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County statistics of the United States

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In 45 of the 50 states of the United States, the county is used for the level of local government immediately below the state itself. Louisiana uses parishes, and Alaska uses boroughs. In Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, 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 statistical analysis. There are 3,242 counties and county equivalent administrative units in total, including the District of Columbia and 100 county-equivalents in the U.S. territories.

There are 41 independent cities in the United States. In Virginia, any municipality that is incorporated as a city legally becomes independent of any county. Where indicated, the statistics below do not include Virginia's 38 independent cities.

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.

There are 100 county-equivalents in the territories of the United States: they are the 3 districts and 2 atolls of American Samoa, all of Guam (Guam as one single county-equivalent), the 4 municipalities in the Northern Mariana Islands, the 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico, the 3 main islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the 9 islands in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands. All of these territorial county-equivalents are defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Count

This is the number of counties and county-equivalents for each state, the District of Columbia, the 5 inhabited territories of the United States, and the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.

Delaware has three counties, the fewest of any state

Lists of counties and county equivalents by number per political division:

Count	State,
federal district
or territory	Notes
254	Texas Texas	The most counties of any U.S. state
159	Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia
133	Virginia Virginia	95 counties and 38 independent cities
120	Kentucky Kentucky
115	Missouri Missouri	114 counties and 1 independent city
105	Kansas Kansas
102	Illinois Illinois
100	North Carolina North Carolina
99	Iowa Iowa
95	Tennessee Tennessee
93	Nebraska Nebraska
92	Indiana Indiana
88	Ohio Ohio
87	Minnesota Minnesota
83	Michigan Michigan
82	Mississippi Mississippi
78	Puerto Rico Puerto Rico	Puerto Rico has no counties. The 78 municipalities of Puerto Rico are counted as county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau
77	Oklahoma Oklahoma
75	Arkansas Arkansas
72	Wisconsin Wisconsin
67	Alabama Alabama
67	Florida Florida
67	Pennsylvania Pennsylvania
66	South Dakota South Dakota
64	Colorado Colorado
64	Louisiana Louisiana	Louisiana has no counties. The 64 parishes of Louisiana are counted as county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau
62	New York New York	New York City is a sui generis jurisdiction, in which the city government consists of 5 boroughs each coterminous with a county of the State of New York
58	California California
56	Montana Montana
55	West Virginia West Virginia
53	North Dakota North Dakota
46	South Carolina South Carolina
44	Idaho Idaho
39	Washington Washington
36	Oregon Oregon
33	New Mexico New Mexico
30	Alaska Alaska	Alaska has no counties. The following areas in Alaska are counted as county-equivalents: the 19 organized boroughs and, in its Unorganized Borough, 11 designated census areas
29	Utah Utah
24	Maryland Maryland	23 counties and 1 independent city
23	Wyoming Wyoming
21	New Jersey New Jersey
17	Nevada Nevada	16 counties and 1 independent city
16	Maine Maine
15	Arizona Arizona
14	Massachusetts Massachusetts	8 of the 14 counties in Massachusetts were disincorporated in the 1990s and early 2000s; local government in these areas consists of cities and towns. One of the remaining 6 counties is a consolidated town-county
14	Vermont Vermont
10	New Hampshire New Hampshire
9	United States U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands does not have counties. The 9 islands in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands are counted as county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau
9	Connecticut Connecticut	The U.S. Census Bureau uses Connecticut's nine planning regions instead of its eight historic counties for statistical purposes.
5	American Samoa American Samoa	The 3 districts and 2 unorganized atolls of American Samoa are counted as county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau. American Samoa locally has 14 "counties", but these "counties" are not counted as counties by the U.S. Census Bureau (they are treated as "minor civil divisions")
5	Hawaii Hawaii
5	Rhode Island Rhode Island	Counties in Rhode Island have no governmental functions; local government is provided by eight cities and thirty-one towns
4	Northern Mariana Islands Northern Mariana Islands	The Northern Mariana Islands has no counties. The 4 municipalities of the Northern Mariana Islands are counted as county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau
3	Delaware Delaware	The fewest counties of any U.S. state
3	U.S. Virgin Islands Virgin Islands (U.S.)	The U.S. Virgin Islands has no counties. The 3 main islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands are counted as county-equivalents by the U.S. Census Bureau
1	District of Columbia District of Columbia	The District of Columbia has no counties; the District of Columbia is considered both a state-equivalent and a county equivalent for statistical purposes
1	Guam Guam	Guam has no counties; Guam is considered both a state-equivalent and a county-equivalent for statistical purposes by the U.S. Census Bureau (similar to the District of Columbia)

Total (50 states and District of Columbia): 3,143 (3,007 counties and 136 county equivalents)
Total (50 states, District of Columbia and territories): 3,243 (3,007 counties and 236 county equivalents)
Average number of counties per state (not including D.C. and the territories): 62.84
Average number of counties per state (including D.C. and the territories): 56.8947368421

Population

Nationwide population extremes

Main article: List of United States counties and county equivalents

These rankings include county equivalents.

