County ranking

Least populated counties in the US

The 50 smallest counties by Vintage 2024 population.

Short answer

Loving County, TX ranks first with 48 residents, followed by Kalawao County, HI (81) and King County, TX (215). The list ranks all 3,144 county-equivalents and shows the top 50.

#1 Loving County, TX: 48

Population 2024. Log scale. Rank 1 at the top.

Dots mark the location of each of the 50 rows listed.

Where the smallest counties are

Of the 50 least populous counties, 14 are in NE, 12 are in TX, 6 are in MT, 3 are in AK. Together these 50 counties average 1,226 square miles of land each.

Why tiny counties are harder to estimate

A county of a few hundred people can change noticeably when a handful of families move. The annual estimates rely on records of births, deaths, and migration, and in very small areas a few records have a large effect, so treat year to year changes with care.

How this ranking is built

Every county-equivalent in the 50 states and DC is sorted by its Census Vintage 2024 population estimate. Ties are broken by FIPS code. Each row links to the county page with its full profile and state rank.

Questions people ask

Which county ranks first?

Loving County, TX, with 48 residents.

Which data does this use?

Census Vintage 2024 population estimates and 2024 Gazetteer land area.

Are parishes and independent cities included?

Yes. All county-equivalents are ranked, including Louisiana parishes, Alaska boroughs and census areas, independent cities, Connecticut planning regions, and DC.

Suggested citation

Online Map Tools. "Least populated counties in the US." Published 2026-09-30. https://onlinemaptools.com/rankings/least-populous-counties. Data: Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates; 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.

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

Browse every state on the states page.