State ranking

The largest county in every state

Each state's largest county-equivalent by land, ranked from largest to smallest.

Short answer

The largest state-leading county is Alaska: Yukon-Koyukuk at 145,769 sq mi. At the other end, the largest unit in District of Columbia covers only 61 sq mi.
#1 Alaska: Yukon-Koyukuk
145,769 sq mi
  1. 01Alaska: Yukon-Koyukuk145,769 sq mi
  2. 02California: San Bernardino County20,068 sq mi
  3. 03Arizona: Coconino County18,616 sq mi
  4. 04Nevada: Nye County18,182 sq mi
  5. 05Wyoming: Sweetwater County10,427 sq mi
  6. 06Oregon: Harney County10,134 sq mi
  7. 07Idaho: Idaho County8,478 sq mi
  8. 08Utah: San Juan County7,824 sq mi
  9. 09New Mexico: Catron County6,924 sq mi
  10. 10Maine: Aroostook County6,671 sq mi
  11. 11Minnesota: St. Louis County6,248 sq mi
  12. 12Texas: Brewster County6,184 sq mi
  13. 13Nebraska: Cherry County5,960 sq mi
  14. 14Montana: Beaverhead County5,543 sq mi
  15. 15Washington: Okanogan County5,266 sq mi
  16. 16Colorado: Las Animas County4,773 sq mi
  17. 17Hawaii: Hawaii County4,028 sq mi
  18. 18South Dakota: Meade County3,471 sq mi
  19. 19North Dakota: McKenzie County2,760 sq mi
  20. 20New York: St. Lawrence County2,680 sq mi
  21. 21Oklahoma: Osage County2,247 sq mi
  22. 22Florida: Collier County1,997 sq mi
  23. 23Michigan: Marquette County1,809 sq mi
  24. 24New Hampshire: Coos County1,795 sq mi
  25. 25Alabama: Baldwin County1,590 sq mi
  26. 26Wisconsin: Marathon County1,545 sq mi
  27. 27Massachusetts: Worcester County1,511 sq mi
  28. 28Kansas: Butler County1,430 sq mi
  29. 29Louisiana: Vernon Parish1,327 sq mi
  30. 30Pennsylvania: Lycoming County1,229 sq mi
  31. 31Illinois: McLean County1,183 sq mi
  32. 32Missouri: Texas County1,177 sq mi
  33. 33South Carolina: Horry County1,133 sq mi
  34. 34West Virginia: Randolph County1,040 sq mi
  35. 35Arkansas: Union County1,039 sq mi
  36. 36Connecticut: Capitol Planning Region1,027 sq mi
  37. 37Iowa: Kossuth County973 sq mi
  38. 38Vermont: Windsor County969 sq mi
  39. 39Virginia: Pittsylvania County969 sq mi
  40. 40North Carolina: Robeson County947 sq mi
  41. 41Delaware: Sussex County936 sq mi
  42. 42Mississippi: Yazoo County922 sq mi
  43. 43Georgia: Ware County899 sq mi
  44. 44New Jersey: Burlington County799 sq mi
  45. 45Kentucky: Pike County786 sq mi
  46. 46Tennessee: Shelby County753 sq mi
  47. 47Ohio: Ashtabula County702 sq mi
  48. 48Maryland: Frederick County661 sq mi
  49. 49Indiana: Allen County657 sq mi
  50. 50Rhode Island: Providence County409 sq mi
  51. 51District of Columbia: District of Columbia61 sq mi
Largest county, land sq mi. Log scale. Rank 1 at the top.
GeorgiaIndianaMaineMinnesotaNorth DakotaColoradoAlaskaArkansasIllinoisIowaMississippiNew YorkTennesseeTexasVirginiaKansasAlabamaNorth CarolinaMichiganMissouriNebraskaOhioSouth CarolinaVermontWisconsinCaliforniaKentuckySouth DakotaNevadaFloridaMarylandPennsylvaniaArizonaRhode IslandIdahoOregonMontanaWashingtonWest VirginiaNew MexicoNew HampshireOklahomaUtahWyomingHawaiiLouisianaMassachusettsConnecticutNew JerseyDelawareDistrict of Columbia

Darker states rank higher. Alaska and Hawaii are insets.

How much of its state the largest county covers

In Hawaii, Hawaii County covers 62.7% of the state's land, the highest share of any state with more than one county. In Georgia, the largest county covers only 1.6%. The median state-leading county has 1,545 square miles.

StateLargest countyShare of state land
HawaiiHawaii County62.7%
DelawareSussex County48.0%
Rhode IslandProvidence County39.6%
AlaskaYukon-Koyukuk25.5%
MaineAroostook County21.6%
ConnecticutCapitol Planning Region21.2%
New HampshireCoos County20.0%
MassachusettsWorcester County19.4%
NevadaNye County16.6%
ArizonaCoconino County16.4%
CaliforniaSan Bernardino County12.9%
New JerseyBurlington County10.9%
WyomingSweetwater County10.7%
OregonHarney County10.6%
VermontWindsor County10.5%
IdahoIdaho County10.3%
UtahSan Juan County9.5%
WashingtonOkanogan County7.9%
MinnesotaSt. Louis County7.8%
NebraskaCherry County7.8%
MarylandFrederick County6.8%
New MexicoCatron County5.7%
New YorkSt. Lawrence County5.7%
ColoradoLas Animas County4.6%
South DakotaMeade County4.6%
West VirginiaRandolph County4.3%
North DakotaMcKenzie County4.0%
MontanaBeaverhead County3.8%
South CarolinaHorry County3.8%
FloridaCollier County3.7%
OklahomaOsage County3.3%
MichiganMarquette County3.2%
AlabamaBaldwin County3.1%
LouisianaVernon Parish3.1%
WisconsinMarathon County2.9%
PennsylvaniaLycoming County2.7%
VirginiaPittsylvania County2.5%
TexasBrewster County2.4%
IllinoisMcLean County2.1%
ArkansasUnion County2.0%
KentuckyPike County2.0%
MississippiYazoo County2.0%
North CarolinaRobeson County1.9%
IndianaAllen County1.8%
TennesseeShelby County1.8%
KansasButler County1.7%
IowaKossuth County1.7%
OhioAshtabula County1.7%
MissouriTexas County1.7%
GeorgiaWare County1.6%

How this list is built

For each of the 50 states and DC, the county-equivalents are sorted by 2024 Gazetteer land area and the first is kept. Water is not counted. DC is a single county-equivalent, so its row is the district itself. The bars use a log scale because Alaska's largest unit is many times the size of any other.

Questions people ask

What is the largest county in the US?

Yukon-Koyukuk, Alaska, with 145,769 sq mi of land.

What is the largest county in the contiguous states?

San Bernardino County, California, with 20,068 sq mi.

Does this count water?

No. Land area only, from the 2024 Census Gazetteer.

Suggested citation

Online Map Tools. "The largest county in every state." Published 2026-09-30. https://onlinemaptools.com/rankings/largest-county-in-each-state. Data: Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties.

Journalists, students and researchers may quote these figures and reuse the table. Please credit Online Map Tools and link to this page. The underlying government data is in the public domain.

Download the data (CSV)

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.

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