Rank	County	Population
1	Los Angeles County, California	9,829,544
2	Cook County, Illinois	5,173,146
3	Harris County, Texas	4,728,030
4	Maricopa County, Arizona	4,496,588
5	San Diego County, California	3,286,069
6	Orange County, California	3,167,809
7	Miami-Dade County, Florida	2,662,777
8	Kings County, New York	2,641,052
9	Dallas County, Texas	2,586,050
10	Riverside County, California	2,458,395
11	Queens County, New York	2,331,143
12	Clark County, Nevada	2,292,476

Rank	County	Population
1	Loving County, Texas	57
2	Kalawao County, Hawaii	82
3	King County, Texas	258
4	Kenedy County, Texas	340
5	McPherson County, Nebraska	379
6	Arthur County, Nebraska	439
7	Blaine County, Nebraska	461
8	Petroleum County, Montana	519
9	Grant County, Nebraska	579
10	Loup County, Nebraska	604
11	McMullen County, Texas	608
12	Borden County, Texas	617

|} The following is a list of the least populous counties and county-equivalents in all U.S. territory. Note that the only entity on this list with a permanent human population is Swains Island, American Samoa. The first 8 counties (county-equivalents) are uninhabited, while the 10th on the list (Palmyra Atoll) has a small non-permanent human population whose maximum capacity is 20 people.

Rank	County	Population
1	Baker Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0
2	Howland Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0
3	Jarvis Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0
4	Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0
5	Kingman Reef, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0
6	Navassa Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0
7	Northern Islands Municipality, Northern Mariana Islands	0
8	Rose Atoll, American Samoa	0
9	Swains Island, American Samoa	0
10	Palmyra Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	20

File:Clear Day at Baldwin Hills.jpg|Los Angeles in Los Angeles County, California, the most populous county in the United States File:Strawn_Island_at_Palmyra_Atoll_NWR_(5123999194).jpg|Palmyra Atoll — the least-populous inhabited county or county-equivalent in the United States File:Loving County watertower.jpg|Loving County, Texas, the least populous county in the main 50-states in the United States.

Population per state or territory

State,
federal district,
or territory	Least populous	Population	Most populous	Population
Alabama	Greene	7,629	Jefferson	667,820
Alaska	Yakutat	704	Anchorage	288,121
American Samoa	Rose Atoll	0	Western District	31,819
Arizona	Greenlee	9,404	Maricopa	4,496,588
Arkansas	Calhoun	4,741	Pulaski	397,821
California	Alpine	1,235	Los Angeles	9,829,544
Colorado	San Juan	733	El Paso	737,867
Connecticut	Windham	116,418	Fairfield	959,768
Delaware	Kent	184,149	New Castle	571,708
District of Columbia	District of Columbia	670,050	District of Columbia	670,050
Florida	Liberty	7,900	Miami-Dade	2,662,777
Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia	Taliaferro	1,558	Fulton	1,065,334
Guam	Guam	153,835	Guam	153,835
Hawaii	Kalawao	82	Honolulu	1,000,890
Idaho	Clark	792	Ada	511,931
Illinois	Hardin	3,650	Cook	5,173,146
Indiana	Ohio	5,978	Marion	971,102
Iowa	Adams	3,641	Polk	496,844
Kansas	Greeley	1,304	Johnson	613,219
Kentucky	Robertson	2,257	Jefferson	777,874
Louisiana	Tensas	4,043	East Baton Rouge	453,301
Maine	Piscataquis	17,165	Cumberland	305,231
Maryland	Kent	19,270	Montgomery	1,054,827
Massachusetts	Nantucket	14,491	Middlesex	1,614,742
Michigan	Keweenaw	2,107	Wayne	1,774,816
Minnesota	Traverse	3,286	Hennepin	1,267,416
Mississippi	Issaquena	1,280	Hinds	222,679
Missouri	Worth	1,983	St. Louis	997,187
Montana	Petroleum	519	Yellowstone	167,146
Nebraska	McPherson	379	Douglas	585,008
Nevada	Esmeralda	743	Clark	2,292,476
New Hampshire	Coos	31,268	Hillsborough	422,937
New Jersey	Salem	65,046	Bergen	953,819
New Mexico	Harding	639	Bernalillo	674,393
New York	Hamilton	5,119	Kings	2,641,052
North Carolina	Tyrrell	3,254	Wake	1,150,204
North Dakota	Slope	690	Cass	186,562
Northern Mariana Islands	Northern Islands Municipality	7	Saipan Municipality	43,385
Ohio	Vinton	12,696	Franklin	1,321,414
Oklahoma	Cimarron	2,248	Oklahoma	798,575
Oregon	Wheeler	1,451	Multnomah	803,377
Pennsylvania	Cameron	4,459	Philadelphia	1,576,251
Puerto Rico	Culebra Municipality	1,792	San Juan Municipality	342,259
Rhode Island	Bristol	50,818	Providence	658,221
South Carolina	Allendale	7,858	Greenville	533,834
South Dakota	Jones	879	Minnehaha	199,685
Tennessee	Pickett	5,079	Shelby	924,454
Texas	Loving	57	Harris	4,728,030
United States U.S. Minor Outlying Islands*	6 entities	0	Wake Island	100
Utah	Daggett	976	Salt Lake	1,186,421
Vermont	Essex	5,925	Chittenden	168,865
U.S. Virgin Islands Virgin Islands (U.S.)	Saint John Island	3,881	Saint Thomas Island	42,261
Virginia	Highland	2,226	Fairfax	1,139,720
Washington	Garfield	2,286	King	2,269,675
West Virginia	Wirt	5,063	Kanawha	177,952
Wisconsin	Menominee	4,289	Milwaukee	928,059
Wyoming	Niobrara	2,438	Laramie	100,863

