In 45 of the 50 states of the United States, the county is used for the level of local government immediately below the state itself. Louisiana uses parishes, and Alaska uses boroughs. In Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, some or all counties within states have no governments of their own; the counties continue to exist as legal entities, however, and are used by states for some administrative functions and by the United States Census bureau for statistical analysis. There are 3,242 counties and county equivalent administrative units in total, including the District of Columbia and 100 county-equivalents in the U.S. territories.
There are 41 independent cities in the United States. In Virginia, any municipality that is incorporated as a city legally becomes independent of any county. Where indicated, the statistics below do not include Virginia's 38 independent cities.
In Alaska, most of the land area of the state has no county-level government. Those parts of the state are divided by the United States Census Bureau into census areas, which are not the same as boroughs. The state's largest statistical division by area is the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, which is larger than any of the state's boroughs. Although Anchorage is called a municipality, it is considered a consolidated city and borough.
There are 100 county-equivalents in the territories of the United States: they are the 3 districts and 2 atolls of American Samoa, all of Guam (Guam as one single county-equivalent), the 4 municipalities in the Northern Mariana Islands, the 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico, the 3 main islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the 9 islands in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.[1] [2] [3] All of these territorial county-equivalents are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.
This is the number of counties and county-equivalents for each state, the District of Columbia, the 5 inhabited territories of the United States, and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.
Lists of counties and county equivalents by number per political division:
| Count | State, federal district or territory | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 254 | The most counties of any U.S. state | ||
| 159 | |||
| 133 | 95 counties and 38 independent cities | ||
| 120 | |||
| 115 | 114 counties and 1 independent city | ||
| 105 | |||
| 102 | |||
| 100 | |||
| 99 | |||
| 95 | |||
| 93 | |||
| 92 | |||
| 88 | |||
| 87 | |||
| 83 | |||
| 82 | |||
| 78 | Puerto Rico has no counties. The 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico are counted as county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau | ||
| 77 | |||
| 75 | |||
| 72 | |||
| 67 | |||
| 67 | |||
| 67 | |||
| 66 | |||
| 64 | |||
| 64 | Louisiana has no counties. The 64 parishes of Louisiana are counted as county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau | ||
| 62 | New York City is a sui generis jurisdiction, in which the city government consists of 5 boroughs each coterminous with a county of the State of New York | ||
| 58 | |||
| 56 | |||
| 55 | |||
| 53 | |||
| 46 | |||
| 44 | |||
| 39 | |||
| 36 | |||
| 33 | |||
| 30 | Alaska has no counties. The following areas in Alaska are counted as county-equivalents: the 19 organized boroughs and, in its Unorganized Borough, 11 designated census areas | ||
| 29 | |||
| 24 | 23 counties and 1 independent city | ||
| 23 | |||
| 21 | |||
| 17 | 16 counties and 1 independent city | ||
| 16 | |||
| 15 | |||
| 14 | 8 of the 14 counties in Massachusetts were disincorporated in the 1990s and early 2000s; local government in these areas consists of cities and towns. One of the remaining 6 counties is a consolidated town-county | ||
| 14 | |||
| 10 | |||
| 9 | The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands does not have counties. The 9 islands in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands are counted as county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau | ||
| 9 | The U.S. Census Bureau uses Connecticut's nine planning regions instead of its eight historic counties for statistical purposes. | ||
| 5 | The 3 districts and 2 unorganized atolls of American Samoa are counted as county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau. American Samoa locally has 14 “counties”, but these “counties” are not counted as counties by the U.S. Census Bureau (they are treated as “minor civil divisions”) | ||
| 5 | |||
| 5 | Counties in Rhode Island have no governmental functions; local government is provided by eight cities and thirty-one towns | ||
| 4 | The Northern Mariana Islands has no counties. The 4 municipalities of the Northern Mariana Islands are counted as county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau | ||
| 3 | The fewest counties of any U.S. state | ||
| 3 | The U.S. Virgin Islands has no counties. The 3 main islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands are counted as county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau | ||
| 1 | The District of Columbia has no counties; the District of Columbia is considered both a state-equivalent and a county equivalent for statistical purposes[4] | ||
| 1 | Guam has no counties; Guam is considered both a state-equivalent and a county-equivalent for statistical purposes by the U.S. Census Bureau (similar to the District of Columbia) |
See main article: List of United States counties and county equivalents.
