Village (Nebraska)
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In the United States, the meaning of village varies by geographic area and legal jurisdiction. In many areas, "village" is a term, sometimes informal, for a type of administrative division at the local government level. Since the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the federal government from legislating on local government, the states are free to have political subdivisions called "villages" or not to and to define the word in many ways. Typically, a village is a type of municipality, although it can also be a
special district Special district may refer to: * Certain districts of Ethiopia not part of a zone * Special district (United States) Special districts (also known as special service districts, special district governments, limited purpose entities, or special-pu ...
or an unincorporated area. It may or may not be recognized for governmental purposes. In informal usage, a U.S. village may be simply a relatively small clustered human settlement without formal legal existence. In colonial New England, a village typically formed around the meetinghouses that were located in the center of each town.Joseph S. Wood (2002),
The New England Village
', Johns Hopkins University Press
Many of these colonial settlements still exist as town centers. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution,
industrial village Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominat ...
s also sprang up around water-powered mills, mines, and factories. Because most New England villages were contained within the boundaries of legally established towns, many such villages were never separately incorporated as municipalities. A relatively small unincorporated community, similar to a hamlet in New York state, or even a relatively small community within an incorporated city or town, may be termed a village. 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. States that formally recognize villages vary widely in the definition of the term.2012 Census of Governments, Individual State Descriptions
(
PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
)
Most commonly, a village is either a
special district Special district may refer to: * Certain districts of Ethiopia not part of a zone * Special district (United States) Special districts (also known as special service districts, special district governments, limited purpose entities, or special-pu ...
or a municipality. As a municipality, a village may # differ from a city or town in terms of population; # differ from a city in terms of dependence on a township; or # be virtually equivalent to a city or town.


By state


Alaska

Under Article 10, Section 2 of the
Alaska Constitution The Constitution of the State of Alaska was ratified on April 4, 1956 and took effect with Alaska's admission to the United States as a U.S. state on January 3, 1959. History and background The statehood movement In the 1940s, the movement for ...
, as well as law enacted pursuant to the constitution, Alaska legally recognizes only cities and boroughs as municipal entities in Alaska. In Alaska, "village" is a colloquial term used to refer to small communities, which are mostly located in the rural areas of the state, often unconnected to the contiguous North American road system. Many of these communities are populated predominantly by
Alaska Natives Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a numbe ...
and are federally recognized as villages under the
Indian Reorganization Act The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...
and/or the
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) was signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 18, 1971, constituting at the time the largest land claims settlement in United States history. ANCSA was intended to resolve long-standing i ...
. As voting membership in the Alaska Municipal League is on an equal footing, regardless of population, most villages are incorporated as second-class cities. In common usage, however, these communities are thought of more often as villages than as cities.


Connecticut

Village districts are subordinate agencies of municipal governments rather than municipalities in their own right.


Delaware

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


Florida

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


Idaho

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


Illinois

A village is a type of
incorporated municipality A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...
in Illinois; the other two types are the
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and the incorporated town. All incorporated municipalities, regardless of type, are independent of each other, and cannot overlap. Villages can be created by referendum under the general state law or by special state charter. The governing body is a board of six elected trustees and an elected village president, all of whom are usually elected
at-large At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...
.


Louisiana

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


Maine

In Maine, village corporations or village improvement corporations are special districts established in
towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
for limited purposes.


Maryland

In Maryland, a locality designated "Village of ..." may be either an incorporated town or a special tax district. An example of the latter is the Village of Friendship Heights. The distinction is legally relevant to the level of police power that a village may exercise.


Michigan

In Michigan, villages differ from cities in that, whereas villages remain part of the townships in which they are formed, thereby reducing their home-rule powers, cities are not part of townships. Because of this, village governments are required to share some of the responsibilities to their residents with the township.


Minnesota

Villages that existed in Minnesota as of January 1, 1974, became cities, which may operate under general municipal law ("statutory city") or adopt a charter for itself to become a charter city.


Mississippi

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


Missouri

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


Nebraska

In Nebraska, a village is a municipality of 100 through 800 inhabitants, whereas a city must have at least 800 inhabitants. In counties having townships, all villages, but only some cities, are within township areas. A city of the second class (800-5,000 inhabitants) may elect to revert to village status.


New Hampshire

In New Hampshire, 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 New Jersey local government, refers to one of five types and one of eleven forms of municipal government. Villages in New Jersey are of equal standing to other municipalities, such as cities, towns, boroughs, and townships


New Mexico

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


New York

In
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, a village is an incorporated area that differs from a
city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
in that a village is within the jurisdiction of one or more
towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...
, whereas a city is independent of a town. Villages thus have less autonomy than cities. A village is usually, but not always, within a single town. A village may be coterminous with, and have a consolidated government with, a 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; Hempstead, 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. Present law requires a minimum of 500 residents to incorporate as a village.


North Carolina

The municipalities in North Carolina are cities, towns, and villages. There are no significant differences in legal power or status.


Ohio

In Ohio, a village is an incorporated municipality with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, excluding residents of educational or correctional facilities. The minimum population for incorporation as a village is 1,600 inhabitants, but this was not always the case, resulting in many very small villages. If an existing village's population surpasses 5,000 at a federal census, or if a village comes to have more than 5,000 resident registered voters, it is automatically designated as a city. Cities or villages may be located within township areas; however, if a city or village becomes coterminous with a township, the township ceases to exist as a separate government (see Paper township).


Oklahoma

In
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, unincorporated communities are called villages and are not counted as governments.


Oregon

In Oregon, the municipal governments are cities, towns, and villages, although there is no significance in their legal powers or status. Also, one county —
Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Native ...
— permits the organization of unincorporated areas into villages and hamlets. The boards of such entities are advisory to the county.Quick Facts About Hamlets & Villages
(from the Web site of Clackamas County, Oregon)


Texas

In Texas, 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 Vermont, villages are named communities located within the boundaries of a legally established town, unlike cities, which are outside of any town area. Villages may be incorporated or unincorporated.


West Virginia

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


Wisconsin

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


References

{{reflist Political terminology of the United States