Why Connecticut Got Rid Of Its Counties

Connecticut has gradually stripped its counties of their power and role over time, culminating in two separate events: one in 1960 and another in 2022. This was done to remove an outdated form of government, which had largely been supplanted by towns. Counties were established very early on in Connecticut's history, but entered a long period of decline culminating in their gradual dissolution as power moved from the county to the hyper local level. To tell that story, we have to turn back to the origin of Connecticut.

History

Connecticut was initially settled by the Dutch in 1633, before being replaced by the English which established several settlements including Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford. In 1639, Connecticut became a major trend setter by writing the Fundamental Orders, the first written constitution in the colonies, earning the state the nickname The Constitution State.

By 1666, the colony had grown enough to justify the creation of several counties. These were Fairfield, Hartford, New Haven, and New London. Four other counties were added in the 1700s, including Windham, Litchfield, Middlesex, and Tolland, bringing the total to 8 by 1785.

The reason for this division was primarily for judicial purposes, specifically making management of courts and jails more efficient. However, the county's power at this time was limited, as it could only handle minor misdemeanors and civil cases. They also maintained libraries for the Connecticut Bar Association to aid lawyers.

Other duties included handling liquor licenses, building bridges and roads within county limits and providing funds for agricultural expansion. They could gain fees from liquor licenses, a share of the state's unincorporated business tax, along with interest and grants to pay for imprisoned people.

The decline of counties

The first major interruption to county authority came in 1855 with the abolition of all county courts, and their transfer to a state run Superior Court. The counties merely maintained the courthouses. The state did have to establish smaller Courts of Common Pleas to handle the volume of cases.

However, this was not the end for counties, as in the 1880s, counties were given key expanded authorities. First, they were given charge for caring for abandoned children by maintaining group homes. They also gained an expanded ability to gather funds by levying a county tax. However, this was not a direct tax, but instead was a levy on every town or city in the county. Each county was allowed to set its own tax rate.

The state held much power over the county governments, including the ability to rework its structure and powers, and over the 20th century, they took over much of its responsibilities including maintaining roads, bicycle paths, and other features. In addition, Prohibition stripped the county of its ability to issue and collect fees for liquor licenses. Even when the 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition, Connecticut chose to transfer liquor license and fees to its own Liquor Control Commission.

The 1960 abolition of county governments

By 1959, the counties had lost all authority save for maintaining jails, courthouse building and serving as an arbiter for disputes and some trust funds. That same year, the Connecticut General Assembly passed Public Act 152, which took effect in 1960. This act abolished county governments completely.

Connecticut's official website noted that the reasoning behind this act was multifaceted. For one, counties had been restricted since the 18th century, for another, state and local governments had a longer history, dating back to at least 1634. Lastly, the fact that counties had never held significant power in the first place made them largely redundant.

However, the counties did not completely disappear, they remained as organizational zones until a few years ago.

2022: The renaming of counties

The eight counties held no power at all, and were just lines on a map for 60 years. The abolition of counties did have some unexpected consequences. For example, Connecticut receives significantly less in federal funding than it pays out in the form of federal taxes. Although part of this is due to its smaller number of residents on Medicaid or government contractors, another reason is because many US federal grant programs are structured to give funds to county-level governments.

In 2019, the state made a request to the US Census Bureau to transform its outdated counties into nine planning regions, also called Regional Councils of Government. With these planning regions, municipalities can work together on issues and coordinate programs, without interrupting any local or state power.

This change was approved in 2022 by the Census Bureau, establishing Northwest Hills, Western, Naugatuck Valley, Metropolitan, South Central, Capitol, Lower Connecticut River Valley, Southeastern, and Northeastern planning areas. These county equivalents can be redrawn or redesignated as needed by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management.

These regional areas can also apply for federal grants.

Fred Carstensen, director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis at the University of Connecticut, stated that this move was a "win-win." in an interview with WSHU Public Radio. Carstensen also stated, "Connecticut has historically had one of the worst balance-of-payments with the federal government of any state — in part because we didn't have the political entities like counties, which could secure significant amounts of federal money."

Did funding increase in Connecticut?

Receiving federal funding is not merely a matter of asking, it also depends on the administration. Historically, federal funding will vary based on an administration's focus.

According to Lost Funds, a new tracking tool released by two nonpartisan pro-democracy organizations, the state of Connecticut has received close to $2 billion less in federal funding under the Trump administration, out of an expected total of $4 billion, as of 2026.

For example, about $341 million in disaster relief funds were disrupted by slowdowns, although Connecticut was able to secure $15 million in federal emergency relief funds in October, 2026 to reimburse its Department of Transportation for repairs to roads and bridges in western Connecticut following a major flood.

As of 2026, Connecticut is one of 26 states suing over conditions the Trump administration attached to federal disaster-preparedness funds.

What other states don't have counties?

Louisiana uses parishes instead of counties due to its history as a major Catholic region, while Alaska uses boroughs to enable maximum local autonomy and prevent overlapping tax regions. Rhode Island has no county governments, and Massachusetts removed its county governments for 8 of its 14 counties, with only the ones on the southeastern section of the state still operating.

The National Association of Counties notes that counties have a long history in America, with their origins in shires in Virginia in 1634. However, as Connecticut demonstrates, leaving counties as they are can remove their relevance, and require additional measures such as centralizing authority under the state government or creating new county equivalents that serve a more collaborative purpose to bring together towns in the same geographic region for projects.

While Connecticut still has no official county governments, it does recognize the power of organization beyond the town level, as its regional councils demonstrate.