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Fifty States and one District (U.S.)

Municipal and State flags for the United States Menu

Last modified: 2023-08-19 by rick wyatt
Keywords: united states |
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Introduction: United States Municipal Flags: Official vs. Unofficial

     We should be not surprised that many of about 36,000 municipalities in USA don't have their own official flags. Instead, there appear unofficial municipal flags in many versions that serve the purpose. It is the result of the political system of the country. Municipalities in the USA are final authority in their domains. That includes, among other things, the adoption and use of their own symbols. That's why the municipal flags in the USA are so different among each other - from simple seal on the white cloth to complex designs with tens of various elements in many colors. And yes, the name of the municipality is almost obligation. Why? The answer is - people's choice. Either directly - thru open competition, or thru voting in the municipal council.
     The proper way to the official flag is that one that is leading to final council vote and issuing a proper document about it. But, that is very rare situation, although the recent events are changing that matter. However, my modest calculation is that less of 5% of US municipalities have official flags in this moment (August 2023), which is about 1,800. But, there are about 10,000 municipalities that are using unofficial flags in official capacity, i.e. these flags are not properly adopted, but are in use nevertheless. These so-called unofficial flags are not quite unofficial, because they are not produced by random people and waved without any reason.
     In fact, these flags are produced (ordered to be produced) by the municipal bodies (mayor, manager, clerk, street department, or parks department etc.) for some reason that arose at given moment - parade at the Annual gathering of the State Municipal League, Visiting the Sister Cities, City Anniversary Parade, and similar events. Such events, especially if they are announcing at short notice, don't leave enough time for proper way of adopting the official flag, which should be at least one year, and usually one of the departments is racing with time and result is seal on white cloth or, if there are restriction of the use of the seal by the municipal code, the logo on the white or other monochrome cloth. And just like that - we have a flag.
     Conclusion is that no matter what is their official status, we are looking for flags in use. The status of the flag is just a footnote.
Valentin Poposki, 14 August 2023


Municipal and State flags for the United States Menu

Editor's note: The names of the pages for the states and the district of the United States are composed as us-xx.html, in which xx is the postal code of the state or the district. The images are named us-xx.gif in the same way.

THE MUNICIPAL FLAGS* and THE STATE FLAGS**

Mun (AL) Alabama
Mun (AK) Alaska
Mun (AZ) Arizona
Mun (AR) Arkansas
Mun (CA) California
Mun (CO) Colorado
Mun (CT) Connecticut
Mun (DE) Delaware
Mun (FL) Florida
Mun (GA) Georgia
Mun (HI) Hawaii
Mun (ID) Idaho
Mun (IL) Illinois
Mun (IN) Indiana
Mun (IA) Iowa
Mun (KS) Kansas
Mun (KY) Kentucky
Mun (LA) Louisiana
Mun (ME) Maine
Mun (MD) Maryland
Mun (MA) Massachusetts
Mun (MI) Michigan
Mun (MN) Minnesota
Mun (MS) Mississippi
Mun (MO) Missouri
Mun (MT) Montana
Mun (NE) Nebraska
Mun (NV) Nevada
Mun (NH) New Hampshire
Mun (NJ) New Jersey
Mun (NM) New Mexico
Mun (NY) New York
Mun (NC) North Carolina
Mun (ND) North Dakota
Mun (OH) Ohio
Mun (OK) Oklahoma
Mun (OR) Oregon
Mun (PA) Pennsylvania
Mun (RI) Rhode Island
Mun (SC) South Carolina
Mun (SD) South Dakota
Mun (TN) Tennessee
Mun (TX) Texas
Mun (UT) Utah
Mun (VT) Vermont
Mun (VA) Virginia
Mun (WA) Washington
Mun (WV) West Virginia
Mun (WI) Wisconsin
Mun (WY) Wyoming


One District:
(DC) District of Columbia
Navigation Notes:
     * Mun takes you directly to the municipal flags for that State.
  ** Takes you to the actual State Home Page.