States where people have a high affinity or pride for the counties they live in

[KCRoadFan]

I've heard that in Kentucky, many people are particularly proud of whatever county they live in, to a greater extent than is true of most other states. Are there any other states that, in your opinion or experience, have a similar amount of "county pride" among their residents? I think that phenomenon is also somewhat prevalent in West Virginia. (Perhaps it's largely an Appalachian thing - maybe HB Elkins can verify.) Anyway, what do you think?

[Rothman]

I've heard that in Kentucky, many people are particularly proud of whatever county they live in, to a greater extent than is true of most other states. Are there any other states that, in your opinion or experience, have a similar amount of "county pride" among their residents? I think that phenomenon is also somewhat prevalent in West Virginia. (Perhaps it's largely an Appalachian thing - maybe HB Elkins can verify.) Anyway, what do you think?

Mostly in the South in my experience.  Not sure how many Georgians refer to their county as their place of residence, but I've heard it from a few people down there.

My mother grew up in KY and always said she was from Floyd County to other Kentuckians.

[Scott5114]

This happens a lot on the Kansas side of your (OP's) own metro area–Wyandotte and Johnson counties can't stand each other. My Wyandotte County grandma has an entire repertoire of Johnson County jokes. (Most of them aren't very good.)

[KCRoadFan]

This happens a lot on the Kansas side of your (OP's) own metro area–Wyandotte and Johnson counties can't stand each other.

I can attest to that.

[hbelkins]

I've heard that in Kentucky, many people are particularly proud of whatever county they live in, to a greater extent than is true of most other states. Are there any other states that, in your opinion or experience, have a similar amount of "county pride" among their residents? I think that phenomenon is also somewhat prevalent in West Virginia. (Perhaps it's largely an Appalachian thing - maybe HB Elkins can verify.) Anyway, what do you think?

Can confirm. Even before reading the first post, and seeing only the thread title, I knew I was going to mention Kentucky.

[Max Rockatansky]

Depending on the county in California it definitely is a thing.  The counties that hit the Sierra Nevada Mountains have a lot of older communities which date back to the Gold Rush.  For some reason normals are enamored with Orange County. 

[achilles765]

I think we kind of do this in Texas to a degree. We definitely have pride in our cities–I suppose counties also get that same pride. Actually in Houston it's more pronounced with neighborhoods.
"Aldine, alief, magnolia park"  are a few.

[interstatefan990]

Based on my experience, outside of the New York City area and maybe Long Island, a lot of people in NY couldn't give less of a shit what county they're from. Some rural/upstate counties might be exceptions though.

[Rothman]

Based on my experience, outside of the New York City area and maybe Long Island, a lot of people in NY couldn't give less of a shit what county they're from. Some rural/upstate counties might be exceptions though.

It's very rare for me to hear about NY counties outside the context of my job.

[Dirt Roads]

I've heard that in Kentucky, many people are particularly proud of whatever county they live in, to a greater extent than is true of most other states. Are there any other states that, in your opinion or experience, have a similar amount of "county pride" among their residents? I think that phenomenon is also somewhat prevalent in West Virginia. (Perhaps it's largely an Appalachian thing - maybe HB Elkins can verify.) Anyway, what do you think?

Can confirm. Even before reading the first post, and seeing only the thread title, I knew I was going to mention Kentucky.

It seems like it flips back-and-forth in West Virginia between pride-in-counties and pride-in-towns.  The main difference here is whether folks in the largest town would identify themselves to outsiders as from a particular county, versus folks from a particular county identifying themselves as from the closest town (or worse, the closest city in another county).  Thus, my hometown in Putnam County gets disqualified because (A) we tend to tell people from surrounding counties that we are from our hometown; (B) we tend to tell people from other parts of the state that we are from Putnam County; and (C) egad! we tend to tell people from out-of-state that we are from the Charleston area.

Here's my take on the strongest pride-in-county areas:

1.  Greenbrier County
2.  Logan County
3.  Braxton County
4.  Pocahontas County
5.  Preston County
6.  Wayne County
7.  Fayette County
8.  Union County
9.  Wirt County
10.  Clay County

Honorable Mention:  Upshur County.  Many identify with being from Buckhannon, but the name of the condolidated high school (Buckhannon-Upshur) tends to anchor a strong affinity for county pride.  It also gets a lot of attention with its unofficial nickname (that nobody puts in writing anymore): the Buck-Ups.

[hotdogPi]

Many people here don't even know which county they live in.

The voter registration forms say "if you live in a village, consult this chart to determine which municipality you live in" (municipalities in Massachusetts are cities and towns, and all land is part of one), so that means that a few people don't even know which town they live in.

I also know someone who insists she lives in Chamblee, which is part of Atlanta. Her actual location is in Tucker, which was incorporated in 2016 and was unincorporated DeKalb County before incorporation.

[algorerhythms]

Where I grew up there seems to be an anti-pride in the county. I had a T-shirt that read "Allegany County: Nice place to live if you don't need a job."  I would wear it when I was in Pittsburgh just for the reactions.

Incidentally, when I was in third grade, I participated in the county spelling bee. Each kid got a T-shirt that on the back read "ALLLEGANY COUNTY SPELLING BEE"  [sic].

[JayhawkCO]

The only county I've ever heard anyone give a shit about in Colorado is seeing some "Moffat County is Coal Country" signs when up in Craig.

