ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

County (United States)

Okay kiddo, you know how we live in a city, right? But the city isn't the only place where people live. There are other areas called towns and villages and they all have their own local government, kinda like our city has the mayor and city council people.

Same way, a county is a bigger area that includes a bunch of different towns and villages. It's like a boss of all these smaller places and takes care of things that are important for everyone in the county. For example, it takes care of roads and bridges, emergency services like police and fire departments, elections, and public parks.

Each county also has their own leader called the county executive or county commissioner who is kinda like the mayor but for the whole county instead of just one town. They help make important decisions for the entire county, like how money should be spent or what new laws should be made.

So, that's basically what a county is. It's like a big group of towns and villages working together to make sure everyone is safe and happy.