List of the most populous counties by U.S. state

Last updated April 22, 2024

The following is a sortable table of the most populous county in each U.S. state, federal district, and territory . Counties and states/territories in bold have a population of at least 1 million.

Table

State federal district or territory	Largest county parish or municipality^{[note 1]}	Population (2013 estimate)^[3]	County parish seat or shire town	State federal district or territory population (2013 estimate)^[4]^{[note 2]}	Largest county/parish or municipality Percentage of state/federal district or territory population
Alabama	Jefferson	659,479	Birmingham	4,833,722	13.64%
Alaska	Anchorage	300,950	Anchorage	735,132	40.94%
American Samoa	Western District ^[1]^{[note 3]}	31,329^[5]	—	55,519	56.42%
Arizona	Maricopa	4,009,412	Phoenix	6,626,624	60.50%
Arkansas	Pulaski	391,284	Little Rock	2,959,373	13.22%
California	Los Angeles	10,017,068	Los Angeles	38,332,521	26.13%
Colorado	El Paso	655,044	Colorado Springs	5,268,367	12.43%
Connecticut	Fairfield	939,904	Bridgeport	3,596,080	26.14%
Delaware	New Castle	549,684	Wilmington	925,749	59.38%
District of Columbia	District of Columbia	693,972	District of Columbia	693,972	100%
Florida	Miami-Dade	2,617,176	Miami	19,552,860	13.39%
Georgia	Fulton	1,010,562	Atlanta	10,214,860	9.85%
Guam	Guam ^{[note 4]}	162,742	Hagåtña	162,742	100%
Hawaii	Honolulu	983,429	Honolulu	1,404,054	70.04%
Idaho	Ada	416,464	Boise	1,612,136	25.83%
Illinois	Cook	5,240,700	Chicago	12,882,135	40.68%
Indiana	Marion	928,281	Indianapolis	6,570,902	14.13%
Iowa	Polk	451,677	Des Moines	3,090,416	14.62%
Kansas	Johnson	566,933	Olathe	2,893,957	19.59%
Kentucky	Jefferson	756,832	Louisville	4,395,295	17.22%
Louisiana	East Baton Rouge	445,227	Baton Rouge	4,625,470	9.63%
Maine	Cumberland	285,456	Portland	1,328,302	21.49%
Maryland	Montgomery	1,016,677	Rockville	5,928,814	17.15%
Massachusetts	Middlesex	1,552,802	Cambridge and Lowell	6,692,824	23.20%
Michigan	Wayne	1,775,273	Detroit	9,895,622	17.94%
Minnesota	Hennepin	1,198,778	Minneapolis	5,420,380	22.12%
Mississippi	Hinds	244,899	Jackson	2,991,207	8.19%
Missouri	St. Louis	1,001,444	Clayton	6,044,171	16.57%
Montana	Yellowstone	154,162	Billings	1,015,165	15.19%
Nebraska	Douglas	531,265	Omaha	1,868,516	28.43%
Nevada	Clark	2,027,868	Las Vegas	2,790,136	72.68%
New Hampshire	Hillsborough	402,922	Manchester and Nashua	1,323,459	30.44%
New Jersey	Bergen	925,328	Hackensack	8,899,339	10.40%
New Mexico	Bernalillo	673,460	Albuquerque	2,085,287	32.30%
New York	Kings	2,592,149	Brooklyn	19,651,127	13.19%
North Carolina	Wake ^[6]	990,977	Charlotte	9,848,060	10.06%
North Dakota	Cass	162,829	Fargo	723,393	22.51%
Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan ^[1]	48,220	Capitol Hill, Saipan	52,263	92.26%
Ohio	Franklin ^[7]	1,268,154	Cleveland	11,570,808	10.96%
Oklahoma	Oklahoma	755,245	Oklahoma City	3,850,568	19.61%
Oregon	Multnomah	759,256	Portland	3,930,065	19.32%
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	1,553,165	Philadelphia	12,773,801	12.16%
Puerto Rico	San Juan ^[1]	395,326	San Juan	3,337,177	11.84%
Rhode Island	Providence	628,323	Providence	1,051,511	59.75%
South Carolina	Greenville	474,266	Greenville	4,774,839	9.93%
South Dakota	Minnehaha	179,640	Sioux Falls	844,877	21.26%
Tennessee	Shelby	940,764	Memphis	6,495,978	14.48%
Texas	Harris	4,336,853	Houston	26,448,193	16.40%
U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	Wake Island	(100)^{[note 5]}	(none)	(160)	62.5%
Utah	Salt Lake	1,063,842	Salt Lake City	2,900,872	36.67%
Vermont	Chittenden	158,504	Burlington	626,630	25.29%
Virgin Islands (U.S.)	Saint Thomas island ^[1]	51,634	—^{[note 6]}	104,901	49.22%
Virginia	Fairfax	1,116,897	Fairfax	8,260,405	13.52%
Washington	King	2,044,449	Seattle	6,971,406	29.33%
West Virginia	Kanawha	191,275	Charleston	1,854,304	10.32%
Wisconsin	Milwaukee	956,023	Milwaukee	5,742,713	16.65%
Wyoming	Laramie	95,809	Cheyenne	582,658	16.44%

