Which states in the US refer to a councilman as an alderman?

St. Louis (city, at least), Missouri has a board of aldermen, though it is not a state.
But then, St. Louis is a weird place. Srsly. The city is not part of the county.

That’s a city thing, not a state. Chicago has 50 alderman.

It depends on the organization of the city government. It does not depend on the state. When a city is geographically subdivided into wards, as Chicago is, an alderman represents a particular ward. Other cities are not subdivided, and representatives to the city council are elected at large, generally in proportion to the city’s population. However, there is no legal distinction. The etymology of “alderman” goes back to the middle ages.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/alderman

I suspect it’s just a matter of local parlance.

Chicago Code Fan…Larger Cities that are sub divided into wards, precincts, or the like, usualy have a different person that is resposible for each “section”. What they call the person Alderman, Selectman, or Councilman usualy depends on the area.

I know when I lived in Milwaukee, those that served on the city council were called Aldermen, but I’m sure it’s no longer the case now that more women serve. I think it’s “Alderperson” there now.

After vote after vote we finally changed the titles for our city from Alderman to Councillor.