In Connecticut, towns are responsible for all local government activities, including fire and rescue, snow removal and schools.

New Haven County is merely a group of towns on a map, and has no specific government authority.

The county Sheriff system was abolished by voters and replaced by State Judicial Marshals in 2000.

Connecticut's eight historical counties continue to exist in name only, and are no longer considered for statistical purposes.

In 1722, most of northwestern Connecticut (except for the town of Litchfield) was placed under the jurisdiction of New Haven County.

Eight years later, in 1730, the eastern half of northwestern Connecticut was transferred to the jurisdiction of Hartford County.

By mid-1738, with the exception of the towns of New Milford, Sharon, and Salisbury, the entire territory of northwestern Connecticut was under Hartford County.

The terrain is mostly flat near the coast, with low hills defining the rest of the area, rising significantly only in the north of the county.

The highest elevation is close to the northernmost point in the county, found at two areas of approximately 1,050 feet (320 m) above sea level in the town of Wolcott.

Law enforcement within the geographic area of the county is provided by the respective town police departments.

Prior to 2000, a County Sheriff's Department existed for the purpose of executing judicial warrants, prisoner transport, and court security.

The western portions of Interstate 95 in Connecticut are known as the Connecticut Turnpike or the Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike in New Haven County and it crosses the state approximately parallel to U.S. Route 1.

With the cost of land so high along the Gold Coast, state lawmakers say they do not consider widening the highway to be fiscally feasible, although occasional stretches between entrances and nearby exits are now sometimes connected with a fourth "operational improvement" lane (for instance, westbound between the Exit 10 interchange in Darien and Exit 8 in Stamford).

Expect similar added lanes in Darien and elsewhere in the Fairfield County portion of the highway in the future, lawmakers and state Department of Transportation officials say.

It begins at the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge and terminates at the Berlin turnpike.

State officials say they hope the widening will not only benefit drivers regularly on the route but also entice some cars from the more crowded Interstate 95, which is roughly parallel to it.

Heavier trucks are unlikely to use Interstate 84 more often, however, because the route is much hillier than I-95 according to a state Department of Transportation official.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 862,477 people, 334,502 households, and 215,749 families residing in the county.

[16] In terms of ancestry, 24.0% were Italian, 17.5% were Irish, 9.3% were German, 8.5% were English, 7.6% were Polish, and 2.0% were American.

[19] The following income data is from the 2010 United States Census and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates:[20][21] The United States Office of Management and Budget has designated New Haven County as the New Haven-Milford, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area.

[22] The United States Census Bureau ranked the New Haven-Milford, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area as the 62nd most populous metropolitan statistical area of the United States as of July 1, 2012.

Secondary districts: Elementary districts: New Haven county serves as a center of advanced learning, with several noted educational institutions located within its borders centered on the city of New Haven.