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

[Roadgeekteen]

The only exception to my county pride comments is maybe Berkshire County.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I've never heard any pride for counties in MN. There's far more pride in unincorporated townships, where people living in those largely resist and resent being targeted for annexation by incorporated cities.

[Dirt Roads]

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.

I wonder if that is a throwback.  The Greaseman used to cough up his famous line "Duuuu-vaaaal Cown-tee Bigg Thang" every morning on WAPE in Jacksonville.   

[Roadgeekteen]

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.

I wonder if that is a throwback.  The Greaseman used to cough up his famous line "Duuuu-vaaaal Cown-tee Bigg Thang" every morning on WAPE in Jacksonville.

Duval county is basically the same as Jacksonville. And "Jacksonville" doesn't roll off the tounge quite as well.

[Dirt Roads]

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.

But northwest and southwest of Richmond, there are a bunch of locales with strong county pride and they all seem to have county seats with the same names (some still called "Court House" instead of being incorporated):  Powhatan County, Goochland County, Louisa County, Orange County, Cumberland County, Buckingham County, Amelia County, Appomattox County and Charlotte County.  There are two more contiguous to there where the term strong county pride really seems to fit:  Page County and little tiny Greene County. 

There's also a strong affinity for Chesterfield County, particularly in the northern part of the county.  So much so that the Postal Service has flipped the zip codes from "Bon Air" and "Richmond" to the regional descriptor "North Chesterfield".

Kind of on the line here was the other one that I used live in:  Clarke County.  The affinity was strong enough that perhaps half of the folks living in the county seat (Berryville) would usually claim to be from Clarke County instead of the town name.  On the other hand, you had most of the folks in Millwood and little-known Pine Grove that preferred to use their placenames.

[Rothman]

The only exception to my county pride comments is maybe Berkshire County.

Having grown up in MA, I find comments like these to be very naive, espcially after saying that MA has no county pride whatsoever.

In Western MA, Berkshire and Hampshire Counties in particular hold weight amongst their residents.  Hamden and Franklin County residents are certainly aware of which counties they live in, but their "pride" is less so, from my perception.  Of course, locals have a special place in their hearts for simply "Pioneer Valley."

I think I have heard more references to Worcester County in more recent years, actually, usually from my friends who used to just say they were from Worcester or Auburn or wherever.  Worcester County's poor reputation has generated a self-depreciating sense of humor.

Instead of making ignorant comments about the rest of MA, I will simply say that I don't have a firm grasp on how locals view the Eastern MA counties...other than Cape Codders preferring Upper, Mid and Lower Cape to Barnstable County.

[tdindy88]

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.

The numbers are still in use, only in the lower right corner of the license plate, and that's all license plates in the state. I kind of wish people used the numbers for pride and stuff but there isn't too much of that.

Back to the question in hand, I suppose Northwest Indiana has a high pride in itself, calling themselves The Region. But I don't hear too much reference to actual Lake County itself, given that the Region usually spans into Porter and LaPorte Counties.

[Roadgeekteen]

The only exception to my county pride comments is maybe Berkshire County.

Having grown up in MA, I find comments like these to be very naive, espcially after saying that MA has no county pride whatsoever.

In Western MA, Berkshire and Hampshire Counties in particular hold weight amongst their residents.  Hamden and Franklin County residents are certainly aware of which counties they live in, but their "pride" is less so, from my perception.  Of course, locals have a special place in their hearts for simply "Pioneer Valley."

I think I have heard more references to Worcester County in more recent years, actually, usually from my friends who used to just say they were from Worcester or Auburn or wherever.  Worcester County's poor reputation has generated a self-depreciating sense of humor.

Instead of making ignorant comments about the rest of MA, I will simply say that I don't have a firm grasp on how locals view the Eastern MA counties...other than Cape Codders preferring Upper, Mid and Lower Cape to Barnstable County.

I think that Western Mass could be an exception to the rule. I mentioned Berkshire, The Pioneer Valley seems to be their own unifying region. I was more mainly talking about Eastern Mass. Needham is in Norfolk, Newton is in Middlesex, nobody cares. Anything east of Worcester counties make no sense and county pride in non existent.

[Bruce]

Some areas of Western Washington do, some don't.

King County is a pretty major exception due to its size; people do take regional pride, so Seattleites (down to their neighborhood) will have rivalries with Eastsiders or Southsiders (which bleeds into a "253" identity shared with Tacoma). Kitsap and Snohomish counties are definitely their own identities, as are the San Juan Islands due to their relative isolation. Island County is split, as Camano Island shares more with Stanwood than it does with Whidbey Island.

