County statistics of the United States

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The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states of the United States for the level of local government below the state itself. Louisiana uses the term "parishes," Alaska uses "boroughs." In several states in New England, 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 stastistical analysis.

Note that in Virginia, any municipality that is incorporated as a city legally becomes independent of any county. The statistics below do not include Virginia independent cities. The only Virginia statistic affected is "smallest county by area"; if independent cities are included, Falls Church becomes the smallest "county" in the state, and in fact the smallest county-level political subdivision in the United States, at 2.0 square miles (5 km²). The three independent cities in other states (Baltimore, Maryland, Carson City, Nevada, and St. Louis, Missouri) are also not included in these lists.

Note also that 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.

Although most U.S. counties were created during the 19th century, the most recent county in the United States is Broomfield County in Colorado, created in 2001.

1 Twenty most populous counties in America
2 By size (square miles)
3 By population (as of 2000)
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Twenty most populous counties in America

The population is based on a 2004 estimate. From the 2000 Census to the year 2004, all counties remained the same in ranking, while Dallas County overtook Queens County to rank ninth.

Rank	County name	Population
1	Los Angeles County, California	9,937,739
2	Cook County, Illinois	5,327,777
3	Harris County, Texas	3,644,285
4	Maricopa County, Arizona	3,501,001
5	Orange County, California	2,987,591
6	San Diego County, California	2,931,714
7	Kings County, New York	2,475,290
8	Miami-Dade County, Florida	2,363,600
9	Dallas County, Texas	2,294,706
10	Queens County, New York	2,237,216
11	Wayne County, Michigan	2,061,162
12	King County, Washington	1,737,034
13	San Bernardino County, California	1,709,434
14	Santa Clara County, California	1,682,585
15	Broward County, Florida	1,623,018
16	Riverside County, California	1,545,387
17	New York County, New York	1,537,195
18	Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania	1,517,550
19	Middlesex County, Massachusetts	1,465,396
20	Tarrant County, Texas	1,446,219

[edit] By size (square miles)

