| Independent city and Counties of Missouri | |
| Territory: | State of Missouri |
| Current Number: | 114 counties 1 independent city |
| Population Range: | 1,907 (Worth) – 987,059 (St. Louis) |
| Area Range: | (Worth) – (Texas) |
| Government: | County government |
| Subdivision: | cities, towns, unincorporated communities, census designated place |
There are 114 counties and one independent city in the U.S. State of Missouri. Following the Louisiana Purchase and the admittance of Louisiana into the United States in 1812, five counties were formed out of the Missouri Territory at the first general assembly: Cape Girardeau, New Madrid, Saint Charles, Saint Louis, and Ste. Genevieve. Most subsequent counties were apportioned from these five original counties. Six more counties were added through the 1836 Platte Purchase, the acquired lands of which formed the northwest tip of the state and consisted of Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Holt, Nodaway, and Platte counties.[1]
In Missouri, the county level of government comes between those of the city and the state. Its primary responsibilities include maintaining roads, providing security, prosecuting criminals, and collecting taxes. Elected officials at this level include a sheriff, prosecuting attorney, and assessor.[2]
Most of the counties in Missouri are named after politicians. One such county, Cass, was originally named Van Buren County after President Martin Van Buren, and was changed to its present name in support of Van Buren's Democratic opponent Lewis Cass during the presidential election of 1848. Other counties are named after war heroes, natural resources, explorers, and former U.S. territories.[3]
The city of St. Louis is an independent city, and is not within the limits of a county. Its residents voted to secede from St. Louis County in 1876. Throughout the United States, St. Louis is one of three independent cities outside the state of Virginia (the other two are Baltimore, Maryland, and Carson City, Nevada).[4]
Population figures are based on the 2023 Census estimate. According to that census estimate, the population of Missouri is 6,196,156, an increase of 0.7% from 2020. The average population of Missouri's counties is 53,880; St. Louis County is the most populous (987,059), and Worth County is the least (1,907). The average land area is 599sqmi. The largest county is Texas County (1,179 sq mi, 3,054 km2) and the smallest is St. Louis city (61.9 sq mi, 160 km2).[5] [6]
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) is used by the U.S. government to uniquely identify counties, and is provided for each entry. These codes link to the United States Census Bureau's "quick facts" for each county. To distinguish from counties in other states, one must use Missouri's FIPS code, 29. For example, Adair County's unique nationwide identifier is 29001.[7]
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| County | Etymology | Changed to | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allen County | Unknown | Atchison County in 1845 | |
| Ashley County | William Henry Ashley (1778–1838), early settler | Texas County in 1845 upon organization | |
| Decatur County | Stephen Decatur (1779–1820), American naval officer[8] | Ozark County in 1845 | |
| Highland County | Unknown | Sullivan County in 1845 upon organization | |
| Kinderhook County | Kinderhook, New York, birthplace of Martin Van Buren | Camden County in 1843 | |
| Lillard County | James Lillard of Tennessee, who served in the first state legislature of Missouri | Lafayette County in 1825 | |
| Niangua County | Niangua River, a tributary of the Osage River – "niangua" comes from the Native American word nehemgar, which means "a river of numerous springs or sources"[9] | Dallas County in 1844 because of the difficulty in pronouncing and spelling Niangua | |
| Seneca County | Seneca Nation, a group of Native Americans from New York | McDonald County in 1847 upon organization | |
| Van Buren County | Martin Van Buren (1782–1862), eighth President of the United States and also Vice President under Andrew Jackson | Cass County in 1849 in honor of Van Buren's opponent in the presidential election of 1848 |