List of counties in Florida

Counties of Florida
Florida counties (clickable map)
Location	State of Florida
Number	67
Populations	7,706 (Liberty) – 2,686,867 (Miami-Dade)
Areas	240 square miles (620 km2) (Union) – 2,034 square miles (5,270 km2) (Palm Beach)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	Communities

Population by county:

  0–49,999

  50,000–99,999

  100,000–199,999

  200,000–299,999

  300,000–499,999

  500,000–749,999

  750,000–999,999

  1,000,000–1,499,999

  1,500,000–1,999,999

  2,000,000+

There are 67 counties in the U.S. state of Florida, which became a territory of the U.S. in 1821 with two counties complementing the provincial divisions retained as a Spanish territory, Escambia to the west and St. Johns to the east. The two counties were divided by the Suwannee River. All of the other counties were created later from these two original counties. Florida became the 27th U.S. state in 1845, and its last county was created in 1925 with the formation of Gilchrist County from a segment of Alachua County. ^[1] Florida's counties are subdivisions of the state government. Florida's most populous county is Miami-Dade County, the seventh most populous county in the nation, with a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census. ^[2]

In 1968, counties gained the power to develop their own charters. ^[3] All but two of Florida's county seats are incorporated municipalities: the exceptions are Crawfordville, county seat of rural Wakulla County, ^[4] and East Naples, located outside Naples city limits in Collier County.

The names of Florida's counties reflect its cultural heritage. Some are named for Confederate political leaders and Spanish explorers, marking the influence of Spanish sovereignty, while others are named for Christian saints, Native American sites, as well as political leaders of the United States. Natural features of the region, including rivers, lakes and flora, are also commonly used for county names. Florida has counties named for participants on both sides of the Second Seminole War: Miami-Dade County is partially named for Francis L. Dade, a major in the U.S. Army at the time; Osceola County is named for the war's native Muscogee-Seminole resistance leader Osceola. ^[5]

Population figures are based on the 2023 vintage Census population estimates. The population of Florida is 22,610,726, an increase of 5.0% from 2020. The average population of Florida's counties is 337,474; Miami-Dade County is the most populous (2,686,867) and Liberty County is the least (7,706). The average land area is 805 sq mi (2,085 km²). The largest county is Collier County as per 2020 Census bureau of 1,998.32 sq mi.

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) is used by the U.S. government to uniquely identify counties and is provided for each entry. These codes link to the United States Census Bureau's "quick facts" for each county. Florida's FIPS code of 12 is used to distinguish from counties in other states. For example, Alachua County's unique nationwide identifier is 12001. ^[6]

