State ranking

States ranked by the size of their typical county

The median county-equivalent population in each state, from Census Vintage 2024.

Short answer

The typical county is largest in Massachusetts, where the median county has 503,121 residents, and smallest in North Dakota, with 3,853. The national median county has 26,122.
#1 Massachusetts
503,121
  1. 01Massachusetts503,121
  2. 02New Jersey475,515
  3. 03Connecticut335,666
  4. 04Delaware271,134
  5. 05California187,274
  6. 06Hawaii163,688
  7. 07Florida154,693
  8. 08Rhode Island130,333
  9. 09Arizona125,773
  10. 10Maryland111,399
  11. 11New York85,936
  12. 12New Hampshire85,562
  13. 13Pennsylvania82,953
  14. 14Washington69,632
  15. 15South Carolina60,098
  16. 16Ohio58,250
  17. 17Maine54,142
  18. 18North Carolina52,768
  19. 19Oregon46,128
  20. 20Wisconsin41,821
  21. 21Michigan38,041
  22. 22Vermont37,543
  23. 23Indiana34,874
  24. 24Alabama33,813
  25. 25Tennessee32,883
  26. 26Louisiana31,591
  27. 27Virginia27,800
  28. 28New Mexico26,428
  29. 29Illinois24,447
  30. 30Georgia24,275
  31. 31Minnesota22,050
  32. 32Mississippi21,443
  33. 33West Virginia21,285
  34. 34Utah20,803
  35. 35Oklahoma20,577
  36. 36Kentucky19,740
  37. 37Texas19,267
  38. 38Missouri19,100
  39. 39Arkansas18,130
  40. 40Nevada17,116
  41. 41Colorado15,336
  42. 42Idaho15,019
  43. 43Iowa15,008
  44. 44Wyoming14,250
  45. 45Montana7,814
  46. 46Kansas6,946
  47. 47Alaska6,175
  48. 48Nebraska6,103
  49. 49South Dakota5,296
  50. 50North Dakota3,853
Median county residents. 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.

Why the median, not the average

A state's average county population is its total divided by its county count, which one large metro county can pull far up. The median is the county in the middle when all are sorted, so it describes the county most residents of rural and suburban areas would recognize. In Massachusetts, the ratio of average to median is 1.0; the typical county guide covers the national picture.

How this ranking is built

For each state, county-equivalent populations from Census Vintage 2024 are sorted and the middle value is taken, or the mean of the two middle values when the count is even. DC has one unit and is left out.

Questions people ask

Which state has the largest typical county?

Massachusetts, with a median county population of 503,121.

Which state has the smallest typical county?

North Dakota, with a median of 3,853.

Are independent cities included?

Yes. They count as county-equivalents in Virginia, Maryland, Missouri and Nevada.

Suggested citation

Online Map Tools. "States ranked by the size of their typical county." Published 2026-09-30. https://onlinemaptools.com/rankings/states-by-median-county-population. Data: Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates.

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 Vintage 2024 county population estimates

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

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