| Counties of Florida | |
| Alt: | A map of Florida's counties with counties labeled. Florida is shaped liked an "L" rotated 180 degrees. Many of the county borders follow the winding courses of river, some are straight. Some of larger counties tend to be in the center of the State. |
| Territory: | State of Florida |
| Current Number: | 67 |
| Population Range: | 7,706 (Liberty) – 2,686,867 (Miami-Dade) |
| Area Range: | (Union) – (Palm Beach) |
| Government: | County government |
| Subdivision: | Communities |
There are 67 counties in the U.S. state of Florida, which became a territory of the U.S. in 1821 with two counties complementing the provincial divisions retained as a Spanish territory, Escambia to the west and St. Johns to the east. The two counties were divided by the Suwannee River. All of the other counties were created later from these two original counties. Florida became the 27th U.S. state in 1845, and its last county was created in 1925 with the formation of Gilchrist County from a segment of Alachua County.[1] Florida's counties are subdivisions of the state government. Florida's most populous county is Miami-Dade County, the seventh most populous county in the nation, with a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census.[2]
In 1968, counties gained the power to develop their own charters.[3] All but two of Florida's county seats are incorporated municipalities: the exceptions are Crawfordville, county seat of rural Wakulla County,[4] and East Naples, located outside Naples city limits in Collier County.
The names of Florida's counties reflect its cultural heritage. Some are named for Confederate political leaders and Spanish explorers, marking the influence of Spanish sovereignty, while others are named for Christian saints, Native American sites, as well as political leaders of the United States. Natural features of the region, including rivers, lakes and flora, are also commonly used for county names. Florida has counties named for participants on both sides of Second Seminole War: Miami-Dade County is partially named for Francis L. Dade, a major in the U.S. Army at the time; Osceola County is named for the war's native Muscogee-Seminole resistance leader Osceola.
Population figures are based on the 2023 vintage Census population estimates. The population of Florida is 22,610,726, an increase of 5.0% from 2020. The average population of Florida's counties is 337,474; Miami-Dade County is the most populous (2,686,867) and Liberty County is the least (7,706). The average land area is 805 sq mi (2,085 km2). The largest county is Collier County as per 2020 Census bureau of 1,998.32 sq mi.https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/palmbeachcountyflorida,colliercountyflorida/PST045222
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. Florida's FIPS code of 12 is used to distinguish from counties in other states. For example, Alachua County's unique nationwide identifier is 12001.__TOC__
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Fayette County was created in 1832 from the portion of Jackson County east of the Chipola River, with county seat at Ochesee (now in Calhoun County east of Altha).[5] [6] In 1834 it was merged back into Jackson County.[7]
Five counties in Florida have been renamed. Most renamings occurred between 1845 and 1861, during the first sixteen years of Florida's statehood. One occurred in 1997, when Dade County changed its name to Miami-Dade County.
| County | Dates | Etymology | Fate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton County | 1844–1850 | Thomas Benton (1782–1858), U.S. Senator from Missouri who supported the Armed Occupation Act of 1842 that many Floridians wanted in order to evict Native Americans | Original name of county was Hernando County, and the name was changed back to that in 1850 | |
| Dade County | 1836–1997 | Francis L. Dade (–1835), Major in the United States Army during the Second Seminole War | Changed to Miami-Dade County in 1997, in order to benefit from the City of Miami's internationally recognizable name | |
| Mosquito County | 1824–1845 | Taken from the name the Spanish had given the entire coast, "Los Mosquitos" | Mosquito had already repeatedly ceded land to other counties by 1845, when it was renamed Orange County | |
| New River County | 1858–1861 | The New River | Renamed to Bradford County in 1861 | |
| St. Lucie County | 1844–1855 | Saint Lucy (283–304), the Christian martyr | Renamed Brevard County in 1855 |
| County | Proposal date | Etymology | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bloxham County | 1915[8] | William D. Bloxham (1835–1911), 13th and 17th governor of Florida | county seat at Williston | |
| Leigh Read County | 1842 | Leigh Read, legislator | proposed renaming of Mosquito County | |
| Miami County[9] | 1947 | City of Miami | consolidated city-county | |
| Ocean County | 1991 | Atlantic Ocean | Jacksonville Beaches. Idea was made due to neglect from Jacksonville but was later dropped. | |
| Springs County[10] | 2020 | City of High Springs | Proposal to split Alachua County along 34th Street, Gainesville.[11] |