List of the most populous counties in the United States explained

See also: List of the largest counties in the United States by area. This is a list of the 100 most populous of the 3,144 counties in the United States based on the national decennial US census conducted on April 1, 2020 and vintage Census population estimates for July 1, 2023.[1]

Many of the counties on the list include major cities or metropolitan areas in all parts of the United States. Six of the listed counties have consolidated city and county government, namely the City and County of Honolulu, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, City and County of Philadelphia, City and County of San Francisco, City of Jacksonville and Duval County and City and County of Denver.[2] [3] [4] New York County, Bronx County, Kings County, Queens County and Richmond County are coterminous with the respective boroughs of New York City; they fall under the jurisdiction of the combined city government. Independent cities are not counted.

Many of the most populous counties listed are in Southern California, Illinois, Texas and New York and roughly correspond to the most populous cities in the United States. Counties in the Western United States are typically larger by area, so they often have higher raw populations even with comparable population densities.

List

This list lists the most populous US counties sorted according to both the 2020 official enumeration and 2023 vintage population estimates by the United States Census Bureau (USCB).

RankCountyStateLand areaApril 1,
2020
census
July 1,
2023
estimates
Mid-2020 to
mid-2023 change
County seat
km2[5] mi2The area in square kilometers of the column to the left divided by 2.589988110336 (1.6093442).absolute%
1Los AngelesCalifornia10,509.874,057.8810,014,0099,663,345-350,664-3.5Los Angeles
2CookIllinois2,448.38945.335,275,5415,087,072-188,469-3.6Chicago
3HarrisTexas4,411.991,703.484,731,1454,835,125103,9802.2Houston
4MaricopaArizona23,828.269,200.144,420,5684,585,871165,3033.7Phoenix
5San DiegoCalifornia10,895.124,206.633,298,6343,269,973-28,661-0.9San Diego
6Orange2,047.56790.573,186,9893,135,755-51,234-1.6Santa Ana
7Miami-DadeFlorida4,915.061,897.722,701,7672,686,867-14,900-0.6Miami
8DallasTexas2,256.60871.282,613,5392,606,358-7,181-0.3Dallas
9KingsNew York183.4170.822,736,0742,561,225-174,849-6.4Brooklyn, New York City (NYC)
10RiversideCalifornia18,664.707,206.482,418,1852,492,44274,2573.1Riverside
11ClarkNevada20,438.717,891.432,265,4612,336,57371,1123.1Las Vegas
12KingWashington5,479.292,115.572,269,6752,271,3801,7050.1Seattle
13QueensNew York281.10108.532,405,4642,252,196-153,268-6.8Queens, NYC
14San BernardinoCalifornia51,947.2320,056.942,181,6542,195,61113,9570.6San Bernardino
15TarrantTexas2,236.74863.612,110,6402,182,94772,3073.4Fort Worth
16Bexar3,211.121,239.822,009,3242,087,67978,3553.9San Antonio
17BrowardFlorida3,133.331,209.791,944,3751,962,53118,1560.9Fort Lauderdale
18Santa ClaraCalifornia3,341.341,290.101,936,2591,877,592-58,667-3.0San Jose
19WayneMichigan1,585.28612.081,793,5611,751,169-42,392-2.4Detroit
20MiddlesexMassachusetts2,118.14817.821,632,0021,623,952-8,050-0.5Lowell and Cambridge
