List of the most populous counties in the United States

See also: List of the largest counties in the United States by area

A map of the counties and county equivalents of the United States. The 100 most populous counties are highlighted, with counties having more than one million residents in orange and counties having fewer than one million residents in green, based on the results of the April 1, 2020 United States census.

This is a list of the 100 most populous of the 3,144 counties in the United States based on the national decennial US census conducted on April 1, 2020, and vintage Census population estimates for July 1, 2023.[1]

Many of the counties on the list include major cities or metropolitan areas in all parts of the United States. Six of the listed counties have consolidated city and county government, namely the City and County of Honolulu, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, City and County of Philadelphia, City and County of San Francisco, City of Jacksonville and Duval County and City and County of Denver.[2][3][4] New York County, Bronx County, Kings County, Queens County and Richmond County are coterminous with the respective boroughs of New York City; they fall under the jurisdiction of the combined city government. Independent cities are not counted.

Many of the most populous counties listed are in Southern California, Illinois, Texas and New York and roughly correspond to the most populous cities in the United States. Counties in the Western United States are typically larger by area, so they often have higher raw populations even with comparable population densities.

List

This list includes the most populous US counties sorted according to both the 2020 official enumeration and 2023 vintage population estimates by the United States Census Bureau (USCB).

Rank County State Land area April 1,
2020
census
 July 1,
2023
estimates
 Mid-2020 to
mid-2023 change 		County seat
km2[5] mi2[6] absolute %
1 Los Angeles California 10,509.87 4,057.88 10,014,009 9,663,345 -350,664 -3.5 Los Angeles
2 Cook Illinois 2,448.38 945.33 5,275,541 5,087,072 -188,469 -3.6 Chicago
3 Harris Texas 4,411.99 1,703.48 4,731,145 4,835,125 103,980 2.2 Houston
4 Maricopa Arizona 23,828.26 9,200.14 4,420,568 4,585,871 165,303 3.7 Phoenix
5 San Diego California 10,895.12 4,206.63 3,298,634 3,269,973 -28,661 -0.9 San Diego
6 Orange 2,047.56 790.57 3,186,989 3,135,755 -51,234 -1.6 Santa Ana
7 Miami-Dade Florida 4,915.06 1,897.72 2,701,767 2,686,867 -14,900 -0.6 Miami
8 Dallas Texas 2,256.60 871.28 2,613,539 2,606,358 -7,181 -0.3 Dallas
9 Kings New York 183.41 70.82 2,736,074 2,561,225 -174,849 -6.4 Brooklyn, NYC
10 Riverside California 18,664.70 7,206.48 2,418,185 2,492,442 74,257 4.2 Riverside
11 Clark Nevada 20,438.71 7,891.43 2,265,461 2,336,573 71,112 3.1 Las Vegas
12 King Washington 5,479.29 2,115.57 2,269,675 2,271,380 1,705 0.1 Seattle
13 Queens New York 281.10 108.53 2,405,464 2,252,196 -153,268 -6.8 Queens, NYC
14 San Bernardino California 51,947.23 20,056.94 2,181,654 2,195,611 13,957 0.6 San Bernardino
15 Tarrant Texas 2,236.74 863.61 2,110,640 2,182,947 72,307 3.4 Fort Worth
16 Bexar 3,211.12 1,239.82 2,009,324 2,087,679 78,355 3.9 San Antonio
17 Broward Florida 3,133.33 1,209.79 1,944,375 1,962,531 18,156 0.9 Fort Lauderdale
18 Santa Clara California 3,341.34 1,290.10 1,936,259 1,877,592 -58,667 -3.0 San Jose
19 Wayne Michigan 1,585.28 612.08 1,793,561 1,751,169 -42,392 -2.4 Detroit
20 Middlesex Massachusetts 2,118.14 817.82 1,632,002 1,623,952 -8,050 -0.5 Lowell and Cambridge
