for consolidated city and county governments.
Oregon Measure Nos. 304-305, Allowing County and City Consolidation Amendment (1914)OregonNovember 3, 1914Defeated77,392103,194Permit county-city consolidation in a county that contains a city with over 100,000 inhabitants.
Oregon Measure Nos. 312-313, City Consolidation within County Amendment (June 1927)OregonJune 28, 1927Defeated41,30957,613Allow cities with a population over 100,000 situated within a county to consolidate in that county.
Oregon Measure 5, City-County Government Consolidations Amendment (1968)OregonNovember 5, 1968Approved393,789278,483Provide for the consolidation of city-county governments in counties with a city population of over 300,000.
Georgia Amendment 6, City and County Government Consolidation Measure (1924)GeorgiaNovember 4, 1924Approved64,91823,673Allow city and county governments to be consolidated when a city has a population of more than 52,900
Montana Consolidation of City and County Governments, Amendment 2 (1922)MontanaNovember 7, 1922Approved67,24950,178Authorize the legislature to consolidate any city and county governments under one municipal government.

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 National League of Cities, "Cities 101 — Consolidations," accessed May 29, 2025
  2. ↑ Historical gazeteer of the United States, "New Mexico," accessed May 30, 2025
  3. ↑ Camden County, North Carolina, "County of Opportunity," accessed May 30, 2025
  4. ↑ Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, "About WyCo & KCK," accessed May 30, 2025
  5. ↑ Unified Greeley County, Kansas, "Government," accessed May 30, 2025
  6. ↑ State of Alaska, "Certificate of Incorporation of the City and Borough of Wrangell," accessed May 30, 2025
  7. ↑ Municipality of Anchorage, "The Municipality of Anchorage: A Brief Overview," accessed June 10, 2025
  8. ↑ Haines Borough, "Haines History," accessed June 10, 2025
  9. ↑ City and Borough of Juneau, "History of Juneau: An Outline History of Juneau Municipal Government," accessed June 10, 2025
  10. ↑ Home Rule Charter of the City and Borough of Sitka, "Article I: Name, Boundaries and Powers," accessed June 10, 2025
  11. ↑ City and Borough of Wrangell, Alaska, "Borough Entitlement Lands," accessed June 10, 2025
  12. ↑ Southeast Conference, "Yakutat City and Borough," accessed June 10, 2025
  13. ↑ National Municipal Review, "San Francisco: A pioneer in the consolidation movement," March 1941
  14. ↑ City and County of Broomfield, Colorado, "Constitutional Amendment," accessed June 10, 2025
  15. ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Denver, Colorado, United States" accessed June 10, 2025
  16. ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Jacksonville, Florida, United States" accessed June 10, 2025
  17. ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Athens, Georgia, United States," accessed June 10, 2025
  18. ↑ Augusta, Georgia, "History," accessed June 10, 2025
  19. ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Columbus, Georgia, United States," accessed June 10, 2025
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 United States Census Bureau, "Georgia," accessed June 10, 2025
  21. ↑ 13 WMAZ, "Former Macon-Bibb leaders react to decade since consolidation," January 3, 2024
  22. ↑ New Georgia Encyclopedia, "Webster County," accessed June 10, 2025
  23. ↑ WALB News 10, "Echols County consolidates Governments," July 16, 2008
  24. ↑ City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, "History of Honolulu," accessed June 10, 2025
  25. ↑ Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, "Structure of Unigov," accessed June 10, 2025
  26. ↑ Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, "What does it mean to be a consolidated City/County Government?" June 10, 2025
  27. ↑ Unified Greeley County, Kansas, "Home," accessed June 10, 2025
  28. ↑ Lexington, Kentucky, "Lexington to commemorate 50th anniversary of merged government," January 19, 2024
  29. ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Louisville, Kentucky, United States," accessed June 10, 2025
  30. ↑ City of Baton Rouge, Parish of East Baton Rouge, "Our Government," accessed June 10, 2025
  31. ↑ Lafayette Consolidated Government, "Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Year Ended October 31, 2024," accessed June 10, 2025
  32. ↑ Governing, "Cities, Counties and the Urge to Merge," September 27, 2012
  33. ↑ Terrbonne Parish Consolidated Government, "Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the Year Ended December 31, 2019," accessed June 11, 2025
  34. ↑ Kantrovitz & Associates P.C., "Suffolk County, Massachusetts," accessed June 11, 2025
  35. ↑ Montana State University, "Deer Lodge County," accessed June 11, 2025
  36. ↑ The City-County of Butte-Silver Bow, "History & Culture," accessed June 11, 2025
  37. ↑ Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States," accessed June 11, 2025
  38. ↑ Camden County, North Carolina, "Camden's History," accessed June 11, 2025
  39. ↑ The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, "Consolidation Act of 1854," accessed June 10, 2025
  40. ↑ Trousdale County, Tennessee, "Government," accessed June 11, 2025
  41. ↑ The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, "About Us," accessed June 11, 2025
  42. ↑ Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, "History of Metropolitan Nashville Government," accessed June 10, 2025
  43. ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Terms and Definitions," accessed May 29, 2025
  44. ↑ United States Census Bureau, "States, Counties, and Statistically Equivalent Entities," accessed May 29, 2025
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