21AlamedaCalifornia1,914.05739.021,682,3531,622,188-60,165-3.6Oakland
22New YorkNew York59.1322.831,694,2511,597,451-96,800-5.7Manhattan, NYC
23SacramentoCalifornia2,498.42964.641,584,1691,584,2881190.0Sacramento
24PhiladelphiaPennsylvania347.32134.101,603,7971,550,542-53,255-3.3Philadelphia
25HillsboroughFlorida2,642.341,020.211,459,7621,535,56475,8025.2Tampa
26Palm Beach5,100.001,970.001,492,1911,533,80141,6102.8West Palm Beach
27SuffolkNew York2,362.20912.051,525,9201,523,170-2,750-0.2Riverhead
28OrangeFlorida2,339.87903.431,429,9081,471,41641,5082.9Orlando
29NassauNew York737.41284.721,395,7741,381,715-14,059-1.0Mineola
30Bronx109.0342.101,472,6541,356,476-116,178-7.9Bronx, NYC
31TravisTexas2,564.61990.201,290,1881,334,96144,7733.5Austin
32FranklinOhio1,378.36532.191,323,8071,326,0632,2560.2Columbus
33OaklandMichigan2,247.24867.661,274,3951,270,426-3,969-0.3Pontiac
34HennepinMinnesota1,433.79553.591,281,5651,258,713-22,852-1.8Minneapolis
35CuyahogaOhio1,184.12457.191,264,8171,233,088-31,729-2.5Cleveland
36AlleghenyPennsylvania1,890.88730.071,250,5781,224,825-25,753-2.1Pittsburgh
37CollinTexas2,178.76841.221,064,4651,195,359130,89412.3McKinney
38WakeNorth Carolina2,163.21835.221,129,4101,190,27560,8655.4Raleigh
39Salt LakeUtah1,922.50742.281,185,2381,185,8135750.0Salt Lake City
40MecklenburgNorth Carolina1,356.75523.841,115,4821,163,70148,2194.3Charlotte
41Contra CostaCalifornia1,854.27715.941,165,9271,155,025-10,902-0.9Martinez
42FairfaxVirginia1,012.60390.971,150,3091,141,878-8,431-0.7Fairfax
43FultonGeorgia1,363.98526.631,066,7101,079,10512,3951.2Atlanta
44PimaArizona23,794.319,187.041,043,4331,063,16219,7291.9Tucson
45MontgomeryMaryland1,272.34491.251,062,0611,058,474-3,587-0.3Rockville
46DuvalFlorida1,974.07762.19995,5671,030,82235,2553.5Jacksonville
47FresnoCalifornia15,431.135,957.991,008,6541,017,1628,5080.8Fresno
48DentonTexas2,275.13878.43906,4221,007,703101,28111.2Denton
49WestchesterNew York1,114.98430.501,004,457990,817-13,640-1.4White Plains
50HonoluluHawaii1,555.92600.741,016,508989,408-27,100-2.7Honolulu
51St. LouisMissouri1,315.20507.801,004,125987,059-17,066-1.7Clayton
52GwinnettGeorgia1,114.69430.38957,062983,52626,4642.8Lawrenceville
53CapitolConnecticut2,660.801,027.34976,248975,328-920-0.1Hartford
54MarionIndiana1,026.41396.30977,203968,460-8,743-0.9Indianapolis
55PinellasFlorida709.14273.80959,107961,5962,4890.3Clearwater
56BergenNew Jersey603.49233.01955,732957,7362,0040.2Hackensack
57Prince George'sMaryland1,250.16482.69967,201947,430-19,771-2.0Upper Marlboro
58ErieNew York2,700.561,042.69954,236946,147-8,089-0.8Buffalo
59PierceWashington4,324.011,669.51921,130928,6967,5660.8Tacoma
60DuPageIllinois848.22327.50932,877921,213-11,664-1.3Wheaton
61Texas2,292885822,779916,77893,99911.4Richmond
62MilwaukeeWisconsin625.23241.40939,489916,205-23,284-2.5Milwaukee
63KernCalifornia21,061.578,131.92909,235913,8204,5850.5Bakersfield
64ShelbyTennessee1,976.61763.17929,744910,042-19,702-2.1Memphis
65HidalgoTexas4,068.521,570.87870,781898,47127,6903.2Edinburg
66MacombMichigan1,241.18479.22881,217875,101-6,116-0.7Mount Clemens
67El PasoTexas2,622.861,012.69865,657869,8804,2230.5El Paso
