County (United States)

Map of the United States, showing the states, divided into counties.

A county, in the United States, is a political subdivision and form of government that is right below the state. 48 out of the 50 states in the United States use counties. Louisiana calls its counties parishes while Alaska got rid of counties and only uses boroughs.[1] Both of these are equal to the county. The list that the U.S. Census Bureau keeps that lists all of the counties in the United States says that there are 3,481 counties or other kinds of divisions that are equal to the county in the United States.[2]

The mid-western and northeastern states in the United States divide the county further into townships or towns, some of which have municipalities. The place where the county government and courts are is called the county seat.

On average, a county in the United States has a population of around 100,000 people. The county that has the most people living in it is Los Angeles County, California, where over 10 million people live. The county that has the fewest people living in it is Loving County, Texas, where as of the 2020 United States Census, 64 people live.

The average number of counties in each state is 62. Louisiana has the fewest counties with none. It is divided into parishes instead of counties. In states with counties, Delaware has the fewest with only 3. Texas has the most counties with 254.[3]

These pages list all of the counties in each state:

[1]

*Louisiana is divided into parishes instead of counties, which it does have 64 in total.[6]

**Alaska is divided into boroughs and census areas instead of counties, which it does have 30 in total.

County (United States) Media

Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 "An Overview of County Government". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on 2008-07-08. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  2. "How many counties are in the United States?". www.usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 2020-04-01. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  3. "How Many Counties are in Your State?". Click and Learn. Archived from the original on 2007-02-16. Retrieved 2007-04-24.
  4. "Counties: Geography of Virginia". www.virginiaplaces.org.
  5. "State of Florida.com - Florida Counties". www.stateofflorida.com.
  6. "Why Does Louisiana Have Parishes Instead of Counties?". WorldAtlas. Retrieved 2020-04-24.

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