21 Alameda California 1,914.05 739.02 1,682,353 1,622,188 -60,165 -3.6 Oakland
22 New York New York 59.13 22.83 1,694,251 1,597,451 -96,800 -5.7 Manhattan, NYC
23 Sacramento California 2,498.42 964.64 1,584,169 1,584,288 119 0.0 Sacramento
24 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 347.32 134.10 1,603,797 1,550,542 -53,255 -3.3 Philadelphia
25 Hillsborough Florida 2,642.34 1,020.21 1,459,762 1,535,564 75,802 5.2 Tampa
26 Palm Beach 5,100.00 1,970.00 1,492,191 1,533,801 41,610 2.8 West Palm Beach
27 Suffolk New York 2,362.20 912.05 1,525,920 1,523,170 -2,750 -0.2 Riverhead
28 Orange Florida 2,339.87 903.43 1,429,908 1,471,416 41,508 2.9 Orlando
29 Nassau New York 737.41 284.72 1,395,774 1,381,715 -14,059 -1.0 Mineola
30 Bronx 109.03 42.10 1,472,654 1,356,476 -116,178 -7.9 Bronx, NYC
31 Travis Texas 2,564.61 990.20 1,290,188 1,334,961 44,773 3.5 Austin
32 Franklin Ohio 1,378.36 532.19 1,323,807 1,326,063 2,256 0.2 Columbus
33 Oakland Michigan 2,247.24 867.66 1,274,395 1,270,426 -3,969 -0.3 Pontiac
34 Hennepin Minnesota 1,433.79 553.59 1,281,565 1,258,713 -22,852 -1.8 Minneapolis
35 Cuyahoga Ohio 1,184.12 457.19 1,264,817 1,233,088 -31,729 -2.5 Cleveland
36 Allegheny Pennsylvania 1,890.88 730.07 1,250,578 1,224,825 -25,753 -2.1 Pittsburgh
37 Collin Texas 2,178.76 841.22 1,064,465 1,195,359 130,894 12.3 McKinney
38 Wake North Carolina 2,163.21 835.22 1,129,410 1,190,275 60,865 5.4 Raleigh
39 Salt Lake Utah 1,922.50 742.28 1,185,238 1,185,813 575 0.0 Salt Lake City
40 Mecklenburg North Carolina 1,356.75 523.84 1,115,482 1,163,701 48,219 4.3 Charlotte
41 Contra Costa California 1,854.27 715.94 1,165,927 1,155,025 -10,902 -0.9 Martinez
42 Fairfax Virginia 1,012.60 390.97 1,150,309 1,141,878 -8,431 -0.7 Fairfax
43 Fulton Georgia 1,363.98 526.63 1,066,710 1,079,105 12,395 1.2 Atlanta
44 Pima Arizona 23,794.31 9,187.04 1,043,433 1,063,162 19,729 1.9 Tucson
45 Montgomery Maryland 1,272.34 491.25 1,062,061 1,058,474 -3,587 -0.3 Rockville
46 Duval Florida 1,974.07 762.19 995,567 1,030,822 35,255 3.5 Jacksonville
47 Fresno California 15,431.13 5,957.99 1,008,654 1,017,162 8,508 0.8 Fresno
48 Denton Texas 2,275.13 878.43 906,422 1,007,703 101,281 11.2 Denton
49 Westchester New York 1,114.98 430.50 1,004,457 990,817 -13,640 -1.4 White Plains
50 Honolulu Hawaii 1,555.92 600.74 1,016,508 989,408 -27,100 -2.7 Honolulu
51 St. Louis Missouri 1,315.20 507.80 1,004,125 987,059 -17,066 -1.7 Clayton
52 Gwinnett Georgia 1,114.69 430.38 957,062 983,526 26,464 2.8 Lawrenceville
53 Capitol Connecticut 2,660.80 1,027.34 976,248 975,328 -920 -0.1 Hartford
54 Marion Indiana 1,026.41 396.30 977,203 968,460 -8,743 -0.9 Indianapolis
55 Pinellas Florida 709.14 273.80 959,107 961,596 2,489 0.3 Clearwater
56 Bergen New Jersey 603.49 233.01 955,732 957,736 2,004 0.2 Hackensack
57 Prince George's Maryland 1,250.16 482.69 967,201 947,430 -19,771 -2.0 Upper Marlboro
58 Erie New York 2,700.56 1,042.69 954,236 946,147 -8,089 -0.8 Buffalo
59 Pierce Washington 4,324.01 1,669.51 921,130 928,696 7,566 0.8 Tacoma
60 DuPage Illinois 848.22 327.50 932,877 921,213 -11,664 -1.3 Wheaton
61 Fort Bend Texas 2,292 885 822,779 916,778 93,999 11.4 Richmond
62 Milwaukee Wisconsin 625.23 241.40 939,489 916,205 -23,284 -2.5 Milwaukee
63 Kern California 21,061.57 8,131.92 909,235 913,820 4,585 0.5 Bakersfield
64 Shelby Tennessee 1,976.61 763.17 929,744 910,042 -19,702 -2.1 Memphis
65 Hidalgo Texas 4,068.52 1,570.87 870,781 898,471 27,690 3.2 Edinburg
