Township (United States) - Usage By State

Usage By State

Because township government is defined by each state, the use of this form also varies by state. States using a township form include the following:

• Township government is used in Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wisconsin (in Wisconsin known as towns).
• The form is used in parts of Illinois and also in Nebraska, where they are sometimes referred to as precincts. Two cases of this use of terminology are Edwards and Wabash counties in Illinois.
• The New England states have a similar concept of local government, but combine the municipal and area government forms into a town; this is the locus of the town meeting. These states are Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. New York also has incorporated townships, called towns, although they have fewer powers than New England towns.
• Some states formerly used township governments, or have some vestige of named townships. These include Arkansas, California, Iowa, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Washington.