These rankings include county equivalents.
|
|
| Rank | County | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baker Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 0 |
| 2 | Howland Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 0 |
| 3 | Jarvis Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 0 |
| 4 | Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 0 |
| 5 | Kingman Reef, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 0 |
| 6 | Navassa Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 0 |
| 7 | Northern Islands Municipality, Northern Mariana Islands | 0 |
| 8 | Rose Atoll, American Samoa | 0 |
| 9 | Swains Island, American Samoa | 17 |
| 10 | Palmyra Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 20 |
See also: List of the most populous counties by U.S. state.
| State, federal district, or territory | Least populous | Population | Most populous | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greene | 7,629 | Jefferson | 667,820 | ||
| Yakutat | 704 | Anchorage | 288,121 | ||
 American Samoa | Rose Atoll | 0 | Western District | 31,819 | |
| Greenlee | 9,404 | Maricopa | 4,496,588 | ||
| Calhoun | 4,741 | Pulaski | 397,821 | ||
| Alpine | 1,235 | Los Angeles | 9,829,544 | ||
| San Juan | 733 | El Paso | 737,867 | ||
| Windham | 116,418 | Fairfield | 959,768 | ||
| Kent | 184,149 | New Castle | 571,708 | ||
| 670,050 | District of Columbia | 670,050 | |||
| Liberty | 7,900 | Miami-Dade | 2,662,777 | ||
| Georgia | Taliaferro | 1,558 | Fulton | 1,065,334 | |
 Guam | 153,835 | Guam | 153,835 | ||
| Kalawao | 82 | Honolulu | 1,000,890 | ||
| Clark | 792 | Ada | 511,931 | ||
| Hardin | 3,650 | Cook | 5,173,146 | ||
| Ohio | 5,978 | Marion | 971,102 | ||
| Adams | 3,641 | Polk | 496,844 | ||
| Greeley | 1,304 | Johnson | 613,219 | ||
| Robertson | 2,257 | Jefferson | 777,874 | ||
| Tensas | 4,043 | East Baton Rouge | 453,301 | ||
| Piscataquis | 17,165 | Cumberland | 305,231 | ||
| Kent | 19,270 | Montgomery | 1,054,827 | ||
| Nantucket | 14,491 | Middlesex | 1,614,742 | ||
| Keweenaw | 2,107 | Wayne | 1,774,816 | ||
| Traverse | 3,286 | Hennepin | 1,267,416 | ||
| Issaquena | 1,280 | Hinds | 222,679 | ||
| Worth | 1,983 | St. Louis | 997,187 | ||
| Petroleum | 519 | Yellowstone | 167,146 | ||
| McPherson | 379 | Douglas | 585,008 | ||
| Esmeralda | 743 | Clark | 2,292,476 | ||
| Coos | 31,268 | Hillsborough | 422,937 | ||
| Salem | 65,046 | Bergen | 953,819 | ||
| Harding | 639 | Bernalillo | 674,393 | ||
| Hamilton | 5,119 | Kings | 2,641,052 | ||
| Tyrrell | 3,254 | Wake | 1,150,204 | ||
| Slope | 690 | Cass | 186,562 | ||
 Northern Mariana Islands | Northern Islands Municipality | 7 | Saipan Municipality | 43,385 | |
| Vinton | 12,696 | Franklin | 1,321,414 | ||
| Cimarron | 2,248 | Oklahoma | 798,575 | ||
| Wheeler | 1,451 | Multnomah | 803,377 | ||
| Cameron | 4,459 | Philadelphia | 1,576,251 | ||
 Puerto Rico | Culebra Municipality | 1,792 | San Juan Municipality | 342,259 | |
| Bristol | 50,818 | Providence | 658,221 | ||
| Allendale | 7,858 | Greenville | 533,834 | ||
| Jones | 879 | Minnehaha | 199,685 | ||
| Pickett | 5,079 | Shelby | 924,454 | ||
| Loving | 57 | Harris | 4,728,030 | ||
 U.S. Minor Outlying Islands* | 6 entities | 0 | Wake Island | 100 | |
| Daggett | 976 | Salt Lake | 1,186,421 | ||
| Essex | 5,925 | Chittenden | 168,865 | ||
| Virgin Islands (U.S.) | Saint John Island | 3,881 | Saint Thomas Island | 42,261 | |
| Highland | 2,226 | Fairfax | 1,139,720 | ||
| Garfield | 2,286 | King | 2,269,675 | ||
| Wirt | 5,063 | Kanawha | 177,952 | ||
| Menominee | 4,289 | Milwaukee | 928,059 | ||
| Niobrara | 2,438 | Laramie | 100,863 |
See also: List of the largest counties in the United States by area.