	Smallest	Largest
All States	Kalawao County, Hawaii (13)	North Slope Borough, Alaska (94,763)
Alabama	Etowah County, Alabama (535)	Baldwin County, Alabama (1,596)
Alaska	Bristol Bay Borough, Alaska (505)	North Slope Borough, Alaska (94,763)
Arizona	Santa Cruz County, Arizona (1,238)	Coconino County, Arizona (18,617)
Arkansas	Lafayette County, Arkansas (527)	Union County, Arkansas (1,039)
California	San Francisco, California (47)	San Bernardino County, California (20,062)
Colorado	Broomfield County, Colorado (27)	Las Animas County, Colorado (4,772)
Connecticut	Middlesex County, Connecticut (369)	Litchfield County, Connecticut (920)
Delaware	New Castle County, Delaware (426)	Sussex County, Delaware (938)
Florida	Union County, Florida (240)	Collier County, Florida (2,025)
Georgia	Clarke County, Georgia (121)	Ware County, Georgia (903)
Hawaii	Kalawao County, Hawaii (13)	Hawaii County, Hawaii (4,028)
Idaho	Payette County, Idaho (408)	Idaho County, Idaho (8,485)
Illinois	Putnam County, Illinois (160)	McLean County, Illinois (1,184)
Indiana	Ohio County, Indiana (87)	Allen County, Indiana (657)
Iowa	Dickinson County, Iowa (381)	Kossuth County, Iowa (973)
Kansas	Wyandotte County, Kansas (151)	Butler County, Kansas (1,428)
Kentucky	Robertson County, Kentucky (100)	Pike County, Kentucky (788)
Louisiana	Orleans Parish, Louisiana (181)	Rapides Parish, Louisiana (1,323)
Maine	Sagadahoc County, Maine (254)	Aroostook County, Maine (6,672)
Maryland	Calvert County, Maryland (215)	Frederick County, Maryland (663)
Massachusetts	Nantucket County, Massachusetts (48)	Worcester County, Massachusetts (1,513)
Michigan	Benzie County, Michigan (321)	Marquette County, Michigan (1,821)
Minnesota	Ramsey County, Minnesota (156)	St. Louis County, Minnesota (6,225)
Mississippi	Alcorn County, Mississippi (400)	Yazoo County, Mississippi (919)
Missouri	Worth County, Missouri (267)	Texas County, Missouri (1,179)
Montana	Silver Bow County, Montana (718)	Beaverhead County, Montana (5,542)
Nebraska	Sarpy County, Nebraska (241)	Cherry County, Nebraska (5,961)
Nevada	Storey County, Nevada (264)	Nye County, Nevada (18,147)
New Hampshire	Strafford County, New Hampshire (369)	Coos County, New Hampshire (1,801)
New Jersey	Hudson County, New Jersey (47)	Burlington County, New Jersey (805)
New Mexico	Los Alamos County, New Mexico (109)	Catron County, New Mexico (6,928)
New York	New York County, New York (23)	St. Lawrence County, New York (2,686)
North Carolina	Chowan County, North Carolina (173)	Robeson County, North Carolina (949)
North Dakota	Eddy County, North Dakota (630)	McKenzie County, North Dakota (2,742)
Ohio	Lake County, Ohio (229)	Ashtabula County, Ohio (703)
Oklahoma	Marshall County, Oklahoma (371)	Osage County, Oklahoma (2,251)
Oregon	Multnomah County, Oregon (435)	Harney County, Oregon (10,134)
Pennsylvania	Montour County, Pennsylvania (131)	Lycoming County, Pennsylvania (1,235)
Rhode Island	Bristol County, Rhode Island (25)	Providence County, Rhode Island (413)
South Carolina	McCormick County, South Carolina (360)	Horry County, South Carolina (1,134)
South Dakota	Clay County, South Dakota (412)	Meade County, South Dakota (3,471)
Tennessee	Trousdale County, Tennessee (114)	Shelby County, Tennessee (755)
Texas	Rockwall County, Texas (129)	Brewster County, Texas (6,193)
Utah	Davis County, Utah (305)	San Juan County, Utah (7,821)
Vermont	Grand Isle County, Vermont (83)	Windsor County, Vermont (972)
Virginia	Arlington County, Virginia (26)	Pittsylvania County, Virginia (978)
Washington	San Juan County, Washington (175)	Okanogan County, Washington (5,268)
West Virginia	Hancock County, West Virginia (83)	Randolph County, West Virginia (1,040)
Wisconsin	Ozaukee County, Wisconsin (232)	Marathon County, Wisconsin (1,545)
Wyoming	Hot Springs County, Wyoming (2,004)	Sweetwater County, Wyoming (10,426)

[edit] By population (as of 2000)