[Rothman]

The only exception to my county pride comments is maybe Berkshire County.

Having grown up in MA, I find comments like these to be very naive, espcially after saying that MA has no county pride whatsoever.

In Western MA, Berkshire and Hampshire Counties in particular hold weight amongst their residents.  Hamden and Franklin County residents are certainly aware of which counties they live in, but their "pride" is less so, from my perception.  Of course, locals have a special place in their hearts for simply "Pioneer Valley."

I think I have heard more references to Worcester County in more recent years, actually, usually from my friends who used to just say they were from Worcester or Auburn or wherever.  Worcester County's poor reputation has generated a self-depreciating sense of humor.

Instead of making ignorant comments about the rest of MA, I will simply say that I don't have a firm grasp on how locals view the Eastern MA counties...other than Cape Codders preferring Upper, Mid and Lower Cape to Barnstable County.

I think that Western Mass could be an exception to the rule. I mentioned Berkshire, The Pioneer Valley seems to be their own unifying region. I was more mainly talking about Eastern Mass. Needham is in Norfolk, Newton is in Middlesex, nobody cares. Anything east of Worcester counties make no sense and county pride in non existent.

I do wonder if Hampshire County residents take pride in their county because it separates themselves from Springfield and Holyoke..

The Lion King meme was used with Springfield as the elephant graveyard...

[jp the roadgeek]

In CT, only Fairfield and Litchfield County tend to have any kind of county pride, although most of Fairfield County might as well be part of Westchester County, NY.  County pride ceases to exist at the Housatonic River, and any pride tends to be based more on regions such as The (Naugatuck) Valley, the Hartford Area, The Quiet Corner, etc. 

[DandyDan]

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.

Nebraska still has a county numbering system and many of those in the highest numbered counties take pride in living in those counties.

[kurumi]

Wyoming license plates have included a county number since 1930: "a number which was determined by the "worth" (assessed property value) of an area, not population, as many believe."

Jackson is the county seat of Teton County, number 22 (out of 23; second to last) in 1930. Times have changed. Now, it's the wealthiest county in not just Wyoming, but the United States. There's some "22 pride" we saw in the area, including the "22 Home" furnishing/lifestyle store, with such necessities as the Bohemian Blueberry Pie Pillow (decorative; $975.00).

[zzcarp]

It's interesting in Colorado. In the front range I've heard many people being proud of living in Douglas County (DougCo), El Paso County, and Weld County. Boulder County seems to have its own version of pride as well.

I'd say the rural parts of Jefferson County have their own version as well, but not in the front range suburbs. I live in JeffCo but since my city Westminster spans two counties, there's a lot more affinity for the city as a whole than the county.

[Sctvhound]

Yeah West Virginia is extremely prideful about their 55 counties. Probably first or second in the country.

Whenever anybody does something good. Like the Mountaineer Mascot (the student at WVU which gets to fire the rifle) for a particular year. Wouldn't mean much in most other places but in WV it's like royalty.

They get feted and whenever they are from some rural county (which is most of them) they literally get the key to the state for the year.

Nothing like that in SC.

SM-G998U

[gonealookin]

I'm not sure there's a lot of "county pride" in Nevada but there's definitely antipathy for one.  I often see bumper stickers reading "Clark County is NOT the Real Nevada".  That's a mix of the glitzy Las Vegas ambience and politics (Clark County votes heavily Democratic, Washoe is about even and every other county is heavily Republican).

[Roadgeekteen]

I'm not sure there's a lot of "county pride" in Nevada but there's definitely antipathy for one.  I often see bumper stickers reading "Clark County is NOT the Real Nevada".  That's a mix of the glitzy Las Vegas ambience and politics (Clark County votes heavily Democratic, Washoe is about even and every other county is heavily Republican).

Clark County is like 3/4 of Nevada's population. Clark County IS Nevada. Nevada is Clark County, a bit of population near Reno/Carson City, and basically nothing.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I'm not sure there's a lot of "county pride" in Nevada but there's definitely antipathy for one.  I often see bumper stickers reading "Clark County is NOT the Real Nevada".  That's a mix of the glitzy Las Vegas ambience and politics (Clark County votes heavily Democratic, Washoe is about even and every other county is heavily Republican).

Clark County is like 3/4 of Nevada's population. Clark County IS Nevada. Nevada is Clark County, a bit of population near Reno/Carson City, and basically nothing.

It's common in a lot of politically contentious states where a single major metro heavily influences the state's political direction that disgruntled rural residents often with very opposing views of most major city residents claim the major city is not "the real ____________".

