County (United States)

A county, in the United States, is a political subdivision and form of government that is right below the state. 48 out of the 50 states in the United States use counties. Louisiana calls its counties parishes while Alaska got rid of counties and only uses boroughs. Both of these are equal to the county. The list that the U.S. Census Bureau keeps that lists all of the counties in the United States says that there are 3,481 counties or other kinds of divisions that are equal to the county in the United States.

Map of the United States, showing the states, divided into counties.

The mid-western and northeastern states in the United States divide the county further into townships or towns, some of which have municipalities. The place where the county government and courts are is called the county seat.

On average, a county in the United States has a population of around 100,000 people. The county that has the most people living in it is Los Angeles County, California, where over 10 million people live. The county that has the fewest people living in it is Loving County, Texas, where as of the 2020 United States Census, 64 people live.

The average number of counties in each state is 62. Louisiana has the fewest counties with none. It is divided into parishes instead of counties. In states with counties, Delaware has the fewest with only 3. Texas has the most counties with 254.

These pages list all of the counties in each state:

254– Texas 159– Georgia 120– Kentucky 115– Missouri 105– Kansas 102– Illinois 100– North Carolina 99– Iowa 95– Tennessee 95– Virginia

93– Nebraska 92– Indiana 88– Ohio 87– Minnesota 83– Michigan 82– Mississippi 77– Oklahoma 75– Arkansas 72– Wisconsin 67– Pennsylvania

67– Florida 67– Alabama 66– South Dakota 64*– Louisiana 64– Colorado 62– New York 58– California 56– Montana 55– West Virginia 53– North Dakota

46– South Carolina 44– Idaho 39– Washington 36– Oregon 33– New Mexico 30**– Alaska 29– Utah 24– Maryland 23– Wyoming 21– New Jersey

17– Nevada 16– Maine 15– Arizona 14– Vermont 14– Massachusetts 10– New Hampshire 8– Connecticut 5– Rhode Island 5– Hawaii 3– Delaware

*Louisiana is divided into parishes instead of counties, which it does have 64 in total.

**Alaska is divided into boroughs and census areas instead of counties, which it does have 30 in total.

Other websites

• Geographic Areas Reference Manual by the United States Census Bureau
• National Association of Counties
• Cross-reference any State, County, City, ZIP Code in the U.S.
• U.S. County Formation Maps 1643-Present Archived 2008-08-27 at the Wayback Machine– Cumulative animated graphics.