	Smallest	Largest
All States	Loving County, Texas (67)	Los Angeles County, California (9,519,338)
Alabama	Greene County, Alabama (9,974)	Jefferson County, Alabama (662,047)
Alaska	Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska (808)	Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska (260,283)
Arizona	Greenlee County, Arizona (8,547)	Maricopa County, Arizona (3,072,149)
Arkansas	Calhoun County, Arkansas (5,744)	Pulaski County, Arkansas (361,474)
California	Alpine County, California (1,208)	Los Angeles County, California (9,519,338)
Colorado	San Juan County, Colorado (558)	Denver County, Colorado (554,636)
Connecticut	Windham County, Connecticut (109,091)	Fairfield County, Connecticut (882,567)
Delaware	Kent County, Delaware (126,697)	New Castle County, Delaware (500,265)
District of Columbia	District of Columbia (572,059)
Florida	Liberty County, Florida (7,021)	Miami-Dade County, Florida (2,253,362)
Georgia	Taliaferro County, Georgia (2,077)	Fulton County, Georgia (816,006)
Hawaii	Kalawao County, Hawaii (147)	City & County of Honolulu (876,156)
Idaho	Camas County, Idaho (991)	Ada County, Idaho (300,904)
Illinois	Pope County, Illinois (4,413)	Cook County, Illinois (5,376,741)
Indiana	Ohio County, Indiana (5,623)	Marion County, Indiana (860,454)
Iowa	Adams County, Iowa (4,482)	Polk County, Iowa (374,601)
Kansas	Greeley County, Kansas (1,534)	Johnson County, Kansas (451,086)
Kentucky	Robertson County, Kentucky (2,266)	Jefferson County, Kentucky (693,604)
Louisiana	Tensas Parish, Louisiana (6,618)	Orleans Parish, Louisiana (484,674)
Maine	Piscataquis County, Maine (17,235)	Cumberland County, Maine (265,612)
Maryland	Kent County, Maryland (19,197)	Montgomery County, Maryland (873,341)
Massachusetts	Nantucket County, Massachusetts (9,520)	Middlesex County, Massachusetts (1,465,396)
Michigan	Keweenaw County, Michigan (2,301)	Wayne County, Michigan (2,061,162)
Minnesota	Traverse County, Minnesota (4,134)	Hennepin County, Minnesota (1,116,200)
Mississippi	Issaquena County, Mississippi (2,274)	Hinds County, Mississippi (250,800)
Missouri	Worth County, Missouri (2,382)	St. Louis County, Missouri (1,016,315)
Montana	Petroleum County, Montana (493)	Yellowstone County, Montana (129,352)
Nebraska	Arthur County, Nebraska (444)	Douglas County, Nebraska (463,585)
Nevada	Esmeralda County, Nevada (971)	Clark County, Nevada (1,375,765)
New Hampshire	Coos County, New Hampshire (33,111)	Hillsborough County, New Hampshire (380,841)
New Jersey	Salem County, New Jersey (65,285)	Bergen County, New Jersey (884,118)
New Mexico	Harding County, New Mexico (810)	Bernalillo County, New Mexico (556,678)
New York	Hamilton County, New York (5,379)	Kings County, New York (2,465,326)
North Carolina	Tyrrell County, North Carolina (4,149)	Mecklenburg County, North Carolina (695,454)
North Dakota	Slope County, North Dakota (767)	Cass County, North Dakota (123,138)
Ohio	Vinton County, Ohio (12,806)	Cuyahoga County, Ohio (1,393,978)
Oklahoma	Cimarron County, Oklahoma (3,148)	Oklahoma County, Oklahoma (660,448)
Oregon	Wheeler County, Oregon (1,547)	Multnomah County, Oregon (660,486)
Pennsylvania	Forest County, Pennsylvania (4,946)	Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania (1,517,550)
Rhode Island	Bristol County, Rhode Island (50,648)	Providence County, Rhode Island (621,602)
South Carolina	McCormick County, South Carolina (9,958)	Greenville County, South Carolina (379,616)
South Dakota	Jones County, South Dakota (1,193)	Minnehaha County, South Dakota (148,281)
Tennessee	Pickett County, Tennessee (4,945)	Shelby County, Tennessee (897,472)
Texas	Loving County, Texas (67)	Harris County, Texas (3,400,578)
Utah	Daggett County, Utah (921)	Salt Lake County, Utah (898,387)
Vermont	Essex County, Vermont (6,459)	Chittenden County, Vermont (146,571)
Virginia	Highland County, Virginia (2,536)	Fairfax County, Virginia (969,749)
Washington	Garfield County, Washington (2,397)	King County, Washington (1,737,034)
West Virginia	Wirt County, West Virginia (5,873)	Kanawha County, West Virginia (200,073)
Wisconsin	Menominee County, Wisconsin (4,562)	Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (940,164)
Wyoming	Niobrara County, Wyoming (2,407)	Laramie County, Wyoming (81,607)

NOTE: Due to the recent events of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, East Baton Rouge Parish is the most populous parish in Louisiana.

[edit] See also

Local government in the United States

[edit] External links

US Census Quick Facts
For a state map showing the counties, select in http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/ the state and select "view map"; select a county to obtain data about it.*
Labor Statistics County Employment and Wages
For a table of counties of a state, with areas, populations, densities and more (using miles), select the state in [1].
Map of the US showing population density per county (pdf, see p.6)
2002 Census of Governments; Volume 1, No. 1, Government Organization. U.S. Census Bureau. [2]. Page 8 shows a chart of counties by population and by state.