[Roadgeekteen]

I'm not sure there's a lot of "county pride" in Nevada but there's definitely antipathy for one.  I often see bumper stickers reading "Clark County is NOT the Real Nevada".  That's a mix of the glitzy Las Vegas ambience and politics (Clark County votes heavily Democratic, Washoe is about even and every other county is heavily Republican).

Clark County is like 3/4 of Nevada's population. Clark County IS Nevada. Nevada is Clark County, a bit of population near Reno/Carson City, and basically nothing.

It's common in a lot of politically contentious states where a single major metro heavily influences the state's political direction that disgruntled rural residents often with very opposing views of most major city residents claim the major city is not "the real ____________".

Silly. I mean I get it, but those cities have power for a reason: lots of people live there. If Rural Nevada wants more political power, convince more people to move to Elko or Ely.

[webny99]

I'm not sure there's a lot of "county pride" in Nevada but there's definitely antipathy for one.  I often see bumper stickers reading "Clark County is NOT the Real Nevada".  That's a mix of the glitzy Las Vegas ambience and politics (Clark County votes heavily Democratic, Washoe is about even and every other county is heavily Republican).

Clark County is like 3/4 of Nevada's population. Clark County IS Nevada. Nevada is Clark County, a bit of population near Reno/Carson City, and basically nothing.

It's common in a lot of politically contentious states where a single major metro heavily influences the state's political direction that disgruntled rural residents often with very opposing views of most major city residents claim the major city is not "the real ____________".

Silly. I mean I get it, but those cities have power for a reason: lots of people live there. If Rural Nevada wants more political power, convince more people to move to Elko or Ely.

Well, that will never happen because people don't want to live in Elko or Ely, but even if it did, it would be unlikely to change the political dynamics. Someone moving to one of those cities instead of Las Vegas isn't going to change their vote. It's really just a form of denial that one county/city/metro area controls what happens statewide, which is unfortunately the case in a lot of states. It's the same thing in New York, except that "NYC isn't the real NY" doesn't land quite as well.

[Roadgeekteen]

I'm not sure there's a lot of "county pride" in Nevada but there's definitely antipathy for one.  I often see bumper stickers reading "Clark County is NOT the Real Nevada".  That's a mix of the glitzy Las Vegas ambience and politics (Clark County votes heavily Democratic, Washoe is about even and every other county is heavily Republican).

Clark County is like 3/4 of Nevada's population. Clark County IS Nevada. Nevada is Clark County, a bit of population near Reno/Carson City, and basically nothing.

It's common in a lot of politically contentious states where a single major metro heavily influences the state's political direction that disgruntled rural residents often with very opposing views of most major city residents claim the major city is not "the real ____________".

Silly. I mean I get it, but those cities have power for a reason: lots of people live there. If Rural Nevada wants more political power, convince more people to move to Elko or Ely.

Well, that will never happen because people don't want to live in Elko or Ely, but even if it did, it would be unlikely to change the political dynamics. Someone moving to one of those cities instead of Las Vegas isn't going to change their vote. It's really just a form of denial that one county/city/metro area controls what happens statewide, which is unfortunately the case in a lot of states. It's the same thing in New York, except that "NYC isn't the real NY" doesn't land quite as well.

Well states like New York or Illinois are more understandable since a higher porportion of the population lives in Downstate IL or Upstate NY than in Chicago or NYC. And people in Nashville or St. Louis don't do the same thing to the rural parts of their state (unless they do and I just haven't heard of it).

[webny99]

Nevada also became that way fairly recently. It was much more proportional just a few decades ago than it is now.

Missouri and Tennessee do not have the same dynamic IMO, because they have several large cities/metro areas and not one dominant one.

[Roadgeekteen]

Nevada also became that way fairly recently. It was much more proportional just a few decades ago than it is now.

Missouri and Tennessee do not have the same dynamic IMO, because they have several large cities/metro areas and not one dominant one.

I'm more talking about how the vast rural areas of those 2 states dominate the politics. I guess you can combine St. Louis and KC into "urban Missouri".

[roadman65]

In Florida we do have regards to counties.

In my former state of NJ we didn't have as municipalities prevailed. Even on highway signs County lines were not marked, though municipal boundaries are.

[index]

After the standoff in Watauga County in which left two deputies dead, a lot of locals could be spotted with "#WataugaStrong" stickers and other merchandise on their cars. Still see quite a bit of it to this day. Plenty of locals sport stickers for the only high school in the county as well. I guess in a county that is so chock-full of different types of outsiders, locals have to find some way to stand out amongst the crowd.