Counties

County	FIPS code [6]	County seat [7]	Est. [5]	Formed from [8]	Etymology [5]	Density	Population [9]	Area [10] [7]	Map
AlachuaCounty	001	Gainesville	1824	Duval and St. Johns	From a Seminole-Creek word meaning "jug", apparently in reference to the sinkholes common in the area [11]	327.22	285,994	874 sq mi (2,264 km2)
BakerCounty	003	Macclenny	1861	New River	James McNair Baker (1821–1892), a Confederate senator and later a judge in the fourth judicial district	48.49	28,368	585 sq mi (1,515 km2)
BayCounty	005	Panama City	1913	Calhoun and Washington	St. Andrew's Bay, the central geographic feature of the county	249.70	190,769	764 sq mi (1,979 km2)
BradfordCounty	007	Starke	1858	Columbia named New River until 1861	Richard Bradford, the first officer from Florida to die in the Civil War; he was killed during the Battle of Santa Rosa Island	95.08	27,858	293 sq mi (759 km2)
BrevardCounty	009	Titusville	1844	Hillsborough and Mosquito named St. Lucie until 1855 [12]	Theodore Washington Brevard, early settler and later state comptroller from 1853 to 1861 [12]	632.59	643,979	1,018 sq mi (2,637 km2)
BrowardCounty	011	Fort Lauderdale	1915	Miami-Dade and Palm Beach	Napoleon Bonaparte Broward (1857–1910), 19th governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909	1623.27	1,962,531	1,209 sq mi (3,131 km2)
CalhounCounty	013	Blountstown	1838	Franklin, Jackson, and Washington	John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) leading Southern politician from South Carolina	23.76	13,470	567 sq mi (1,469 km2)
CharlotteCounty	015	Punta Gorda	1921	DeSoto	Probably a corruption of the name of the Calusa, a group of Native Americans from the area	297.02	206,134	694 sq mi (1,797 km2)
CitrusCounty	017	Inverness	1887	Hernando	The county's citrus trees	285.44	166,696	584 sq mi (1,513 km2)
ClayCounty	019	Green Cove Springs	1858	Duval	Henry Clay (1777–1852), Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829 under John Quincy Adams	386.75	232,439	601 sq mi (1,557 km2)
CollierCounty	021	East Naples	1923	Lee	Barron Collier (1873–1939), an advertising entrepreneur who developed much of the land in southern Florida	199.56	404,310	2,026 sq mi (5,247 km2)
ColumbiaCounty	023	Lake City	1832	Alachua	Christopher Columbus (c. 1451–1506), explorer of the Americas	91.67	73,063	797 sq mi (2,064 km2)
DeSotoCounty	027	Arcadia	1887	Manatee	Hernando de Soto (c. 1496/1497–1542), a Spanish explorer and conquistador	56.48	35,979	637 sq mi (1,650 km2)
DixieCounty	029	Cross City	1921	Lafayette	Dixie, the common nickname for the Southern United States	24.81	17,465	704 sq mi (1,823 km2)
DuvalCounty	031	Jacksonville	1822	St. Johns	William Pope Duval (1784–1854), the first governor of the Florida Territory	1331.81	1,030,822	774 sq mi (2,005 km2)
EscambiaCounty	033	Pensacola	1821	One of the two original counties	Disputed origin; possibly from the Creek or Choctawword Shambia, meaning "clear water", or from Spanish word "cambiar", meaning to barter	492.36	326,928	664 sq mi (1,720 km2)
FlaglerCounty	035	Bunnell	1917	St. Johns and Volusia	Henry Morrison Flagler (1830–1913), founder of the Florida East Coast Railway	271.01	131,439	485 sq mi (1,256 km2)
FranklinCounty	037	Apalachicola	1832	Gadsden and Washington	Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America	23.58	12,594	534 sq mi (1,383 km2)
GadsdenCounty	039	Quincy	1823	Jackson	James Gadsden (1788–1858), American diplomat and namesake of the Gadsden Purchase	84.95	43,833	516 sq mi (1,336 km2)
GilchristCounty	041	Trenton	1925	Alachua	Albert W. Gilchrist (1858–1926), the 20th governor of Florida	56.12	19,587	349 sq mi (904 km2)
