Village (United States)

In the United States, the meaning of village varies by geographic area and legal jurisdiction.

In formal usage, a "village" is 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 or an unincorporated area.

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.

States that formally recognize villages vary widely in the definition of the term.

[3] 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.

As voting membership in the Alaska Municipal League is on an equal footing, regardless of population, most villages are incorporated as second-class cities.

[2] In Maryland, a locality designated "Village of ..." may be either an incorporated town or a special tax district.

[2] The distinction is legally relevant to the level of police power that a village may exercise.

Villages in New Jersey are of equal standing to other municipalities, such as cities, towns, boroughs, and townships.

[2] In Ohio, a village is an incorporated municipality with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants, excluding residents of educational or correctional facilities.

In Oregon, the municipal governments are cities, towns, and villages, although there is no significance in their legal powers or status.

[2] In Virginia, a village is defined as a tract of land with more than 300 people where livestock are not allowed to roam free.

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