Are There Towns in the United States That Are Surrounded by Cities?

Yes, there are—but that depends on the definition of “surrounded.” To put it more precisely, there are many smaller municipalities in the United States that are completely or mostly surrounded by larger ones. Examples of such urban enclaves include Hamtramck, Michigan (surrounded by Detroit), and Harwood Heights and Norridge, Illinois (neighboring towns entirely surrounded by Chicago).

Beverly Hills, California, provides us with a famous but somewhat ambiguous example. Some sources state that the town is completely surrounded by Los Angeles. Other sources point out that Beverly Hills is bordered by both Los Angeles and West Hollywood—but West Hollywood itself is a separate municipality enclosed within the boundaries of the city of Los Angeles. This is a similar situation to the Harwood Heights–Norridge cluster inside the city limits of Chicago.

These urban enclaves exist for a variety of reasons. In the case of Harwood Heights and Norridge, the towns made two attempts to join Chicago (in 1928 and 1947), but these attempts foundered because of opposition from local residents. Eventually, the towns resolved to govern themselves and resisted any subsequent entreaties to join Chicago. At the same time Chicago’s wish to include O’Hare International Airport within its limits meant that the city had to expand around these two small towns, leaving them as urban “islands.” Sunset Valley, Texas, a town of a few hundred residents established in the 1950s, found itself in the pathway of Austin’s expansion. Not wanting to be subject to Austin’s regulations and taxes, it insisted on keeping its independence; so did two other tiny enclaves within the expanding city.

Beverly Hills has remained an independent city for reasons of enduring relevance in southern California: access to water and the influence of celebrities. A small settlement early in the 20th century, Beverly Hills considered annexation to Los Angeles in the 1920s in order to guarantee its water supply. Some residents dissented; they felt that the town would benefit from having more local control over such sectors as education and land use. On the side of the dissenters were the “Beverly Hills Eight”—stars of the silent screen, including such famous figures as Harold Lloyd, Rudolph Valentino, and Will Rogers. In one of the earliest recorded cases of Hollywood celebrity activism, the Eight campaigned to keep their town independent. They succeeded, and eventually Los Angeles surrounded Beverly Hills but did not annex it. The water problem was solved when Beverly Hills bought a water company from the future neighboring city of West Hollywood.

In some cases, a municipality may be surrounded by another municipality but total envelopment is prevented by a natural barrier. An example of such an enclave is Bratenahl, Ohio, a very small, wealthy village surrounded on three sides by Cleveland and by Lake Erie on the fourth. Bratenahl was formed in 1904; its inhabitants (including some of the metropolitan area’s richest people) seceded from Glenville when the latter town attempted to incorporate into Cleveland.

Because of differing definitions, as well as the wide variety of legal codes and regulations in the 50 states (not to mention gray areas), it is difficult to calculate exactly how many of these urban enclaves exist.