Area

Nationwide land area extremes

The largest counties and county-equivalents are organized boroughs and the census areas of Alaska with the top two being Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area (145,504.79 sqmi) and North Slope Borough (88,695.41 sqmi). The smallest counties and county equivalents (in the 50 states) are the independent cities of Virginia with the extreme being Falls Church at 2.05 sqmi. If the U.S. territories are included, the smallest county-equivalent is Kingman Reef, with a land area of 0.012 sqmi.

The following two tables exclude county-equivalents:

Rank	County	Land area
(sq mi)	Land area
(km2)
1	San Bernardino County, California	20,056.94	51,947.24
2	Coconino County, Arizona	18,618.89	48,222.70
3	Nye County, Nevada	18,181.92	47,090.96
4	Elko County, Nevada	17,169.83	44,469.66
5	Mohave County, Arizona	13,311.08	34,475.54
6	Apache County, Arizona	11,197.52	29,001.44
7	Lincoln County, Nevada	10,633.20	27,539.86
8	Sweetwater County, Wyoming	10,426.65	27,004.90
9	Inyo County, California	10,180.88	26,368.36
10	Harney County, Oregon	10,133.17	26,244.79

Rank	County	Land area
(sq mi)	Land area
(km2)
1	Kalawao County, Hawaii	11.99	31.05
2	New York County, New York	22.83	59.13
3	Bristol County, Rhode Island	24.16	62.57
4	Arlington County, Virginia	25.97	67.26
5	Broomfield County, Colorado	33.03	85.55
6	Bronx County, New York	42.10	109.04
7	Nantucket County, Massachusetts	44.97	116.47
8	Hudson County, New Jersey	46.19	119.63
9	San Francisco County, California	46.87	121.39
10	Suffolk County, Massachusetts	58.15	150.61

The following two tables include county-equivalents:

Rank	County	Land area
(sq mi)	Land area
(km2)
1	Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska	145,899.69	377,868.5
2	North Slope Borough, Alaska	88.817.12	230,035.3
3	Bethel Census Area, Alaska	40.633.31	105,239.8
4	Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska	35,898.34	92,976.3
5	Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska	24,814.86	64,270.2
6	Copper River Census Area, Alaska	24,692.00	63,951.98
7	Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska	24,681.54	63,924.9
8	Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska	23,781.96	61,595.0
9	Nome Census Area, Alaska	23,000.91	59,572
10	San Bernardino County, California	20,052.5	51,936

Rank	County	Land area
(sq mi)	Land area
(km2)
1	Kingman Reef, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0.01	0.03
2	Rose Atoll, American Samoa	0.1	0.3
3	Baker Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0.5	1.4
4	Howland Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0.6	1.6
5	Swains Island, American Samoa	1	2.6
6	Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	1.1	2.8
7	Jarvis Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	1.7	4.5
8	Navassa Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	2.08	5.4
9	Independent City of Falls Church, Virginia	2.1	5.44
10	Midway Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	2.4	6.2

Rank	County	Land area
(sq mi)	Land area
(km2)
1	Independent City of Falls Church, Virginia	2.1	5.4
2	Independent City of Lexington, Virginia	2.5	6.5
3	Independent City of Manassas Park, Virginia	2.5	6.5
4	Independent City of Covington, Virginia	4	10
5	Independent City of Fairfax, Virginia	6	16
6	Independent City of Buena Vista, Virginia	7	18
7	Independent City of Emporia, Virginia	7	18
8	Independent City of Norton, Virginia	7	18
9	Independent City of Colonial Heights, Virginia	8	21
10	Independent City of Franklin, Virginia	8	21
11	Independent City of Galax, Virginia	8	21

