# County executive

A county executive (or county mayor) is the head of government of a county in the United States. They are either elected by the citizens of the county or appointed by the county council or governor of the state.
The county executive signs bills passed by the county council into local ordinance, manages county government agencies, finances, projects, and services, and appoints the sheriff, county administrator, judges, and other officials of the county.

## States with county executives

The title for a person holding this position is "county executive" in many states but other titles are used, including "county judge" (in Arkansas and Texas, and historically in Missouri and Tennessee), "county judge/executive" in Kentucky, and "mayor" in some counties, and "county mayor" in Hawaii and Tennessee.
| State | Counties | Applicable law |
| Alaska | Aleutians East, Anchorage, Bristol Bay, Denali, Fairbanks North Star, Haines, Juneau (City & Borough), Kenai Peninsula, Ketchikan Gateway, Kodiak Island, Lake and Peninsula, Matanuska-Susitna, North Slope, Northwest Arctic, Sitka (City & Borough), Skagway (City & Borough), Wrangell (City & Borough), Yakutat (City & Borough) | Alaska Constitution, Article X |
| Arkansas | Title is "county judge" in all counties (list) | |
| California | Los Angeles (County Executive in 2032), San Francisco (County Mayor) | |
| Delaware | New Castle | |
| Florida | Mayor of Orange County, Mayor of Miami-Dade County, and Volusia County Chair | |
| Georgia | Athens-Clarke (mayor), Augusta-Richmond (mayor), Columbus-Muscogee (mayor), DeKalb (CEO), Macon-Bibb (mayor) | |
| Illinois | Champaign, Cook, Will | |
| Kentucky | Counties are headed by an elected executive known as the county judge/executive. | Kentucky Constitution, Section 144 |
| Maryland | Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Cecil, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, Wicomico | |
| Michigan | Bay, Macomb, Oakland, Wayne | Optional Unified Form of County Government, Charter Counties |
| Missouri | Jefferson Jackson St. Charles St. Louis (County) | |
| New Jersey | Atlantic County Executive Bergen County Executive, Essex County Executive, Hudson County Executive, and Mercer County Executive are elected county executives. |
| New York | Albany, Broome, Chautauqua, Chemung, Dutchess, Erie, Monroe, Montgomery, Nassau, Oneida, Onondaga, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Suffolk, Ulster, Westchester | Municipal Home Rule Law |
| Ohio | Cuyahoga, Summit | Alternative County Government Law |
| Pennsylvania | Allegheny, Erie, Lehigh, Northampton | Home Rule Charter and Optional Plans Law |
| Tennessee | State law provides that counties are headed by an elected county executive who uses the title of "county mayor". Exceptions are the three counties (Davidson, Moore, and Trousdale) that have consolidated city-county government, where the position is not used, and certain counties where a private act of the state legislature authorizes the executive to use the previous title of "county executive". Historically, the position was called "county judge". | Tennessee Code Annotated 5-6-101 |
| Texas | Title is "county judge" or "county administrator" in all counties (list) | |
| Utah | Salt Lake (mayor), Cache | Utah Code Title 17, Chapter 52a, Part 2, Section 203 |
| Virginia | Albemarle, Fairfax, Prince William | Code of Virginia Title 15.2 Chapters 5-8 |
| Washington | King County Executive, Pierce, Snohomish, Whatcom | |
| Wisconsin | Brown, Dane, Fond du Lac, Kenosha, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Outagamie, Portage, Racine, Waukesha, Winnebago | Wisconsin Constitution, Article IV, sections 23 and 23a |