The largest counties and county-equivalents are organized boroughs and the census areas of Alaska with the top two being Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area (145504.79sqmi) and North Slope Borough (88695.41sqmi). The smallest counties and county equivalents (in the 50 states) are the independent cities of Virginia with the extreme being Falls Church at 2.05sqmi. If the U.S. territories are included, the smallest county-equivalent is Kingman Reef, with a land area of 0.012sqmi.[9]
The following two tables exclude county-equivalents:
| Rank | County | Land area (sq mi) | Land area (km2) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Bernardino County, California | 20,056.94 | 51,947.24 | |
| 2 | Coconino County, Arizona | 18,618.89 | 48,222.70 | |
| 3 | Nye County, Nevada | 18,181.92 | 47,090.96 | |
| 4 | Elko County, Nevada | 17,169.83 | 44,469.66 | |
| 5 | Mohave County, Arizona | 13,311.08 | 34,475.54 | |
| 6 | Apache County, Arizona | 11,197.52 | 29,001.44 | |
| 7 | Lincoln County, Nevada | 10,633.20 | 27,539.86 | |
| 8 | Sweetwater County, Wyoming | 10,426.65 | 27,004.90 | |
| 9 | Inyo County, California | 10,180.88 | 26,368.36 | |
| 10 | Harney County, Oregon | 10,133.17 | 26,244.79 |
| Rank | County | Land area (sq mi) | Land area (km2) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kalawao County, Hawaii | 11.99 | 31.05 | |
| 2 | New York County, New York | 22.83 | 59.13 | |
| 3 | Bristol County, Rhode Island | 24.16 | 62.57 | |
| 4 | Arlington County, Virginia | 25.97 | 67.26 | |
| 5 | Broomfield County, Colorado | 33.03 | 85.55 | |
| 6 | Bronx County, New York | 42.10 | 109.04 | |
| 7 | Nantucket County, Massachusetts | 44.97 | 116.47 | |
| 8 | Hudson County, New Jersey | 46.19 | 119.63 | |
| 9 | San Francisco County, California | 46.87 | 121.39 | |
| 10 | Suffolk County, Massachusetts | 58.15 | 150.61 |
The following two tables include county-equivalents:
| Rank | County | Land area (sq mi) | Land area (km2) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska | 145,899.69 | 377,868.5 | |
| 2 | North Slope Borough, Alaska | 88.817.12 | 230,035.3 | |
| 3 | Bethel Census Area, Alaska | 40.633.31 | 105,239.8 | |
| 4 | Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska | 35,898.34 | 92,976.3 | |
| 5 | Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska | 34,319.1 | 88,886 | |
| 6 | Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska | 24,814.86 | 64,270.2 | |
| 7 | Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska | 24,681.54 | 63,924.9 | |
| 8 | Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska | 23,781.96 | 61,595.0 | |
| 9 | Nome Census Area, Alaska | 23,000.91 | 59,572 | |
| 10 | San Bernardino County, California | 20,052.5 | 51,936 |
| Rank | County | Land area (sq mi) | Land area (km2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kingman Reef, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 0.01 | 0.03 |
| 2 | Rose Atoll, American Samoa | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| 3 | Baker Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 0.5 | 1.4 |
| 4 | Howland Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 0.6 | 1.6 |
| 5 | Swains Island, American Samoa | 1 | 2.6 |
| 6 | Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 1.1 | 2.8 |
| 7 | Jarvis Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 1.7 | 4.5 |
| 8 | Navassa Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 2.08 | 5.4 |
| 9 | Independent City of Falls Church, Virginia | 2.1 | 5.44 |