GladesCounty	043	Moore Haven	1921	DeSoto	The Florida Everglades	16.52	12,786	774 sq mi (2,005 km2)
GulfCounty	045	Port St. Joe	1925	Calhoun	The Gulf of Mexico	27.78	15,693	565 sq mi (1,463 km2)
HamiltonCounty	047	Jasper	1827	Jefferson	Alexander Hamilton (1757–1804), the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and a Founding Father	26.16	13,471	515 sq mi (1,334 km2)
HardeeCounty	049	Wauchula	1921	DeSoto	Cary A. Hardee (1876–1957), governor of Florida at the time of creation of Hardee County	40.44	25,760	637 sq mi (1,650 km2)
HendryCounty	051	LaBelle	1923	Lee	Francis A. Hendry (1833–1917), early Floridian pioneer and politician	37.58	43,333	1,153 sq mi (2,986 km2)
HernandoCounty	053	Brooksville	1843	Alachua and Hillsborough named Benton from 1844 to 1850	Hernando de Soto (c. 1496/1497–1542), a Spanish explorer and conquistador	445.20	212,807	478 sq mi (1,238 km2)
HighlandsCounty	055	Sebring	1921	DeSoto	Named for the county's hilly terrain	104.68	107,614	1,028 sq mi (2,663 km2)
HillsboroughCounty	057	Tampa	1834	Alachua	Wills Hill, Earl of Hillsborough (1718–1793), former Secretary of State for the Colonies	1461.05	1,535,564	1,051 sq mi (2,722 km2)
HolmesCounty	059	Bonifay	1848	Jackson and Walton	Holmes Creek, which forms the eastern boundary of the county	41.38	19,944	482 sq mi (1,248 km2)
Indian RiverCounty	061	Vero Beach	1925	St. Lucie	The Indian River Lagoon, which flows through the county	337.56	169,795	503 sq mi (1,303 km2)
JacksonCounty	063	Marianna	1822	Escambia	Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), the seventh President of the United States	53.08	48,622	916 sq mi (2,372 km2)
JeffersonCounty	065	Monticello	1827	Leon	Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), the third President of the United States and principal author of the Declaration of Independence	25.84	15,450	598 sq mi (1,549 km2)
LafayetteCounty	067	Mayo	1856	Madison	Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette (1757–1834), French aristocrat and general in the American Revolutionary War	14.88	8,078	543 sq mi (1,406 km2)
LakeCounty	069	Tavares	1887	Orange and Sumter	Named for the many lakes in the region	445.40	424,462	953 sq mi (2,468 km2)
LeeCounty	071	Fort Myers	1887	Monroe	Robert E. Lee (1807–1870), commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War	1038.03	834,573	804 sq mi (2,082 km2)
LeonCounty	073	Tallahassee	1824	Gadsden	Juan Ponce de León (1474–1521), Spanish explorer who named Florida	445.15	296,913	667 sq mi (1,728 km2)
LevyCounty	075	Bronson	1845	Alachua	David Levy Yulee (1810–1886), one of the state's original United States Senators	41.63	46,545	1,118 sq mi (2,896 km2)
LibertyCounty	077	Bristol	1855	Gadsden	The patriotic ideal of liberty	9.22	7,706	836 sq mi (2,165 km2)
MadisonCounty	079	Madison	1827	Jefferson	James Madison (1751–1836), fourth President of the United States	26.76	18,519	692 sq mi (1,792 km2)
ManateeCounty	081	Bradenton	1855	Hillsborough	The manatee, or sea cow, is native to Florida waters.	595.27	441,095	741 sq mi (1,919 km2)
MarionCounty	083	Ocala	1844	Alachua, Hillsborough, and Mosquito	Francis Marion (c. 1732–1795), military officer during the American Revolution	259.63	409,959	1,579 sq mi (4,090 km2)
MartinCounty	085	Stuart	1925	Palm Beach	John W. Martin (1884–1958), governor of Florida at time of creation of the county	293.73	163,315	556 sq mi (1,440 km2)
Miami-DadeCounty	086	Miami	1836	Monroe named Dade until 1997	City of Miami and Francis L. Dade (c. 1793–1835), Major in the United States Army during the Second Seminole War	1380.71	2,686,867	1,946 sq mi (5,040 km2)
MonroeCounty	087	Key West	1823	St. Johns	James Monroe (1758–1831), fifth President of the United States	80.86	80,614	997 sq mi (2,582 km2)
