Village (United States)

In the United States, a  is a term, sometimes informal, for a type of at the  level. Since the makes local government for the most part a matter for the  rather than the federal government, the states are free to have political subdivisions called "villages," or not to do so, and to define the word in many different ways. Typically, a village is a type of, although it can also be a or an. It may or may not be recognized for governmental purposes.

Informal usage
Village is sometimes informally used to refer to a relatively small, similar to a in New York state, or even to a relatively small community in an incorporated city or town. This informal usage may be found even in states that have villages as an incorporated municipality and is similar to the usage of the term "unincorporated town" in states having town governments.

Formal usage
States that formally recognize villages vary widely in the definition of the term. Most commonly, a village is either a or a municipality. As municipalities, a village may
 * 1) differ from a city or town in terms of population;
 * 2) differ from a city in terms of dependence on a ; or
 * 3) be virtually equivalent to a city or town.

Alaska
While municipalities in are not called villages, Alaska native villages are recognized under the.

Although not officially called villages, the natives and Alaska residents refer to most small towns as villages.

Delaware
Municipalities in are called cities, towns, or villages. There are no differences among them that would affect their classification for census purposes.

Florida
Municipalities in are called cities, towns, or villages. They are not differentiated for census purposes.

Idaho
All municipalites in are called cities, although the terms "town" and "village" are sometimes used in statutes.

Illinois
Municipalities in are called cities, towns, or villages. There are no differences among them that would affect their classification for census purposes; however, villages are governed by a rather than a. The minumum population requirement for incorporation as a city is 2,500; for villages, it depends on various factors including the population of the county.

Louisiana
A village in is a municipality having a population of 1,000 or fewer.

Maine
In, village corporations or village improvement corporations are established in  for limited purposes.

Maryland
In, a locality designated "Village of ..." may be either an incorporated town or a. An example of the latter is the.

Michigan
In, villages differ from cities in that whereas villages remain part of the in which they are formed, cities are not part of townships.

Minnesota
Villages that existed in as of January 1, 1974, became statutory cities, as opposed to charter cities. Cities may or may not exist within township areas.

Mississippi
A village in is a municipality of 100 to 299 inhabitants. They may no longer be created.

Missouri
The municipalities of are cities, towns, and villages. Unlike cities and towns, villages have no minimum population requirement.

Nebraska
In, a village is a municipality of 100 through 800 inhabitants, whereas a city must have at least 800 inhabitants. All villages, but only some cities, are within township areas. A city of the second class (800-4,999 inhabitants) may elect to revert to village status.

New Hampshire
In, a village district or precinct may be organized within a town. Such a village district or precinct is a special district with limited powers.

New Jersey
A village in the context of local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. Villages, like other municipalities, are not part of a.

New Mexico
The municipalities in are cities, towns, and villages. There are no differences among them that would affect their classification for census purposes.

New York
In, a village is an incorporated area that differs from a in that while a village is within one or more , a city is not. Villages have less autonomy than cities.

A village is usually, but not always, within a single town. A village is a clearly defined municipality that provides the services closest to the residents, such as garbage collection, street and highway maintenance, street lighting and building codes. Some villages provide their own police and other optional services. Those municipal services not provided by the village are provided by the town or towns containing the village. As of the 2000 census, there are 553 villages in New York.

There is no limit to the population of a village in New York;, the largest village in the state, has 55,000 residents, making it more populous than some of the state's cities. However, villages in the state may not exceed five square miles (13 km²) in area.

North Carolina
The municipalities in are cities, towns, and villages. There are no differences among them that would affect their classification for census purposes.

Ohio
In, a village is an incorporated municipality with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. Today, the minimum population for incorporation is 1,600 inhabitants. Upon reaching this population, the municipality is automatically designated as a city. After it was designed a city, however, changed its name to "The Village of Indian Hill". Cities or villages may be within township areas; however, if a city or village becomes coterminous with a township, the township ceases to exist as a separate government.

Oklahoma
In, are called villages and are not counted as governments.

Oregon
In, one county &mdash; &mdash; permits the organization of s into villages and hamlets. The boards of such entities are advisory to the county.

Texas
In, villages may be Type B or Type C municipalities, but not Type A municipalities. The types differ in terms of population and in terms of the forms of government that they may adopt.

Vermont
In, while cities are outside of areas, villages are incorporated municipalities within such areas.

West Virginia
In, towns and villages are Class IV municipalities, i.e., having 2,000 or fewer inhabitants.

Wisconsin
In, cities and villages are both outside the area of any. Cities and villages differ in terms of the population and population density required for incorporation.