Scout councils (Boy Scouts of America)

Local councils of the Boy Scouts of America
The Ideal Scout, a statue by R. Tait McKenzie in front of the Bruce S. Marks Scout Resource Center in the Cradle of Liberty Council in Philadelphia
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The program of the Boy Scouts of America is administered through 253 local councils, with each council covering a geographic area that may vary from a single city to an entire state. Each council receives an annual charter from the National Council and is usually incorporated as a charitable organization.^[1] Most councils are administratively divided into districts that directly serve Scout units.

Councils previously fall into one of four regions: Western, Central, Southern, and Northeast.^[1] Each region is then subdivided into areas. The total number of councils depends on how they are counted:

• There are 253 individual local councils
• Direct Service covers units outside of local councils— although technically not a council it is assigned a council number
• Greater New York Councils has five boroughs, each with an assigned council number
• Michigan Crossroads Council has four field service councils, each with an assigned council number