NassauCounty	089	Fernandina Beach	1824	Duval	Duchy of Nassau in Germany	155.68	101,501	652 sq mi (1,689 km2)
OkaloosaCounty	091	Crestview	1915	Santa Rosa and Walton	A Choctaw word meaning "a pleasant place", "black water", or "beautiful place"	233.40	218,464	936 sq mi (2,424 km2)
OkeechobeeCounty	093	Okeechobee	1917	Osceola and St. Lucie	Lake Okeechobee, which was in turn is from the Hitchiti words for "big water"	53.52	41,427	774 sq mi (2,005 km2)
OrangeCounty	095	Orlando	1824	St. Johns named Mosquito until 1845	The fruit that was the county's main product	1620.50	1,471,416	908 sq mi (2,352 km2)
OsceolaCounty	097	Kissimmee	1887	Brevard and Orange	Osceola (1804–1838), a leader of the Seminole during the Second Seminole War	331.15	437,784	1,322 sq mi (3,424 km2)
Palm BeachCounty	099	West Palm Beach	1909	Miami Dade County	The county's large amounts of palm trees	754.08	1,533,801	2,034 sq mi (5,268 km2)
PascoCounty	101	Dade City	1887	Hernando	Samuel Pasco (1834–1917), United States Senator at the time of creation of the county	849.66	632,996	745 sq mi (1,930 km2)
PinellasCounty	103	Clearwater	1912	Hillsborough	From the Spanish Punta Piñal, or "Point of Pines"	3434.27	961,596	280 sq mi (725 km2)
PolkCounty	105	Bartow	1861	Brevard and Hillsborough	James K. Polk (1795–1849), the 11th President of the United States	436.44	818,330	1,875 sq mi (4,856 km2)
PutnamCounty	107	Palatka	1849	Alachua and St. Johns	Benjamin A. Putnam (1801–1869), soldier during the Second Seminole War and Floridian legislator	105.20	75,955	722 sq mi (1,870 km2)
St. JohnsCounty	109	St. Augustine	1821	One of the two original counties	Name derived from the St. Johns River, which in turn derives its name from San Juan del Puerto	525.63	320,110	609 sq mi (1,577 km2)
St. LucieCounty	111	Fort Pierce	1905	Brevard	Saint Lucy (283–304), the Christian martyr	653.12	373,586	572 sq mi (1,481 km2)
Santa RosaCounty	113	Milton	1842	Escambia	Santa Rosa Island, which is in turn named for Saint Rosa de Viterbo (1235–1252), a saint born in Viterbo, Italy	199.96	203,162	1,016 sq mi (2,631 km2)
SarasotaCounty	115	Sarasota	1921	Manatee	Native American word, of uncertain meaning, for the area	819.95	469,013	572 sq mi (1,481 km2)
SeminoleCounty	117	Sanford	1913	Orange	The Seminole Native American tribe	1572.31	484,271	308 sq mi (798 km2)
SumterCounty	119	Bushnell	1853	Marion	Thomas Sumter (1734–1832), general in the American Revolution	277.59	151,565	546 sq mi (1,414 km2)
SuwanneeCounty	121	Live Oak	1858	Columbia	The Suwannee River, a 266-mile long river in northern Florida	67.05	46,130	688 sq mi (1,782 km2)
TaylorCounty	123	Perry	1856	Madison	Zachary Taylor (1784–1850), 12th President of the United States	20.71	21,582	1,042 sq mi (2,699 km2)
UnionCounty	125	Lake Butler	1921	Bradford	Named for the area's residents united desire to split into a separate county	64.72	15,532	240 sq mi (622 km2)
VolusiaCounty	127	DeLand	1854	Orange	The port of Volusia, whose etymology is uncertain; possibly derived from the Native American word for "Land of the Euchees", the term for the area's native inhabitants	533.78	590,357	1,106 sq mi (2,865 km2)
WakullaCounty	129	Crawfordville	1843	Leon	The Wakulla River, itself named for a Spanish corruption of a Timucuan word used to describe the body of water, but that is of uncertain meaning	60.05	36,449	607 sq mi (1,572 km2)
WaltonCounty	131	DeFuniak Springs	1824	Escambia and Jackson	George Walton, first Secretary of Florida Territory	81.62	86,354	1,058 sq mi (2,740 km2)
WashingtonCounty	133	Chipley	1825	Jackson and Walton	George Washington (1732–1799), first President of the United States	44.14	25,602	580 sq mi (1,502 km2)

