Independent city (United States)

[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.

[2] Of the 41 independent U.S. cities,[3] 38 are in Virginia, whose state constitution makes them a special case.

Virginia's thirty-eight independent cities are not politically part of a county, even though geographically they may be completely surrounded by one.

[4] Some other Virginia municipalities, even though they may be more populous than some existing independent cities, are incorporated towns.

Additionally, Elizabeth City County, which was originally part of the older Elizabeth Cittie, became extinct in 1952 when it was consolidated politically by mutual consent with the small City of Hampton, its county seat, and the Town of Phoebus.