section_path: North America/United States/Incorporated villages
section_name: Incorporated villages
paragraph_text: Incorporated villages
  
  In twenty U.S. states, the term "village" refers to a specific form of incorporated municipal government, similar to a city but with less authority and geographic scope. However, this is a generality; in many states, there are villages that are an order of magnitude larger than the smallest cities in the state. The distinction is not necessarily based on population, but on the relative powers granted to the different types of municipalities and correspondingly, different obligations to provide specific services to residents.
  
  In some states such as New York and Michigan, a village is an incorporated municipality, within a single town or civil township. In some cases, the village may be coterminous with the town or township, in which case the two may have a consolidated government. There are also villages that span the boundaries of more than one town or township; some villages may straddle county borders.
  
  There is no population limit to villages in New York. Hempstead, the largest village, has 55,000 residents, making it more populous than some of the state's cities. However, villages in the state may not exceed five square miles (13 km) in area. Michigan and Illinois also have no set population limit for villages and there are many villages that are larger than cities in those states. The village of Schaumburg, Illinois had 78,723 residents as of the 2020 census. A village also has no written figure against how small a population can be, with the United States' smallest incorporated village being Dering Harbor, NY, with a population of just over 10.
  
  In Michigan, a village is always legally part of a township. Villages can incorporate land in multiple townships and even multiple counties. The largest village in the state is Beverly Hills in Southfield Township which had a population of 10,267 people as of the 2010 census.
  
  In the state of Wisconsin, a village is always legally separate from the towns that it has been incorporated from. The largest village is Menomonee Falls, which has over 32,000 residents. In Pennsylvania law, the term borough is used to refer to the same type of entity. 80% of Pennsylvania's 956 boroughs have populations of less than 5,000 but about thirty have populations of over 10,000 with State College having more than 40,000 residents.
  
  In Ohio villages are usually legally part of the township from which they were incorporated, although exceptions such as Hiram exist, in which the village is separate from the township. Villages become cities if they grow to a population of at least 5,000.
  
  In Maryland, a locality designated "Village of..." may be either an incorporated town or a special tax district. An example of the latter is the Village of Friendship Heights.
  
  In North Carolina, the only difference between cities, towns, and villages is the term itself.