Former counties

Fayette County was created in 1832 from the portion of Jackson County east of the Chipola River, with its county seat at Ochesee (now in Calhoun County east of Altha). ^{[13] [14]} In 1834, it was merged back into Jackson County. ^[15]

Renamed counties

Five counties in Florida have been renamed. Most renamings occurred between 1845 and 1861, during the first sixteen years of Florida's statehood. One occurred in 1997, when Dade County changed its name to Miami-Dade County.

County [5]	Dates [5]	Etymology [5]	Fate [5]
Benton County	1844–1850	Thomas Benton (1782–1858), U.S. Senator from Missouri who supported the Armed Occupation Act of 1842 that many Floridians wanted in order to evict Native Americans	Original name of county was Hernando County, and the name was changed back to that in 1850
Dade County	1836–1997	Francis L. Dade (c. 1793–1835), Major in the United States Army during the Second Seminole War	Changed to Miami-Dade County in 1997, in order to benefit from the City of Miami's internationally recognizable name
Mosquito County	1824–1845	Taken from the name the Spanish had given the entire coast, "Los Mosquitos"	Mosquito had already repeatedly ceded land to other counties by 1845, when it was renamed Orange County
New River County	1858–1861	The New River	Renamed to Bradford County in 1861
St. Lucie County	1844–1855	Saint Lucy (283–304), the Christian martyr	Renamed Brevard County in 1855

Proposed counties

County [5]	Proposal date [5]	Etymology [5]	Notes
Bloxham County	1915 [16]	William D. Bloxham (1835–1911), 13th and 17th governor of Florida	county seat at Williston
Leigh Read County	1842	Leigh Read, legislator	proposed renaming of Mosquito County
Miami County [17]	1947	City of Miami	consolidated city-county
Ocean County	1991	Atlantic Ocean	included Jacksonville Beaches, proposed due to neglect from Jacksonville, but was abandoned[ citation needed ]
Springs County [18]	2020	City of High Springs	proposal to split Alachua County along 34th Street in Gainesville [19]

See also

• List of municipalities in Florida
• List of former municipalities in Florida
• List of places in Florida
• List of county seats in Florida
• List of census-designated places in Florida

Further reading

• Utley, Geo. B. (1908). "Origin of the County Names in Florida". Florida Historical Society Quarterly. 1 (3): 29–35. Retrieved May 25, 2018.

References

Specific

1. "A Guide to Alachua County's History". Alachua County Florida. Archived from the original on October 6, 2006. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
2. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
3. "About Florida's Counties". Florida Association of Counties. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
4. "Demographics". Wakulla County Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 2012-01-30.
5. "Florida County Maps". Florida Center for Instructional Technology – University of South Florida . Retrieved January 16, 2010.
6. "United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) County FIPS Code Listing". United States Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
7. "NACo – Find a county". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved April 24, 2008.
8. Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries: Florida, accessed May 2014
9. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Florida". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
10. "Florida QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on July 2, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2008. (2008 Census estimates)
11. Morris, Allen, Florida Place Names
12. Eriksen, John M., Brevard County, Florida...A Short History to 1955
13. An Act to organise a county to be called the County of Fayette (53). 1832.
14. An Act, more accurately to define the boundaries of Fayette County, and for other purposes (31 (Chapter 688)). 1833.
15. An Act to repeal certain acts organizing the County of Fayette (26 (Chapter 765)). 1834.
16. An Act Providing for the Creation of Bloxham County in the State of Florida, and for the Organization and the Government Thereof (130 (Chapter 6936)). 1915.
17. An Act Providing the Manner, Method and Means of the Election and Creation of a Charter Board in the Territory now Comprising Dade County; Providing for the Drafting and Adopting of the Charter Prepared by Said Board for Said Territory; Providing for the Election of Commissioners of a New Political Subdivision in the Territory now Comprising Dade County to be Known as the County of Miami; Providing the Effective Date of Said Charter and the Time the Board of Commissioners Shall Take Office; and Providing that This Act Shall not Become Effective Until the Joint Resolution No. 407 has Been Approved by the Qualified Electors of Dade County and of the State of Florida as a Whole (853 (Chapter 24467)). 1947.
18. "Why Springs County? | Springs County". springscounty.com. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
19. "Springs County: Is there a feasible way to redraw county lines?". www.mainstreetdailynews.com. 2020-06-16. Retrieved 2024-04-01.

General

• Atlas of Florida, revised edition. Edward A. Fernald & Elizabeth D. Purdum, editors (University Press of Florida, 1996). "Evolution of Counties", pp. 98–99.