66 Macomb Michigan 1,241.18 479.22 881,217 875,101 -6,116 -0.7 Mount Clemens
67 El Paso Texas 2,622.86 1,012.69 865,657 869,880 4,223 0.5 El Paso
68 Montgomery Pennsylvania 1,251.07 483.04 856,553 868,742 12,189 1.4 Norristown
69 Worcester Massachusetts 3,912.88 1,510.77 862,111 866,866 4,755 0.6 Worcester
70 Middlesex New Jersey 800.08 308.91 863,162 863,623 461 0.1 New Brunswick
71 Essex 326.89 126.21 863,728 851,117 -12,611 -1.5 Newark
72 Snohomish Washington 5,406.01 2,087.27 827,957 844,761 16,804 2.0 Everett
73 Baltimore Maryland 1,549.59 598.30 854,535 844,703 -9,832 -1.2 Towson
74 Lee Florida 2,031.88 784.51 760,822 834,573 73,751 9.7 Fort Myers
75 Ventura California 4,773.69 1,843.13 843,843 829,590 -14,253 -1.7 Ventura
76 Hamilton Ohio 1,051.30 405.91 830,639 827,058 -3,581 -0.4 Cincinnati
77 Polk Florida 4,660 1,798 725,046 818,330 93,284 12.9 Bartow
78 Essex Massachusetts 1,275.73 492.56 809,829 810,089 260 0.0 Salem and Lawrence
79 San Francisco California 121.40 46.87 873,965 808,988 -64,977 -7.4 San Francisco
80 Oklahoma Oklahoma 1,835.83 708.82 796,292 808,866 12,574 1.6 Oklahoma City
81 San Joaquin California 3,603.51 1,391.32 779,233 800,965 21,732 2.8 Stockton
82 Multnomah Oregon 1,117.05 431.30 815,428 789,698 -25,730 -3.2 Portland
83 Cobb Georgia 879.43 339.55 766,149 776,743 10,594 1.4 Marietta
84 Jefferson Kentucky 985.27 380.42 782,969 772,144 -10,825 -1.4 Louisville
85 Suffolk Massachusetts 150.62 58.15 797,936 768,425 -29,511 -3.7 Boston
86 DeKalb Georgia 693.03 267.58 764,382 762,992 -1,390 -0.2 Decatur
87 Monroe New York 1,702.15 657.21 759,443 748,482 -10,961 -1.4 Rochester
88 El Paso Colorado 5,508.39 2,126.80 730,395 744,215 13,820 1.9 Colorado Springs
89 Norfolk Massachusetts 1,025.91 396.11 725,981 727,473 1,492 0.2 Dedham
90 San Mateo California 1,161.37 448.41 764,442 726,353 -38,089 -5.0 Redwood City
91 Utah Utah 5,188.91 2,003.45 659,399 719,174 59,775 9.1 Provo
92 Jackson Missouri 1,565.55 604.46 717,204 718,560 1,356 0.2 Independence and Kansas City
93 Denver Colorado 401.36 154.97 715,522 716,577 1,055 0.1 Denver
94 Davidson Tennessee 1,305.44 504.03 715,884 712,334 -3,550 -0.5 Nashville
95 Montgomery Texas 2,699.23 1,042.18 620,443 711,354 90,911 14.7 Conroe
96 Lake Illinois 1,149.10 443.67 714,342 708,760 -5,582 -0.8 Waukegan
97 Hudson New Jersey 119.63 46.19 724,854 705,472 -19,382 -2.7 Jersey City
98 Will Illinois 2,167.58 836.91 696,355 700,728 4,373 0.6 Joliet
99 Williamson Texas 2,889.99 1,115.83 609,017 697,191 88,174 14.5 Georgetown
100 Tulsa Oklahoma 1,476.86 570.22 669,279 682,868 13,589 2.0 Tulsa

References

  1. ^ "More Counties Saw Population Gains in 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  2. ^ "This Is Your City and County of Honolulu Government". City and County of Honolulu. Archived from the original on January 20, 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
  3. ^ "City and County Organizational Chart". City and County of San Francisco. Archived from the original on February 3, 2008. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
  4. ^ "Active Colorado Municipalities as of January 26, 2010". Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Archived from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
  5. ^ GeoHive - the United States of America - US States and Counties Archived April 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine (attached Excel spreadsheet)
  6. ^ The area in square kilometers of the column to the left divided by 2.589988110336 (1.6093442).