Notes

↑ In the U.S. territories, the U.S. Census Bureau defines the following as county-equivalents: the districts and atolls of American Samoa, Guam as one entity, the municipalities of the Northern Mariana Islands, the municipalities of Puerto Rico, the islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the islands of the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.^[1]^[2] The District of Columbia is counted as one county-equivalent by the U.S. Census Bureau.^[1]
↑ Territory estimates are from 2017 (except American Samoa — its estimate is from 2010).
↑ American Samoa has 14 counties, but these counties are not counted by the U.S. Census Bureau (they are treated as minor civil divisions).^[2]
↑ All of Guam is counted as one county-equivalent by the U.S. Census Bureau.^[1]
↑ Wake Island's population is non-permanent. Wake Island, Midway Atoll and Palmyra Atoll all have small non-permanent human populations; of these, Wake Island is the most populous. The U.S. Census Bureau counts the islands in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands as a county-equivalents.
↑ "Saint Thomas island" is a U.S. Census Bureau entity (county-equivalent) with no administrative significance.^[1] Charlotte Amalie is the largest city on Saint Thomas and is the capital of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "2010 FIPS Codes for Counties and County Equivalent Entities". Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
1 2 "States, Counties, and Statistically Equivalent Entities (Chapter 4)" (PDF). Retrieved 27 May 2022.
↑ "State and County Estimates for 2013". Census Bureau. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
↑ "Population Estimates: Vintage 2013: State Tables - U.S Census Bureau". Archived from the original on 2015-01-06.
↑ "American Samoa (World Data)" (PDF). Britannica.com. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
↑ "Wake County now has larger population than Mecklenburg County, U.S. Census Bureau estimates" . Retrieved 27 May 2022.
↑ "Franklin County overtakes Cuyahoga as Ohio's largest county, though not quite officially yet" . Retrieved 27 May 2022.

External links

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[3] In the U.S. territories, the U.S. Census Bureau defines the following as county-equivalents: the districts and atolls of American Samoa, Guam as one entity, the municipalities of the Northern Mariana Islands, the municipalities of Puerto Rico, the islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the islands of the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.^[1]^[2] The District of Columbia is counted as one county-equivalent by the U.S. Census Bureau.^[1]

[6] Territory estimates are from 2017 (except American Samoa — its estimate is from 2010).

[7] American Samoa has 14 counties, but these counties are not counted by the U.S. Census Bureau (they are treated as minor civil divisions).^[2]

[9] All of Guam is counted as one county-equivalent by the U.S. Census Bureau.^[1]

[12] Wake Island's population is non-permanent. Wake Island, Midway Atoll and Palmyra Atoll all have small non-permanent human populations; of these, Wake Island is the most populous. The U.S. Census Bureau counts the islands in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands as a county-equivalents.

[13] "Saint Thomas island" is a U.S. Census Bureau entity (county-equivalent) with no administrative significance.^[1] Charlotte Amalie is the largest city on Saint Thomas and is the capital of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

[Census_codes-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "2010 FIPS Codes for Counties and County Equivalent Entities". Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.

[CountiesCensus4-2] 1 2 "States, Counties, and Statistically Equivalent Entities (Chapter 4)" (PDF). Retrieved 27 May 2022.

[4] "State and County Estimates for 2013". Census Bureau. Retrieved 27 May 2022.

[5] "Population Estimates: Vintage 2013: State Tables - U.S Census Bureau". Archived from the original on 2015-01-06.

[8] "American Samoa (World Data)" (PDF). Britannica.com. Retrieved 23 September 2018.

[10] "Wake County now has larger population than Mecklenburg County, U.S. Census Bureau estimates" . Retrieved 27 May 2022.

[11] "Franklin County overtakes Cuyahoga as Ohio's largest county, though not quite officially yet" . Retrieved 27 May 2022.

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