I will add one county that somewhat cares is Duval County, FL where Jaguars fans have adopted "DUUUU-VAAAAAAL" as a rallying cry. When I briefly lived there, I didn't sense that much county pride though.

[1995hoo]

People in Prince George's County, Maryland, feel strongly about wanting their county to be referred to by its full name, rather than by the commonly-used nickname "PG County." Supposedly their objection is that people associate "PG" with "Pretty Ghetto" (I don't know how common that association actually is) due both to racial demographics and the perception of the county having a relatively high crime rate compared to other DC-area suburban jurisdictions.

[WillWeaverRVA]

People in Prince George's County, Maryland, feel strongly about wanting their county to be referred to by its full name, rather than by the commonly-used nickname "PG County." Supposedly their objection is that people associate "PG" with "Pretty Ghetto" (I don't know how common that association actually is) due both to racial demographics and the perception of the county having a relatively high crime rate compared to other DC-area suburban jurisdictions.

Yeah, I haven't seen much county pride in Virginia, which is a stark contrast to Prince George's County and Montgomery County in Maryland.

[abefroman329]

People in Prince George's County, Maryland, feel strongly about wanting their county to be referred to by its full name, rather than by the commonly-used nickname "PG County." Supposedly their objection is that people associate "PG" with "Pretty Ghetto" (I don't know how common that association actually is) due both to racial demographics and the perception of the county having a relatively high crime rate compared to other DC-area suburban jurisdictions.

First time I've heard "Pretty Ghetto" as a backronym, but the rest of that was common knowledge.

[webny99]

People in Prince George's County, Maryland, feel strongly about wanting their county to be referred to by its full name, rather than by the commonly-used nickname "PG County." Supposedly their objection is that people associate "PG" with "Pretty Ghetto" (I don't know how common that association actually is) due both to racial demographics and the perception of the county having a relatively high crime rate compared to other DC-area suburban jurisdictions.

I've never heard "pretty ghetto", but PG is also associated with "parental guidance" which also has a very negative connotation.

[NWI_Irish96]

In Indiana, vehicle license plates used to begin with a one or two-digit county identifier, numbered alphabetically from 1 to 92, with 93-99 being auxiliary numbers for the two most populous counties, Marion and Lake. As a result, people tended to identify more with their counties.

As specialty plates, which didn't use the county numbers, became more prevalent, and the state figured out that they could save money by not producing a new plate for people every time they moved to a different county, that numbering system went away. It's been gone for a generation now, and I hear people identifying with their county much less frequently.

[GaryV]

It's not really affinity or pride, but people in metro Detroit often identify with their county. Perhaps to differentiate it from the dreaded city itself, or because people don't know where the various townships are. You often hear Macomb or Western Wayne, Oakland somewhat less.

[Flint1979]

I don't notice that in Michigan. No one really cares what county you are from, we have nothing on our license plates that would indicate you are from a certain county. So I really don't think there is much pride regarding the county you live in here in the Great Lakes State.

[ethanhopkin14]

No one in Central Texas really cares about counties.  Some know Round Rock and Cedar Park are different from Austin because they are in Williamson County, but other than that, unless you go to jail for the night, no one really knows what county they live in until it's time to vote, pay taxes or get your car inspected.  I guess that's why I don't understand the obsession with clinching counties here.  They just aren't that big of a deal here.  I deal with them with my job, but that's about it. 

[hbelkins]

People in Prince George's County, Maryland, feel strongly about wanting their county to be referred to by its full name, rather than by the commonly-used nickname "PG County." Supposedly their objection is that people associate "PG" with "Pretty Ghetto" (I don't know how common that association actually is) due both to racial demographics and the perception of the county having a relatively high crime rate compared to other DC-area suburban jurisdictions.

Yeah, I haven't seen much county pride in Virginia, which is a stark contrast to Prince George's County and Montgomery County in Maryland.

I think it's more pronounced in the southwestern part of the state.

[Roadgeekteen]

No county pride in Massachusetts.

[Flint1979]

I can say one thing regarding Kentucky. The counties are rather smaller in land area. The average Kentucky county is only 329 square miles with the biggest county being Pike at 788 square miles and the smallest being Robertson at 100 square miles. Indiana's counties aren't all that big in area either. So maybe that is why they have more pride for their counties than other states but I'm not sure.

[US 89]

I've heard that in Kentucky, many people are particularly proud of whatever county they live in, to a greater extent than is true of most other states. Are there any other states that, in your opinion or experience, have a similar amount of "county pride" among their residents? I think that phenomenon is also somewhat prevalent in West Virginia. (Perhaps it's largely an Appalachian thing - maybe HB Elkins can verify.) Anyway, what do you think?

Mostly in the South in my experience.  Not sure how many Georgians refer to their county as their place of residence, but I've heard it from a few people down there.

Georgia was going to be my response. When I lived in Atlanta, I ran across a ton of people who identified primarily by their county. My old roommate was from Peachtree City but always introduced his hometown as "Fayette County". Another friend was from Snellville, but all she ever cared to identify was "South Gwinnett".

In my experience, the farther you got from downtown Atlanta, the more important your county was. Counties like Fulton or DeKalb were too big and/or diverse for people to really develop a closer attachment to the county than their city.