| 10 | Midway Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 2.4 | 6.2 |
| Rank | County | Land area (sq mi) | Land area (km2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Independent City of Falls Church, Virginia | 2.1 | 5.4 |
| 2 | Independent City of Lexington, Virginia | 2.5 | 6.5 |
| 3 | Independent City of Manassas Park, Virginia | 2.5 | 6.5 |
| 4 | Independent City of Covington, Virginia | 4 | 10 |
| 5 | Independent City of Fairfax, Virginia | 6 | 16 |
| 6 | Independent City of Buena Vista, Virginia | 7 | 18 |
| 7 | Independent City of Emporia, Virginia | 7 | 18 |
| 8 | Independent City of Norton, Virginia | 7 | 18 |
| 9 | Independent City of Colonial Heights, Virginia | 8 | 21 |
| 10 | Independent City of Franklin, Virginia | 8 | 21 |
| 11 | Independent City of Galax, Virginia | 8 | 21 |
The following is a list of counties and county-equivalents showing the average size of each state/territory's counties, the smallest county (or equivalent) in each state/territory, and the largest county (or equivalent) in each state/territory. States/territories on the list are arranged by the average land area of their counties. Though not on the list, the North Slope Borough is the largest independently incorporated county equivalent. The Unorganized Borough is substantially larger, but is an extension of the State of Alaska government and not independently incorporated.
Also note that the smallest land area with county-level governance in the U.S. is Falls Church, Virginia, but it is an independent city and not a county or part of one. Kingman Reef is the smallest county-equivalent in all U.S. territory (though it has no government). Kalawao County, Hawaii is the smallest true county by land area.
| + Smallest, largest and average land areas for counties and county-equivalents by state and territory | ||||||||
| State federal district or territory | data-sort-type="number" | Avg. county land area, sq. mi. (km2) | Smallest county | data-sort-type="number" | Area, sq. mi. (km2) | Largest county | data-sort-type="number" | area, sq. mi. (km2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 50 states & D.C. | 1124.09sqmi | Independent City of Falls Church, Virginia | 2sqmi | Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska | 145505sqmi | |||
| The 50 states, D.C. & U.S. territories | 1090.69sqmi | Kingman Reef, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands | 0.01sqmi | Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska | 145505sqmi | |||
| 8545.7sqmi | 452.3sqmi | 145505sqmi | ||||||
| 7572.9sqmi | 1236.9sqmi | 18618.8sqmi | ||||||
| 6457.7sqmi | 144.6sqmi | 18181.9sqmi | ||||||
| 4221.4sqmi | 2004sqmi | 10426.6sqmi | ||||||
| 3675.7sqmi | 109.1sqmi | 6923.6sqmi | ||||||
| 2833.4sqmi | 298.7sqmi | 7819.9sqmi | ||||||
| 2685.8sqmi | 46.8sqmi | 20056.9sqmi | ||||||
| 2666.3sqmi | 431.3sqmi | 10133.1sqmi | ||||||
| 2599sqmi | 718.4sqmi | 5541.6sqmi | ||||||
| 1927.7sqmi | 253.6sqmi | 6671.3sqmi | ||||||
| 1878.3sqmi | 406.8sqmi | 8477.3sqmi | ||||||
| 1704sqmi | 173.9sqmi | 5267.9sqmi | ||||||
| 1619.4sqmi | 33sqmi | 4772.6sqmi | ||||||
| 1301.9sqmi | 630.1sqmi | 2760.3sqmi | ||||||
| 1284.5sqmi | 11.9sqmi | 4028.4sqmi | ||||||
| 1148.7sqmi | 412.1sqmi | 3470.9sqmi | ||||||
| 1028.5sqmi | 127sqmi | 6183.7sqmi | ||||||
| 915.2sqmi | 152.2sqmi | 6247.4sqmi | ||||||
| 895.3sqmi | 368.9sqmi | 1794.6sqmi | ||||||
| 890.8sqmi | 371sqmi | 2246.3sqmi | ||||||
| 826.1sqmi | 238.9sqmi | 5960.4sqmi | ||||||
| 800.4sqmi | 243.5sqmi | 1998.3sqmi | ||||||
