How many counties are there in the United States?
There are 3,144 counties and county equivalents in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. When the 100 county equivalents in U.S. territories are included, the total rises to 3,244.
Questions about County (United States)
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Which U.S. state has the most counties?
Texas has the most counties of any state, with 254. Delaware has the fewest, with just three. The average number of counties per state is 62.
Why does Louisiana have parishes instead of counties?
Louisiana uses the term parish because the land was governed during French and Spanish colonial periods when the Catholic Church administered local civil life. Of the original 19 civil parishes dating from Louisiana's statehood in 1807, nine were named directly after the Roman Catholic parishes from which they were governed.
What is the most populous county in the United States?
Los Angeles County, California, is the most populous county in the United States, with 10,014,009 residents in 2020. That population exceeds the total population of 41 individual U.S. states.
What is the least populous county in the United States?
Loving County, Texas, had just 64 residents in 2020, making it the least populous county. The median county in 2019 was Nicholas County, West Virginia, with a population of 25,965.
When were the first counties created in America?
Virginia created the first American counties in 1634, when the House of Burgesses formally divided the colony into eight shires. The oldest intact county court records in the country survive at Eastville, Virginia, with documents dating to 1632.