Largest county or county-equivalent: Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska
Largest true county: San Bernardino County, California
Smallest county or county-equivalent: Kingman Reef, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands
Smallest county or county-equivalent in the 50 states: Independent City of Falls Church, Virginia
Smallest true county: Kalawao County, Hawaii File:Ivanpah_Solar_Power_Facility_(1).jpg|San Bernardino County, California, the largest county in the United States by land area (excluding county-equivalents) File:Kalaupapa_penninsula.jpg|Kalawao County, Hawaii, the smallest county in the United States by land area (excluding county-equivalents) File:White_Mountains_NRA_(16102401664).jpg|Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, the largest county or county-equivalent by land area in the United States File:Kingman_Reef_Oct_2003.jpg|Kingman Reef, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands, the smallest county or county-equivalent by land area in the United States File:City_of_Falls_Church_Community_Center_2018.jpg|Falls Church, Virginia, the smallest county-equivalent in the 50 states by land area

Smallest, largest, and average area per state and territory

The following is a list of civil right appeal of jury appeal of judge counties and county-equivalents showing the average size of each state/territory's counties, the smallest county (or equivalent) in each state/territory, and the largest county (or equivalent) in each state/territory. States/territories on the list are arranged by the average land area of their counties. Though not on the list, the North Slope Borough is the largest independently incorporated county equivalent. The Unorganized Borough is substantially larger, but is an extension of the State of Alaska government and not independently incorporated.

Also note that the smallest land area with county-level governance in the U.S. is Falls Church, Virginia, but it is an independent city and not a county or part of one. Kingman Reef is the smallest county-equivalent in all U.S. territory (though it has no government). Kalawao County, Hawaii is the smallest true county by land area.

