State ranking

Number of counties in each state

County and county-equivalent counts for the 50 states and DC.

Short answer

There are 3,144 counties and county-equivalents in the 50 states and DC. Texas has the most with 254, then Georgia (159) and Virginia (133).
#1 Texas
254
  1. 01Texas254
  2. 02Georgia159
  3. 03Virginia133
  4. 04Kentucky120
  5. 05Missouri115
  6. 06Kansas105
  7. 07Illinois102
  8. 08North Carolina100
  9. 09Iowa99
  10. 10Tennessee95
  11. 11Nebraska93
  12. 12Indiana92
  13. 13Ohio88
  14. 14Minnesota87
  15. 15Michigan83
  16. 16Mississippi82
  17. 17Oklahoma77
  18. 18Arkansas75
  19. 19Wisconsin72
  20. 20Alabama67
  21. 21Florida67
  22. 22Pennsylvania67
  23. 23South Dakota66
  24. 24Colorado64
  25. 25Louisiana64
  26. 26New York62
  27. 27California58
  28. 28Montana56
  29. 29West Virginia55
  30. 30North Dakota53
  31. 31South Carolina46
  32. 32Idaho44
  33. 33Washington39
  34. 34Oregon36
  35. 35New Mexico33
  36. 36Alaska30
  37. 37Utah29
  38. 38Maryland24
  39. 39Wyoming23
  40. 40New Jersey21
  41. 41Nevada17
  42. 42Maine16
  43. 43Arizona15
  44. 44Massachusetts14
  45. 45Vermont14
  46. 46New Hampshire10
  47. 47Connecticut9
  48. 48Hawaii5
  49. 49Rhode Island5
  50. 50Delaware3
  51. 51District of Columbia1
Counties. 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.

What counts as a county

Census counts county-equivalents: Louisiana's parishes, Alaska's boroughs and census areas, independent cities in Virginia, Maryland, Missouri, and Nevada, Connecticut's planning regions, and the District of Columbia as a single unit.

Average county size varies with the count. The table below divides each state's land by its number of county-equivalents.

StateCountiesAverage land per county
Texas2541,029 sq mi
Georgia159363 sq mi
Virginia133297 sq mi
Kentucky120329 sq mi
Missouri115598 sq mi
Kansas105779 sq mi
Illinois102544 sq mi
North Carolina100486 sq mi
Iowa99564 sq mi
Tennessee95434 sq mi
Nebraska93826 sq mi
Indiana92389 sq mi
Ohio88464 sq mi
Minnesota87915 sq mi
Michigan83682 sq mi
Mississippi82572 sq mi
Oklahoma77891 sq mi
Arkansas75693 sq mi
Wisconsin72752 sq mi
Alabama67756 sq mi
Florida67801 sq mi
Pennsylvania67668 sq mi
South Dakota661,149 sq mi
Colorado641,619 sq mi
Louisiana64675 sq mi
New York62760 sq mi
California582,687 sq mi
Montana562,599 sq mi
West Virginia55437 sq mi
North Dakota531,302 sq mi
South Carolina46654 sq mi
Idaho441,878 sq mi
Washington391,704 sq mi
Oregon362,667 sq mi
New Mexico333,676 sq mi
Alaska3019,041 sq mi
Utah292,848 sq mi
Maryland24405 sq mi
Wyoming234,221 sq mi
New Jersey21350 sq mi
Nevada176,462 sq mi
Maine161,928 sq mi
Arizona157,577 sq mi
Massachusetts14557 sq mi
Vermont14658 sq mi
New Hampshire10895 sq mi
Connecticut9538 sq mi
Hawaii51,285 sq mi
Rhode Island5207 sq mi
Delaware3650 sq mi
District of Columbia161 sq mi

Questions people ask

Which state has the most counties?

Texas, with 254.

How many counties are in the United States?

3,144 counties and county-equivalents in the 50 states and DC, in the 2024 Census data.

Which state has the fewest counties?

Among the 50 states, Delaware with 3. DC is a single county-equivalent.

Suggested citation

Online Map Tools. "Number of counties in each state." Published 2026-09-30. https://onlinemaptools.com/rankings/states-by-number-of-counties. Data: Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties; Census ANSI and FIPS code lists.

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
  2. 02Census ANSI and FIPS code lists (last verified 2026-09-30)

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

Browse every state on the states page.