page_title: Town
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Town / By country / United States
context_page_description: A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages but smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish them vary considerably between different parts of the world.
context_section_description: The definition of "town" varies widely from state to state and in many states there is no official definition. In some states, the term "town" refers to an area of population distinct from others in some meaningful dimension, typically population or type of government. The characteristic that distinguishes a town from another type of populated place — a city, borough, village, or township, for example — differs from state to state. In some states, a town is an incorporated municipality; that is, one with a charter received from the state, similar to a city (see incorporated town), while in others, a town is unincorporated. In some instances, the term "town" refers to a small incorporated municipality of less than a population threshold specified by state statute, while in others a town can be significantly larger. Some states do not use the term "town" at all, while in others the term has no official meaning and is used informally to refer to a populated place, of any size, whether incorporated or unincorporated. In still other states, the words "town" and "city" are legally interchangeable.
  Small town life has been a major theme in American literature, especially stories of rejection by young people leaving for the metropolis.
  Since the use of the term varies considerably by state, individual usages are presented in the following sections:
caption: The tiny farming community of Wyatt, Indiana
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