State
federal district
or territory	Avg. county land area, sq. mi. (km2)	Smallest county	Area, sq. mi. (km2)	Largest county	area, sq. mi. (km2)
The 50 states & D.C.	1124.09 sqmi	Independent City of Falls Church, Virginia	2.0 sqmi	Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska	145,505 sqmi
The 50 states, D.C.
& U.S. territories	1090.69 sqmi	Kingman Reef, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0.01 sqmi	Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska	145,505 sqmi
Alaska	8,545.7 sqmi	Skagway Municipality	452.3 sqmi	Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area	145,505 sqmi
Arizona	7,572.9 sqmi	Santa Cruz County	1,236.9 sqmi	Coconino County	18,618.8 sqmi
Nevada	6,457.7 sqmi	City of Carson City	144.6 sqmi	Nye County	18,181.9 sqmi
Wyoming	4,221.4 sqmi	Hot Springs County	2,004.0 sqmi	Sweetwater County	10,426.6 sqmi
New Mexico	3,675.7 sqmi	Los Alamos County	109.1 sqmi	Catron County	6,923.6 sqmi
Utah	2,833.4 sqmi	Davis County	298.7 sqmi	San Juan County	7,819.9 sqmi
California	2,685.8 sqmi	San Francisco County	46.8 sqmi	San Bernardino County	20,056.9 sqmi
Oregon	2,666.3 sqmi	Multnomah County	431.3 sqmi	Harney County	10,133.1 sqmi
Montana	2,599.0 sqmi	Silver Bow County	718.4 sqmi	Beaverhead County	5,541.6 sqmi
Maine	1,927.7 sqmi	Sagadahoc County	253.6 sqmi	Aroostook County	6,671.3 sqmi
Idaho	1,878.3 sqmi	Payette County	406.8 sqmi	Idaho County	8,477.3 sqmi
Washington	1,704.0 sqmi	San Juan County	173.9 sqmi	Okanogan County	5,267.9 sqmi
Colorado	1,619.4 sqmi	Broomfield County	33.0 sqmi	Las Animas County	4,772.6 sqmi
North Dakota	1,301.9 sqmi	Eddy County	630.1 sqmi	McKenzie County	2,760.3 sqmi
Hawaii	1,284.5 sqmi	Kalawao County	11.9 sqmi	Hawaii County	4,028.4 sqmi
South Dakota	1,148.7 sqmi	Clay County	412.1 sqmi	Meade County	3,470.9 sqmi
Texas	1,028.5 sqmi	Rockwall County	127.0 sqmi	Brewster County	6,183.7 sqmi
Minnesota	915.2 sqmi	Ramsey County	152.2 sqmi	St. Louis County	6,247.4 sqmi
New Hampshire	895.3 sqmi	Strafford County	368.9 sqmi	Coos County	1,794.6 sqmi
Oklahoma	890.8 sqmi	Marshall County	371.0 sqmi	Osage County	2,246.3 sqmi
Nebraska	826.1 sqmi	Sarpy County	238.9 sqmi	Cherry County	5,960.4 sqmi
Florida	800.4 sqmi	Union County	243.5 sqmi	Collier County	1,998.3 sqmi
Kansas	778.7 sqmi	Wyandotte County	151.6 sqmi	Butler County	1,429.8 sqmi
Alabama	767.4 sqmi	Etowah County	534.9 sqmi	Baldwin County	1,589.7 sqmi
New York	760.1 sqmi	New York County	22.8 sqmi	St. Lawrence County	2,680.3 sqmi
Wisconsin	752.2 sqmi	Pepin County	231.9 sqmi	Marathon County	1,544.9 sqmi
Arkansas	693.8 sqmi	Lafayette County	528.2 sqmi	Union County	1,039.2 sqmi
Michigan	681.2 sqmi	Benzie County	319.7 sqmi	Marquette County	1,808.4 sqmi
Louisiana	675.1 sqmi	Orleans Parish	169.4 sqmi	Vernon Parish	1,327.9 sqmi
Pennsylvania	667.8 sqmi	Montour County	130.2 sqmi	Lycoming County	1,228.5 sqmi
Vermont	658.3 sqmi	Grand Isle County	81.8 sqmi	Windsor County	969.3 sqmi
South Carolina	653.5 sqmi	McCormick County	359.1 sqmi	Horry County	1,133.9 sqmi
Delaware	649.5 sqmi	New Castle County	426.2 sqmi	Sussex County	936.0 sqmi
Connecticut	605.3 sqmi	Middlesex County	369.3 sqmi	Litchfield County	920.5 sqmi
Missouri	597.8 sqmi	City of St. Louis	61.9 sqmi	Texas County	1,177.2 sqmi
Mississippi	572.2 sqmi	Alcorn County	400.0 sqmi	Yazoo County	922.9 sqmi
Iowa	564.2 sqmi	Dickinson County	380.6 sqmi	Kossuth County	972.7 sqmi
Massachusetts	557.1 sqmi	Nantucket County	44.9 sqmi	Worcester County	1,510.7 sqmi
Illinois	544.3 sqmi	Putnam County	160.1 sqmi	McLean County	1,183.3 sqmi
North Carolina	486.2 sqmi	Chowan County	172.4 sqmi	Robeson County	949.2 sqmi
Ohio	464.3 sqmi	Lake County	227.4 sqmi	Ashtabula County	701.9 sqmi
West Virginia	437.1 sqmi	Hancock County	82.6 sqmi	Randolph County	1,039.6 sqmi
Tennessee	434.1 sqmi	Trousdale County	114.1 sqmi	Shelby County	763.1 sqmi
Maryland	404.5 sqmi	City of Baltimore	80.9 sqmi	Frederick County	660.2 sqmi
Indiana	389.4 sqmi	Ohio County	86.1 sqmi	Allen County	657.3 sqmi
Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia	361.7 sqmi	Clarke County	119.2 sqmi	Ware County	892.4 sqmi
New Jersey	350.2 sqmi	Hudson County	46.1 sqmi	Burlington County	798.5 sqmi
Kentucky	329.1 sqmi	Robertson County	99.9 sqmi	Pike County	786.8 sqmi
Virginia	294.7 sqmi	Independent City of Falls Church	2.0 sqmi	Pittsylvania County	968.9 sqmi
Guam	210 sqmi	Guam	210 sqmi	Guam	210 sqmi
Rhode Island	206.8 sqmi	Bristol County	24.1 sqmi	Providence County	409.5 sqmi
District of Columbia	61.05 sqmi	District of Columbia	61.05 sqmi	District of Columbia	61.05 sqmi
Puerto Rico	45.06 sqmi	Cataño Municipality	4.84 sqmi	Arecibo Municipality	125.95 sqmi
Northern Mariana Islands	44.75 sqmi	Rota Municipality	32.97 sqmi	Northern Islands Municipality	59.75 sqmi
U.S. Virgin Islands	44.57 sqmi	Saint John	20 sqmi	Saint Croix	84 sqmi
American Samoa	15.4 sqmi	Rose Atoll	0.083 sqmi	Western District	28.87 sqmi
United States U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	1.46 sqmi	Kingman Reef	0.01 sqmi	Palmyra Atoll	4.59 sqmi

Population density

Most densely populated

Data presented below is based on U.S. Census department data from 2010. Calculations are made by dividing the population by the land area. All county equivalents are included. This list includes the 50 most densely populated counties and county-equivalents in the 50 states and District of Columbia, plus the 9 highest-density municipalities (county-equivalents) of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is the only U.S. territory with population densities (of county-equivalents) high enough to be on this list. Note that many of these high-density counties are coterminous with large cities (for example San Francisco and Philadelphia) or are independent cities in Virginia (as well as Baltimore and St. Louis) which are considered county-equivalents.

