This is a list of the ancient counties of England (excluding Monmouthshire) as recorded by the 1891 census, ordered by their area.
| Rank | County | Area (acres) | Area (square miles) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yorkshire | 3,882,848 | 6,067 |
| 2 | Lincolnshire | 1,693,547 | 2,646 |
| 3 | Devon | 1,667,097 | 2,605 |
| 4 | Norfolk | 1,308,440 | 2,044 |
| 5 | Northumberland | 1,289,756 | 2,015 |
| 6 | Lancashire | 1,207,605 | 1,887 |
| 7 | Somerset | 1,043,485 | 1,630 |
| 8 | Hampshire | 1,037,764 | 1,622 |
| 9 | Kent | 995,344 | 1,555 |
| 10 | Essex | 987,028 | 1,542 |
| 11 | Cumberland | 970,161 | 1,516 |
| 12 | Suffolk | 952,709 | 1,489 |
| 13 | Sussex | 933,269 | 1,458 |
| 14 | Wiltshire | 880,248 | 1,375 |
| 15 | Cornwall | 868,068 | 1,356 |
| 16 | Shropshire | 859,516 | 1,343 |
| 17 | Gloucestershire | 795,734 | 1,243 |
| 18 | Staffordshire | 749,601 | 1,171 |
| 19 | Derbyshire | 658,876 | 1,029 |
| 20 | Cheshire | 657,068 | 1,027 |
| 21 | Durham | 647,281 | 1,011 |
| 22 | Northamptonshire | 641,992 | 1,003 |
| 23 | Dorset | 632,272 | 987 |
| 24 | Warwickshire | 577,462 | 902 |
| 25 | Cambridgeshire | 549,749 | 859 |
| 26 | Nottinghamshire | 539,752 | 843 |
| 27 | Herefordshire | 537,363 | 839 |
| 28 | Leicestershire | 527,124 | 823 |
| 29 | Westmorland | 500,906 | 782 |
| 30 | Surrey | 485,128 | 758 |
| 31 | Oxfordshire | 483,614 | 755 |
| 32 | Worcestershire | 480,560 | 751 |
| 33 | Buckinghamshire | 475,694 | 743 |
| 34 | Berkshire | 462,224 | 722 |
| 35 | Hertfordshire | 406,161 | 635 |
| 36 | Bedfordshire | 298,494 | 466 |
| 37 | Huntingdonshire | 234,218 | 366 |
| 38 | Middlesex | 181,301 | 283 |
| 39 | Rutland | 97,273 | 152 |