| 778.7sqmi | 151.6sqmi | 1429.8sqmi | ||||||
| 767.4sqmi | 534.9sqmi | 1589.7sqmi | ||||||
| 760.1sqmi | 22.8sqmi | 2680.3sqmi | ||||||
| 752.2sqmi | 231.9sqmi | 1544.9sqmi | ||||||
| 693.8sqmi | 528.2sqmi | 1039.2sqmi | ||||||
| 681.2sqmi | 319.7sqmi | 1808.4sqmi | ||||||
| 675.1sqmi | 169.4sqmi | 1327.9sqmi | ||||||
| 667.8sqmi | 130.2sqmi | 1228.5sqmi | ||||||
| 658.3sqmi | 81.8sqmi | 969.3sqmi | ||||||
| 653.5sqmi | 359.1sqmi | 1133.9sqmi | ||||||
| 649.5sqmi | 426.2sqmi | 936sqmi | ||||||
| 605.3sqmi | 369.3sqmi | 920.5sqmi | ||||||
| 597.8sqmi | 61.9sqmi | 1177.2sqmi | ||||||
| 572.2sqmi | 400sqmi | 922.9sqmi | ||||||
| 564.2sqmi | 380.6sqmi | 972.7sqmi | ||||||
| 557.1sqmi | 44.9sqmi | 1510.7sqmi | ||||||
| 544.3sqmi | 160.1sqmi | 1183.3sqmi | ||||||
| 486.2sqmi | 172.4sqmi | 949.2sqmi | ||||||
| 464.3sqmi | 227.4sqmi | 701.9sqmi | ||||||
| 437.1sqmi | 82.6sqmi | 1039.6sqmi | ||||||
| 434.1sqmi | 114.1sqmi | 763.1sqmi | ||||||
| 404.5sqmi | 80.9sqmi | 660.2sqmi | ||||||
| 389.4sqmi | 86.1sqmi | 657.3sqmi | ||||||
| 361.7sqmi | 119.2sqmi | 892.4sqmi | ||||||
| 350.2sqmi | 46.1sqmi | 798.5sqmi | ||||||
| 329.1sqmi | 99.9sqmi | 786.8sqmi | ||||||
| 294.7sqmi | 2sqmi | 968.9sqmi | ||||||
| 210sqmi | 210sqmi | 210sqmi | ||||||
| 206.8sqmi | 24.1sqmi | 409.5sqmi | ||||||
| 61.05sqmi | 61.05sqmi | 61.05sqmi | ||||||
| 45.06sqmi | 4.84sqmi | 125.95sqmi | ||||||
| 44.75sqmi | 32.97sqmi | 59.75sqmi | ||||||
| 44.57sqmi | 20sqmi | 84sqmi | ||||||
| 15.4sqmi | 0.083sqmi | 28.87sqmi | ||||||
| 1.46sqmi | 0.01sqmi | 4.59sqmi | ||||||
See also: List of United States cities by population density.
Data presented below is based on U.S. Census department data from 2010.[10] Calculations are made by dividing the population by the land area. All county equivalents are included. This list includes the 50 most densely-populated counties and county-equivalents in the 50 states and District of Columbia, plus the 9 highest-density municipalities (county-equivalents) of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is the only U.S. territory with population densities (of county-equivalents) high enough to be on this list.[11] Note that many of these high-density counties are coterminous with large cities (for example San Francisco and Philadelphia) or are independent cities in Virginia (as well as Baltimore and St. Louis) which are considered county-equivalents.
This list was generated by dividing the population by the land area. All county equivalents are included. The list is dominated by just a few states: Alaska, Montana, and Texas together comprise about two-thirds of the entries. The Unorganized Borough is not included here as a unit, but its census areas (non-governmental entities) are. If the census areas were removed from the list, the Unorganized Borough would rank fourteenth with a density of 0.38/sqmi.
The 8 uninhabited county-equivalents in the U.S. territories are listed at the top of the table — these are technically the least-densely populated counties/county-equivalents in the United States, but since they have no people, they are listed unranked.
Data presented below is based on U.S. Census Bureau data from 2010. Calculations are made by dividing the population by the land area. All county equivalents are included.
Excluding the census areas of Alaska, Lake and Peninsula Borough is the least densely populated county equivalent with 0.069PD/sqmi.
The District of Columbia and Guam each only have one county-equivalent, so their most/least densely-populated county is the same.