Rank	County name	Principal cities	Pop/sq mi	Pop/km2
1	New York County, New York	Manhattan, New York City	69,468	26,822
2	Kings County, New York	Brooklyn, New York City	35,369	13,656
3	Bronx County, New York	The Bronx, New York City	32,903	12,704
4	Queens County, New York	Queens, New York City	20,554	7,936
5	City and County of San Francisco, California	San Francisco	17,179	6,633
6	Hudson County, New Jersey	Hoboken, Jersey City	13,732	5,302
7	Suffolk County, Massachusetts	Boston	12,417	4,794
8	Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	11,379	4,394
9	Washington, District of Columbia		9,857	3,806
10	Alexandria, Virginia		9,314	3,596
11	Arlington County, Virginia	Arlington	8,853	3,520
12	San Juan Municipality, Puerto Rico		8,262	3,190
13	Richmond County, New York	Staten Island, New York City	8,030	3,101
14	City of Baltimore, Maryland		7,672	2,962
15	Essex County, New Jersey	Newark	6,212	2,398
16	Falls Church, Virginia		6,170	2,382
17	Cataño Municipality, Puerto Rico		5,809	2,243
18	Manassas Park, Virginia		5,633	2,175
19	Cook County, Illinois	Chicago	5,495	2,122
20	Union County, New Jersey	Elizabeth	5,216	2,014
21	City of Saint Louis, Missouri		5,157	1,991
22	Nassau County, New York	Hempstead, western Long Island	4,705	1,817
23	Bayamón Municipality, Puerto Rico		4,695	1,813
24	Norfolk, Virginia		4,486	1,732
25	Charlottesville, Virginia		4,242	1,638
26	Milwaukee County, Wisconsin	Milwaukee	3,926	1,516
27	Denver County, Colorado	Denver	3,923	1,515
28	Carolina Municipality, Puerto Rico		3,900	1,506
29	Bergen County, New Jersey	Hackensack	3,884	1,500
30	Toa Baja Municipality, Puerto Rico		3,856	1,489
31	Manassas, Virginia		3,828	1,478
32	Orange County, California	Anaheim, Santa Ana, Irvine	3,808	1,470
33	Fairfax City, Virginia		3,617	1,396
34	Trujillo Alto Municipality, Puerto Rico		3,604	1,392
35	Guaynabo Municipality, Puerto Rico		3,551	1,371
36	Richmond, Virginia		3,415	1,318
37	Pinellas County, Florida	St. Petersburg	3,348	1,292
38	Ramsey County, Minnesota	St. Paul	3,342	1,290
39	Delaware County, Pennsylvania	Southwest Philadelphia suburbs	3,039	1,173
40	Wayne County, Michigan	Detroit	2,974	1,148
41	Portsmouth, Virginia		2,839	1,096
42	Winchester, Virginia		2,838	1,096
43	Lexington, Virginia		2,820	1,089
44	Harrisonburg, Virginia		2,808	1,084
45	Cuyahoga County, Ohio	Cleveland	2,800	1,081
46	DuPage County, Illinois	Western Chicago suburbs	2,800	1,081
47	Fairfax County, Virginia	Washington, D.C. suburbs	2,767	1,068
48	Toa Alta Municipality, Puerto Rico		2,742	1,058
49	Dallas County, Texas	Dallas	2,718	1,049
50	Passaic County, New Jersey	Paterson	2,715	1,048
51	Hampton, Virginia		2,674	1,032
52	Newport News, Virginia		2,634	1,017
53	Middlesex County, New Jersey	New Brunswick, Edison	2,622	1,012
54	DeKalb County, Georgia	Atlanta suburbs and small part of Atlanta	2,586	998
55	Caguas Municipality, Puerto Rico		2,439	942
56	Los Angeles County, California	Los Angeles	2,420	934
57	Harris County, Texas	Houston	2,402	928
58	Fredericksburg, Virginia		2,326	898
59	Camden County, New Jersey	Camden	2,322	896

Least densely populated

This list was generated by dividing the population by the land area. All county equivalents are included. The list is dominated by just a few states: Alaska, Montana, and Texas together comprise about two-thirds of the entries. The Unorganized Borough is not included here as a unit, but its census areas (non-governmental entities) are. If the census areas were removed from the list, the Unorganized Borough would rank fourteenth with a density of 0.38 /sqmi.

The 8 uninhabited county-equivalents in the U.S. territories are listed at the top of the table — these are technically the least-densely populated counties/county-equivalents in the United States, but since they have no people, they are listed unranked.

