U.S. county map facts
How many county-level areas does a typical state have? Which are largest, smallest, or most often repeated? These results are calculated directly from the same 2025 Census boundary data used to draw this atlas.
National summary
The atlas contains 3,144 counties and county-equivalents across the 50 states and District of Columbia. Together, their rounded source fields sum to 3,533,633.2 square miles of land and 269,148.4 square miles of water. “County-equivalent” keeps the comparison national: the count includes Louisiana parishes, Alaska boroughs and census areas, Connecticut planning regions, independent cities, and Washington, D.C.
These figures describe geography, not population or government size. A county covering thousands of square miles can have fewer residents than a geographically tiny independent city, and county-equivalents do not all have the same legal powers.
How county counts vary by state
The average among the 50 states is 63 county-level units, but the average hides a broad spread. Texas has 254, the most of any state, while Delaware has 3. State size alone does not explain the pattern: Georgia has 159 counties, while much larger Alaska has 30 boroughs and census areas.
States with the most county-level units
| Rank | State | Units | Local terminology |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 254 | counties |
| 2 | Georgia | 159 | counties |
| 3 | Virginia | 133 | counties and independent cities |
| 4 | Kentucky | 120 | counties |
| 5 | Missouri | 115 | counties and an independent city |
| 6 | Kansas | 105 | counties |
| 7 | Illinois | 102 | counties |
| 8 | North Carolina | 100 | counties |
| 9 | Iowa | 99 | counties |
| 10 | Tennessee | 95 | counties |
States with the fewest county-level units
| Rank from fewest | State | Units | Local terminology |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delaware | 3 | counties |
| 2 | Hawaii | 5 | counties |
| 3 | Rhode Island | 5 | counties |
| 4 | Connecticut | 9 | planning regions |
| 5 | New Hampshire | 10 | counties |
| 6 | Massachusetts | 14 | counties |
| 7 | Vermont | 14 | counties |
| 8 | Arizona | 15 | counties |
| 9 | Maine | 16 | counties |
| 10 | Nevada | 17 | counties and an independent city |
Distribution of state county counts
A state near the national average is only one part of the picture. Grouping all 50 states into broad bands shows where most systems fall:
| County-level units | Number of states | Share of states |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer than 25 | 13 | 26% |
| 25–49 | 7 | 14% |
| 50–99 | 22 | 44% |
| 100 or more | 8 | 16% |
Largest, smallest, and typical county land area
The national median county-level land area is 615.6 square miles: half of the units are smaller and half are larger. The middle 50% run from roughly 431 to 924.2 square miles. That spread is more useful than a single average because the very large boroughs and census areas in Alaska pull an average upward.
Ten largest county-level areas by land
| Rank | County-level area | State | Land area |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | Alaska | 145,767.5 sq mi |
| 2 | North Slope Borough | Alaska | 88,792.8 sq mi |
| 3 | Bethel Census Area | Alaska | 40,654.9 sq mi |
| 4 | Northwest Arctic Borough | Alaska | 35,671.7 sq mi |
| 5 | Southeast Fairbanks Census Area | Alaska | 24,839.2 sq mi |
| 6 | Matanuska-Susitna Borough | Alaska | 24,707.1 sq mi |
| 7 | Copper River Census Area | Alaska | 24,647.4 sq mi |
| 8 | Lake and Peninsula Borough | Alaska | 23,896.6 sq mi |
| 9 | Nome Census Area | Alaska | 22,969.8 sq mi |
| 10 | San Bernardino County | California | 20,068.4 sq mi |
Alaska dominates this list because its county-equivalent geography is organized at a different scale from most county systems. The largest county proper in the dataset is San Bernardino County, California, at 20,068.4 square miles of land.
Ten smallest county-level areas by land
| Rank from smallest | County-level area | State | Land area |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Falls Church city | Virginia | 2 sq mi |
| 2 | Lexington city | Virginia | 2.5 sq mi |
| 3 | Manassas Park city | Virginia | 3 sq mi |
| 4 | Covington city | Virginia | 5.5 sq mi |
| 5 | Fairfax city | Virginia | 6.2 sq mi |
| 6 | Buena Vista city | Virginia | 6.4 sq mi |
| 7 | Emporia city | Virginia | 6.6 sq mi |
| 8 | Norton city | Virginia | 7.5 sq mi |
| 9 | Colonial Heights city | Virginia | 7.5 sq mi |
| 10 | Galax city | Virginia | 8.2 sq mi |
Small independent cities in Virginia occupy many of the lowest positions. They appear here because federal statistics treat them at the county level even though their geography and local structure differ from a conventional county.
Why county names repeat
The dataset contains 1,838 distinct short names. Of these, 442 occur in more than one state and 1,396 occur only once. Washington is the most repeated short name, appearing 31 times. A county name by itself is therefore not a reliable national identifier.
| Short name | Number of county-level matches | Example states |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | 31 | FL, GA, ID, IL, … |
| Franklin | 26 | FL, GA, ID, IL, … |
| Jefferson | 26 | FL, GA, ID, IL, … |
| Jackson | 24 | FL, GA, IL, IN, … |
| Lincoln | 24 | GA, ID, KS, KY, … |
| Madison | 20 | FL, GA, ID, IL, … |
| Clay | 18 | FL, GA, IL, IN, … |
| Montgomery | 18 | GA, IL, IN, IA, … |
| Union | 18 | FL, GA, IL, IN, … |
| Marion | 17 | FL, GA, IL, IN, … |
| Monroe | 17 | FL, GA, IL, IN, … |
| Wayne | 16 | GA, IL, IN, IA, … |
| Grant | 15 | IN, KS, KY, LA, … |
| Greene | 14 | GA, IL, IN, IA, … |
| Warren | 14 | GA, IL, IN, IA, … |
Use the county name finder to see all matching states. For a spreadsheet or database join, use the complete five-character FIPS code shown on each state page instead of matching on name.
How these facts were calculated
Every result on this page is computed at build time from the 2025 Census Bureau county cartographic boundary records used by the maps. The analysis includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia, matching the scope of this atlas; U.S. territories are outside these totals.
- Counts are the number of county or county-equivalent records in each state file.
- Land and water area use the source
ALANDandAWATERvalues converted to square miles and rounded at the record level. - Median and quartiles are based on the ordered county-level land-area values.
- Repeated names use the Census short-name field, so a suffix such as County or Parish does not create an artificial distinction.
Because area values are rounded before this page totals them, the sums are suitable for reference and comparison rather than precision surveying. Read the full data and map methodology for the source filename, map projection, and known limitations.