68MontgomeryPennsylvania1,251.07483.04856,553868,74212,1891.4Norristown
69WorcesterMassachusetts3,912.881,510.77862,111866,8664,7550.6Worcester
70MiddlesexNew Jersey800.08308.91863,162863,6234610.1New Brunswick
71Essex326.89126.21863,728851,117-12,611-1.5Newark
72SnohomishWashington5,406.012,087.27827,957844,76116,8042.0Everett
73BaltimoreMaryland1,549.59598.30854,535844,703-9,832-1.2Towson
74LeeFlorida2,031.88784.51760,822834,57373,7519.7Fort Myers
75VenturaCalifornia4,773.691,843.13843,843829,590-14,253-1.7Ventura
76HamiltonOhio1,051.30405.91830,639827,058-3,581-0.4Cincinnati
77PolkFlorida4,6601,798725,046818,33093,28412.9Bartow
78EssexMassachusetts1,275.73492.56809,829810,0892600.0Salem and Lawrence
79San FranciscoCalifornia121.4046.87873,965808,988-64,977-7.4San Francisco
80OklahomaOklahoma1,835.83708.82796,292808,86612,5741.6Oklahoma City
81San JoaquinCalifornia3,603.511,391.32779,233800,96521,7322.8Stockton
82MultnomahOregon1,117.05431.30815,428789,698-25,730-3.2Portland
83CobbGeorgia879.43339.55766,149776,74310,5941.4Marietta
84JeffersonKentucky985.27380.42782,969772,144-10,825-1.4Louisville
85SuffolkMassachusetts150.6258.15797,936768,425-29,511-3.7Boston
86DeKalbGeorgia693.03267.58764,382762,992-1,390-0.2Decatur
87MonroeNew York1,702.15657.21759,443748,482-10,961-1.4Rochester
88El PasoColorado5,508.392,126.80730,395744,21513,8201.9Colorado Springs
89NorfolkMassachusetts1,025.91396.11725,981727,4731,4920.2Dedham
90San MateoCalifornia1,161.37448.41764,442726,353-38,089-5.0Redwood City
91UtahUtah5,188.912,003.45659,399719,17459,7759.1Provo
92JacksonMissouri1,565.55604.46717,204718,5601,3560.2Independence and Kansas City
93DenverColorado401.36154.97715,522716,5771,0550.1Denver
94DavidsonTennessee1,305.44504.03715,884712,334-3,550-0.5Nashville
95MontgomeryTexas2,699.231,042.18620,443711,35490,91114.7Conroe
96LakeIllinois1,149.10443.67714,342708,760-5,582-0.8Waukegan
97HudsonNew Jersey119.6346.19724,854705,472-19,382-2.7Jersey City
98WillIllinois2,167.58836.91696,355700,7284,3730.6Joliet
99WilliamsonTexas2,889.991,115.83609,017697,19188,17414.5Georgetown
100TulsaOklahoma1,476.86570.22669,279682,86813,5892.0Tulsa

Notes and References

  1. Web site: More Counties Saw Population Gains in 2023 . United States Census Bureau . March 14, 2024 .
  2. Web site: This Is Your City and County of Honolulu Government . City and County of Honolulu . January 23, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080120164537/http://www.co.honolulu.hi.us/cchnl.htm#city . January 20, 2008 .
  3. Web site: City and County Organizational Chart . City and County of San Francisco . January 23, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080203180643/http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/mainpages_index.asp?id=7540 . February 3, 2008 .
  4. Web site: Active Colorado Municipalities as of January 26, 2010 . Colorado Department of Local Affairs . January 26, 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091212060308/http://www.dola.state.co.us/dlg/local_governments/municipalities.html . December 12, 2009 .
  5. http://www.geohive.com/cntry/usa.aspx GeoHive - the United States of America - US States and Counties