Rank	County name	Pop/sq mi	Pop/km2
—	Baker Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0	0
—	Howland Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0	0
—	Jarvis Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0	0
—	Johnston Atoll, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0	0
—	Kingman Reef, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0	0
—	Navassa Island, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	0	0
—	Northern Islands Municipality, Northern Mariana Islands	0	0
—	Rose Atoll, American Samoa	0	0
1	Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska	0.03	0.01
2	Lake and Peninsula Borough, Alaska	0.06	0.02
3	Yakutat Borough, Alaska	0.08	0.03
4	North Slope Borough, Alaska	0.10	0.04
5	Loving County, Texas	0.12	0.04
6	Denali Borough, Alaska	0.14	0.05
7	Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska	0.21	0.08
8	Esmeralda County, Nevada	0.21	0.08
9	Garfield County, Montana	0.25	0.10
10	Dillingham Census Area, Alaska	0.26	0.10
11	Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Alaska	0.28	0.10
12	Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska	0.28	0.11
13	Kenedy County, Texas	0.28	0.11
14	Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska	0.28	0.11
15	Petroleum County, Montana	0.29	0.11
16	King County, Texas	0.31	0.12
17	Harding County, New Mexico	0.32	0.12
18	Carter County, Montana	0.34	0.13
19	Nome Census Area, Alaska	0.41	0.16
20	Terrell County, Texas	0.41	0.16
21	Bethel Census Area, Alaska	0.41	0.16
22	Kusilvak Census Area, Alaska	0.43	0.16
23	Aleutians East Borough, Alaska	0.45	0.17
24	Harding County, South Dakota	0.47	0.18
25	Eureka County, Nevada	0.47	0.18
26	Lincoln County, Nevada	0.50	0.19
27	Powder River County, Montana	0.52	0.20
28	Catron County, New Mexico	0.53	0.20
29	Clark County, Idaho	0.55	0.21
30	Slope County, North Dakota	0.59	0.23
31	McMullen County, Texas	0.62	0.24
32	McPherson County, Nebraska	0.62	0.24
33	Culberson County, Texas	0.62	0.24
34	Sioux County, Nebraska	0.63	0.24
35	Arthur County, Nebraska	0.64	0.24
36	McCone County, Montana	0.65	0.25
37	Blaine County, Nebraska	0.67	0.26
38	Prairie County, Montana	0.67	0.26
39	Billings County, North Dakota	0.68	0.26
40	Borden County, Texas	0.71	0.27
41	Harney County, Oregon	0.73	0.28
42	Treasure County, Montana	0.73	0.28
43	Golden Valley County, Montana	0.75	0.29
44	Hinsdale County, Colorado	0.75	0.29
45	Hudspeth County, Texas	0.76	0.29
46	Meagher County, Montana	0.79	0.30
47	Kiowa County, Colorado	0.79	0.30
48	Grant County, Nebraska	0.79	0.30
49	Mineral County, Colorado	0.81	0.31
50	Phillips County, Montana	0.82	0.31

Population density per state and territory

Data presented below is based on U.S. Census Bureau data from 2010. Calculations are made by dividing the population by the land area. All county equivalents are included.

Excluding the census areas of Alaska, Lake and Peninsula Borough is the least densely populated county equivalent with 0.069 PD/sqmi.

The District of Columbia and Guam each only have one county-equivalent, so their most/least densely populated county is the same.

