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All BSA Local Councils

The first PDF file below lists all 243 current local Councils of the Boy Scouts of America (plus five official "sub-Councils", as of 4/2024). The second PDF file lists most former as well as current BSA Councils (just over 2000 Councils!). [See further below for a PDF file listing all current Councils of the Girl Scouts of the USA.]

All current local BSA Councils—PDF file shows Council name, BSA number, headquarters city/state (country), and which of the 14 National Service Territories it is assigned to.

Current & former BSA Councils (over 2000)—PDF file shows Council name, dates in existence, and subsequent history.

Special Information

Council Consolidations

In 1945, BSA had 549 Councils as near as I can figure. At the end of 2023 there were 243 Councils. So on average 3.9 Councils have disappeared (consolidated) every year from 1945 to the present. The rate of consolidation has been irregular:

From 1945 to 1960, the number of Councils declined by 1.1 Councils/year.
From 1960 to 1975, the number of Councils declined by 6.3 Councils/year.
From 1975 to 1990, the number of Councils declined by 1.5 Councils/year.
From 1990 to 2005, the number of Councils declined by 6.8 Councils/year.
From 2005 to 2020, the number of Councils declined by 3.5 Councils/year.
From 2020 to 2023, the number of Councils declined by 4.7 Councils/year.

"Mega" Councils

The Greater New York Councils (#640) covers New York City, and consists of five sub-Councils, each covering one of the city's five boroughs under the direction of the Greater New York Councils (note the "s"). BSA counts this as one Council.
Bronx (#641)
Brooklyn (#642)
Manhattan (#643)
Queens (#644)
Staten Island (#645)
Michigan Crossroads Council (#780) covers most of Michigan, and formerly consisted of four "Field Service" Councils that each functioned like separate Councils under the direction of Michigan Crossroads Council. However since 2021 the Council now divides its territory into a large number of districts within two administration "divisions" (called President Ford Division and Great Lakes Division).

US Territories

Five US territories have permanent non-military populations:
Territories in the Caribbean Sea

Puerto Rico is its own Council
US Virgin Islands are part of the National Capital Area Council

Territories in the Pacific Ocean (all part of Hawaii's Aloha Council)

American Samoa
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands

Councils that cover exactly one state (no more, no less)

Daniel Webster Council covers New Hampshire.
Green Mountain Council covers Vermont.
Also Puerto Rico Council covers the island territory of Puerto Rico.

Councils that cover an entire state plus more

Aloha Council covers Hawaii plus American Samoa, Guam, & Northern Mariana Islands.
Del-Mar-Va Council covers Delaware plus parts of Maryland & Virginia.
Narragansett Council covers Rhode Island plus parts of Connecticut & Massachusetts.
Northern Lights Council covers North Dakota plus parts of Minnesota, Montana, & South Dakota.

Island Councils (Councils that are located entirely on islands)

Aloha Council—the Hawaiian Islands plus the islands of American Samoa, Guam, & Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico Council—island territory of Puerto Rico, including Vieques & Culebra islands
Suffolk County Council—the easternmost county on Long Island
Theodore Roosevelt Council—Nassau county on Long Island
honorable mention to the Greater New York Councils—4 of its 5 borough Councils (sub-Councils) are entirely on islands (Brooklyn & Queens on Long Island; and Manhattan & Staten Island on their namesake islands), but the Bronx is on the mainland

States with the most Councils

California—all or parts of 22 Councils
Pennsylvania—all or parts of 21 Councils
Texas—all or parts of 19 Councils
New York—all or parts of 13 Councils)

The only State that doesn't have an in-state Council Headquarters

Wyoming—has no Council headquarters. The state is divided among five Councils headquartered in five adjacent states (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Utah).

Council Name Facts (interesting or otherwise)

Longest Council Name

Silicon Valley Monterey Bay (27 letters+spaces); 15 other council names consist of more than 20 letters+spaces

Shortest Council Names

Aloha, Marin, Sioux, Yucca (5 letters each); also the Bronx 'borough council' of the Greater New York Councils

Council Names that are Too Popular (four pairs of Councils have identical or confusingly similar names)

Cherokee Area (Bartlesville OK) & Cherokee Area (Chattanooga TN)
Piedmont (Piedmont CA) & Piedmont (Gastonia NC)
Sequoia (Fresno CA; named after the tree) & Sequoyah (Johnson City TN; named after the creator of the Cherokee syllabary)—different spelling, different meaning, but same pronunciation
Blue Ridge (Greenville SC) & Blue Ridge Mountains (Roanoke VA) are confusingly similar

Most Common Words

area—part of 42 Council names
great or greater—part of 13 Council names
trail or trails—part of 9 Council names

