Rhode Island County Courthouses

With 5 counties, Rhode Island is tied with Hawaii for having the 2nd-fewest counties of any U.S. state (only Delaware has fewer, with 3 counties). Although Rhode Island is divided into counties, it does not have any local government at the county level. Instead, local governance is provided by the 8 cities and 31 towns. Counties in Rhode Island have had no governmental functions since 1846 other than as court administrative and sheriff corrections boundaries which are part of state government.