State
federal district
or territory	Least densely populated county	Population density	Most densely populated county	Population density
Alabama	Wilcox County	13.13 /sqmi	Jefferson County	592.53 /sqmi
Alaska	Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area	0.03 /sqmi	Anchorage Municipality	171.19 /sqmi
American Samoa	Rose Atoll	0.00 /sqmi	Western District	1139.00 /sqmi
Arizona	La Paz County	4.55 /sqmi	Maricopa County	414.89 /sqmi
Arkansas	Calhoun County	8.53 /sqmi	Pulaski County	503.77 /sqmi
California	Alpine County	1.59 /sqmi	San Francisco County	17179.15 /sqmi
Colorado	Hinsdale County	0.75 /sqmi	Denver County	3922.59 /sqmi
Connecticut	Litchfield County	206.31 /sqmi	Fairfield County	1467.18 /sqmi
Delaware	Sussex County	210.60 /sqmi	New Castle County	1263.18 /sqmi
District of Columbia	District of Columbia	9857.20 /sqmi	District of Columbia	9857.20 /sqmi
Florida	Liberty County	10.01 /sqmi	Pinellas County	3347.50 /sqmi
Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia	Clinch County	8.49 /sqmi	DeKalb County	2585.72 /sqmi
Guam	Guam	759.60 /sqmi	Guam	759.60 /sqmi
Hawaii	Kalawao County	7.50 /sqmi	Honolulu County	1586.71 /sqmi
Idaho	Clark County	0.55 /sqmi	Ada County	372.76 /sqmi
Illinois	Pope County	12.12 /sqmi	Cook County	5495.11 /sqmi
Indiana	Benton County	21.78 /sqmi	Marion County	2279.57 /sqmi
Iowa	Adams County	9.51 /sqmi	Polk County	750.51 /sqmi
Kansas	Greeley County	1.60 /sqmi	Johnson County	1149.57 /sqmi
Kentucky	Hickman County	20.23 /sqmi	Jefferson County	1948.11 /sqmi
Louisiana	Cameron Parish	5.32 /sqmi	Orleans Parish	2029.41 /sqmi
Maine	Piscataquis County	4.42 /sqmi	Cumberland County	337.23 /sqmi
Maryland	Garrett County	46.51 /sqmi	City of Baltimore	7671.51 /sqmi
Massachusetts	Franklin County	102.05 /sqmi	Suffolk County	12416.78 /sqmi
Michigan	Keweenaw County	3.99 /sqmi	Wayne County	2974.42 /sqmi
Minnesota	Lake of the Woods County	3.11 /sqmi	Ramsey County	3341.64 /sqmi
Mississippi	Issaquena County	3.40 /sqmi	DeSoto County	338.66 /sqmi
Missouri	Worth County	8.14 /sqmi	City of St. Louis	5157.48 /sqmi
Montana	Garfield County	0.25 /sqmi	Yellowstone County	56.19 /sqmi
Nebraska	McPherson County	0.63 /sqmi	Douglas County	1574.37 /sqmi
Nevada	Esmeralda County	0.21 /sqmi	Carson City	382.09 /sqmi
New Hampshire	Coos County	18.41 /sqmi	Hillsborough County	457.37 /sqmi
New Jersey	Salem County	199.10 /sqmi	Hudson County	13731.61 /sqmi
New Mexico	Harding County	0.32 /sqmi	Bernalillo County	570.76 /sqmi
New York	Hamilton County	2.81 /sqmi	New York County	69468.42 /sqmi
North Carolina	Hyde County	9.48 /sqmi	Mecklenburg County	1755.54 /sqmi
North Dakota	Billings County	0.68 /sqmi	Cass County	84.86 /sqmi
Northern Mariana Islands	Northern Islands Municipality	0.00 /sqmi	Saipan Municipality	1050.80 /sqmi
Ohio	Monroe County	32.12 /sqmi	Cuyahoga County	2799.95 /sqmi
Oklahoma	Cimarron County	1.34 /sqmi	Tulsa County	1058.14 /sqmi
Oregon	Harney County	0.73 /sqmi	Multnomah County	1704.93 /sqmi
Pennsylvania	Cameron County	12.83 /sqmi	Philadelphia County	11379.49 /sqmi
Puerto Rico	Culebra Municipality	156.40 /sqmi	San Juan Municipality	8262.30 /sqmi
Rhode Island	Washington County	385.67 /sqmi	Bristol County	2064.00 /sqmi
South Carolina	Allendale County	25.53 /sqmi	Greenville County	574.72 /sqmi
South Dakota	Harding County	0.47 /sqmi	Minnehaha County	209.95 /sqmi
Tennessee	Perry County	19.08 /sqmi	Davidson County	1243.33 /sqmi
Texas	Loving County	0.12 /sqmi	Dallas County	2718.00 /sqmi
United States U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	6 entities	0.00 /sqmi	Wake Island	39.80 /sqmi
Utah	Garfield County	0.99 /sqmi	Salt Lake County	1387.14 /sqmi
Vermont	Essex County	9.50 /sqmi	Chittenden County	291.74 /sqmi
U.S. Virgin Islands Virgin Islands (U.S.)	Saint John Island	211.80 /sqmi	Saint Thomas Island	1649.10 /sqmi
Virginia	Highland County	5.59 /sqmi	Alexandria City	9314.30 /sqmi
Washington	Garfield County	3.18 /sqmi	King County	912.87 /sqmi
West Virginia	Pocahontas County	9.27 /sqmi	Ohio County	419.98 /sqmi
Wisconsin	Iron County	7.80 /sqmi	Milwaukee County	3925.95 /sqmi
Wyoming	Niobrara County	0.94 /sqmi	Laramie County	34.15 /sqmi

Notes

| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415065256/http://commerce.alaska.gov/dca/LOGON/pubs/29_03.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=April 15, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080718230624/http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/dca/lbc/pubs/Local_Gov_AK.pdf | archive-date=2008-07-18 | url-status=dead

References

https://www.census.gov/geo/reference/codes/cou.html ‘’2010 FIPS Codes for Counties and County Equivalent Entities.’’ Census.gov. Retrieved June 2019.
https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/GARM/Ch4GARM.pdf ‘’States, Counties, and Statistically Equivalent Entities (Chapter 4).’’ Census.gov. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
https://web.archive.org/web/20151018122108/http://www.census.gov/geo/reference/ansi_statetables.html ''FIPS State Codes for the Outlying Areas of the United States and the Freely Associated States.'' [info about USMOI] (archived). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved June 2019.
(November 1994). "Geographic Areas Reference Manual". U.S. Department of Commerce.
"2021 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau.
CIA World Factbook — Palmyra Atoll. Retrieved June 2019.
"2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau.
"Census QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau.
https://www.britannica.com/place/Kingman-Reef ‘’Kingman Reef.’’ Britannica.com. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
"2010 Census Summary File 1: GEOGRAPHIC IDENTIFIERS". US Census.
"Puerto Rico Population Density 1950-2024".

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