Compass Directions (33 Councils use points of the compass)

west/western—7 [not counting 'Westmoreland']
north/northern—6 Councils
south/southern—6 Councils
northeast/northeastern—4 Councils
east—3 Councils
northwest—3 Councils
southwest—3 Councils
southeast—1 Councils

Colors (11 Councils have a color in their name)

black—part of 4 Council names
blue—part of 4 Council names
green—part of 1 Council name [2 if you count Greenwich]
orange—part of 1 Council name
red (redwood)—part of 1 Council name

Numbers (5 Councils have a number in their name)

three—used in 3 Council names
five—used in 1 Council name
ten—used in 1 Council name

People or Places Named for People

10 frontiersmen, explorers, and various 18th & 19th century Americans (Matthew Arbuckle [Oklahoma's Arbuckle Mountains are named arter this US general], Joseph Baker [British 3rd Lieutenant w/ Vancouver Expedition], Daniel Boone, Hernando de Soto, Sam Houston, Henry Hudson, Simon Kenton, Sieur de la Salle, Anthony Wayne, and Daniel Webster)
8 people with states named after them (King Charles I [N. & S. Carolina, from Latin for Charles], Queen Elizabeth I [Virginia, from her nickname of the Virgin Queen], Queen Henrietta Maria [wife of Charles I; Maryland], King George II, King Louis XIV, William Penn, Thomas West [3rd Baron De La Warr], and future King James II [at the time, he was Duke of York])
7 American Indians (Black Hawk, Chief Cornplanter, Chief Marin, Samoset, Chief Seattle, Sequoyah, and Tecumseh)
4 US Presidents (Andrew Jackson [twice], Abraham Lincoln [twice], Teddy Roosevelt [also a strong Scouting supporter], and George Washington)
3 early Scouting Founders (Baden-Powell, Dan Beard, and W.D. Boyce)
2 fictitious people (Evangeline [Louisiana parish named after title character in Longfellow poem 'Evangeline'] and Rip Van Winkle [title character in Washington Irving short story])

Special Note on Names of US Presidents

I've spotted only seven US Presidents with councils bearing their first & last names (counting U.S. Grant). There have been additional councils with just the last name of a president, but usually these were named after a city or county or river or other location that was named after the president rather than named directly for the president.

George Washington Council (1st president)—2 councils:
Hibbing, MN, 1925-29 (now part of the Voyageurs Area Council)
Pennington, NJ, 1937-99 (its successor council was ultimately split among four NJ & PA councils)
Andrew Jackson Council (7th president)—2 councils:
Florence, AL, 1926-30 (now within the Greater Alabama Council)
Flowood, MS, 1937-present
Abraham Lincoln Council (16th president)—1 council: Springfield, IL, 1925-present
U.S. Grant Area Council (18th president)—1 council: Freeport, IL, 1927-71 (now part of the Blackhawk Area Council)
Theodore Roosevelt Council (26th president)—2 councils:
Phoenix, AZ, 1962-93 ( now part of the Grand Canyon Council)
Massapequa, NY, 1997-present
Calvin Coolidge Council (30th president)—1 council: Bellows Falls, VT, 1927-71 (now part of the Green Mountain Council)
Gerald R. Ford Council (38th president)—1 council: Grand Rapids, MI, 1975-95 (now part of the Michigan Crossroads Council)

Councils, Regions, Areas, & NST's

At first, the national BSA office supported troops directly, while allowing any group of men to form a local council to meet the needs of their community. In 1913, BSA began issuing charters to 'First Class' and 'Second Class' councils. First Class councils served areas with large populations and could afford to pay a full-time Scout Executive. Second Class councils were run by volunteers. By 1945 there were 549 local councils. The trend ever since has been to consolidate, with 243 councils as of April 2024.

To coodinate councils and build Scouting, the national office first created 8 large Sections covering the continental US in 1913:

Eastern States Section
Southeastern States Section
Middle West Section
Northwest Section
Southern Central States Section
Mountain States Section
Southern Pacific States Section
Northern Pacific States Section

In 1921, the Sections were reorganized into 12 Regions, which coincided with the twelve US Federal Reserve districts. These regions were numbered rather than named, using roman numerals I through XII.

In 1972, the twelve regions were consolidated into six named Regions:

East Central
North Central
Northeast
Southeast
South Central
Western

In 1992, the six regions were further consolidated into four named Regions:

Central
Northeast
Southern
Western

In 2021, BSA consolidated/reorganized the 27 areas of those four regions into 16 numbered National Service Territories. These were further reorganized and consolidated into 14 NST's in 2024.

Girl Scout Councils

The Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) also divide the country into Councils. Here is a PDF file showing all 112 current local GSUSA Councils & headquarters city/state.