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In the United States, an independent city is a city that is not in the territory of any county or counties and is considered a primary administrative division of its state.[1] 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 exists to this day, whereas an independent city was legally separated from any county or merged with a county that simultaneously ceased to exist even in name.[2]
Of the 41 independent U.S. cities,[3] 38 are in Virginia, whose state constitution makes them a special case. The three independent cities outside Virginia are Baltimore, Maryland; St. Louis, Missouri; and Carson City, Nevada. Baltimore is the most populous independent city in the United States.
- ^ States, Counties, and Statistically Equivalent Entities, from the United States Census Bureau
- ^ Cities 101 -- Consolidations, from National League of Cities
- ^ "Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas; Change Notice No. 7". 2001. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved May 27, 2006.