What is the difference between federal, state, county, and city government?

The four levels

Federal, state, county, and city governments each hold different powers under the U.S. and Tennessee constitutions. The federal government sets rules that apply everywhere in the country. Tennessee's state government sets rules that apply everywhere in Tennessee. Counties administer state programs — courts, elections, property assessment, jails — inside their borders. Cities run the services people actually see on their street: police, fire, garbage, zoning, local roads.

Where daily-life decisions happen

Most people assume the highest level controls the most. On the things that touch your daily life, the opposite is usually true. Your property tax rate is set by your county commission — not by Congress and not by the Tennessee General Assembly. Your local school policy is set by your school board. Your street's zoning is set by your city council or metro council. Whether the sheriff's deputy shows up when you call is a county-sheriff question, not a state one.

What each level actually decides

• Federal: national defense, immigration, interstate commerce, federal taxes, Social Security and Medicare, federal courts.
• State (Tennessee): criminal law, family law, education law, state highways, licensing (drivers, doctors, teachers), Medicaid administration.
• County: property assessment, property tax rate, sheriff, county jail, courthouses, election administration, county school system (in most counties).
• City: police (in cities that have one), fire, water and sewer, garbage, local zoning, sidewalks, local parks.

Why this matters when you vote

If you vote for a school board candidate because you want smaller class sizes and nothing changes, the answer is not that voting doesn't work. The answer is that the size of the school budget is set by the county commission or the metro council, and the state funding formula is set by the Tennessee General Assembly. The school board decides how to spend the budget it is given.

We break these overlaps down office-by-office on our offices pages and topic-by-topic on Who Controls This?.