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List of the most populous counties in the United States

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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, 2024.[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, Indianapolis and Marion County, and City and County of Denver.[2][3][4] Kings County, Queens County, New York County, Bronx County, and Richmond County are coterminous with the respective boroughs of New York City; they fall under the jurisdiction of the combined Government of New York City. Independent cities are not counted.

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

List

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This list includes the most populous US counties and the District of Columbia sorted according to both the 2020 official enumeration and 2024 vintage population estimates by the United States Census Bureau (USCB).

Rank County State Land area April 1,
2020
census
July 1,
2024
estimates
Mid-2020 to
mid-2024 change
County seat
km2[5] mi2[6] absolute %
1 Los Angeles California 10,509.87 4,057.88 10,014,009 9,757,179 -256,830 -2.6 Los Angeles
2 Cook Illinois 2,448.38 945.33 5,275,541 5,182,617 -92,924 -1.8 Chicago
3 Harris Texas 4,411.99 1,703.48 4,731,145 5,009,302 278,157 5.9 Houston
4 Maricopa Arizona 23,828.26 9,200.14 4,420,568 4,673,096 252,528 5.7 Phoenix
5 San Diego California 10,895.12 4,206.63 3,298,634 3,298,799 165 0.0 San Diego
6 Orange 2,047.56 790.57 3,186,989 3,170,435 -16,554 -0.5 Santa Ana
7 Miami-Dade Florida 4,915.06 1,897.72 2,701,767 2,838,461 136,694 5.1 Miami
8 Dallas Texas 2,256.60 871.28 2,613,539 2,656,028 42,489 1.6 Dallas
9 Kings New York 183.41 70.82 2,736,074 2,617,631 -118,443 -4.3 Brooklyn, NYC
10 Riverside California 18,664.70 7,206.48 2,418,185 2,529,933 111,748 4.6 Riverside
11 Clark Nevada 20,438.71 7,891.43 2,265,461 2,398,871 133,410 5.9 Las Vegas
12 King Washington 5,479.29 2,115.57 2,269,675 2,340,211 70,536 3.1 Seattle
13 Queens New York 281.10 108.53 2,405,464 2,316,841 -88,623 -3.7 Queens, NYC
14 Tarrant Texas 2,236.74 863.61 2,110,640 2,230,708 120,068 5.7 Fort Worth
15 San Bernardino California 51,947.23 20,056.94 2,181,654 2,214,281 32,627 1.5 San Bernardino
16 Bexar Texas 3,211.12 1,239.82 2,009,324 2,127,737 118,413 5.9 San Antonio
17 Broward Florida 3,133.33 1,209.79 1,944,375 2,037,472 93,097 4.8 Fort Lauderdale
18 Santa Clara California 3,341.34 1,290.10 1,936,259 1,926,325 -36,049 -1.9 San Jose
19 Wayne Michigan 1,585.28 612.08 1,793,561 1,771,063 -22,498 -1.3 Detroit
20 Middlesex Massachusetts 2,118.14 817.82 1,632,002 1,668,956 36,954 2.3 Lowell and Cambridge
21 New York New York 59.13 22.83 1,694,251 1,660,664 -33,587 -2.0 Manhattan, NYC
22 Alameda California 1,914.05 739.02 1,682,353 1,649,060 -33,293 -2.0 Oakland
23 Sacramento 2,498.42 964.64 1,584,169 1,611,231 27,062 1.7 Sacramento
24 Palm Beach Florida 5,100.00 1,970.00 1,492,191 1,582,055 89,864 6.0 West Palm Beach
25 Hillsborough 2,642.34 1,020.21 1,459,762 1,581,426 121,664 8.3 Tampa
26 Philadelphia Pennsylvania 347.32 134.10 1,603,797 1,573,916 -29,881 -1.9 Philadelphia
27 Suffolk New York 2,362.20 912.05 1,525,920 1,535,909 9,989 0.7 Riverhead
28 Orange Florida 2,339.87 903.43 1,429,908 1,533,646 103,738 7.3 Orlando
29 Nassau New York 737.41 284.72 1,395,774 1,392,438 -3,336 -0.2 Mineola
30 Bronx 109.03 42.10 1,472,654 1,384,724 -87,930 -6.0 Bronx, NYC
31 Travis Texas 2,564.61 990.20 1,290,188 1,363,767 73,579 5.7 Austin
32 Franklin Ohio 1,378.36 532.19 1,323,807 1,356,303 32,496 2.5 Columbus
33 Oakland Michigan 2,247.24 867.66 1,274,395 1,296,888 22,493 1.8 Pontiac
34 Hennepin Minnesota 1,433.79 553.59 1,281,565 1,273,334 -8,231 -0.6 Minneapolis
35 Collin Texas 2,178.76 841.22 1,064,465 1,254,658 190,193 17.9 McKinney
36 Cuyahoga Ohio 1,184.12 457.19 1,264,817 1,240,594 -24,223 -1.9 Cleveland
37 Wake North Carolina 2,163.21 835.22 1,129,410 1,232,444 103,034 9.1 Raleigh
38 Allegheny Pennsylvania 1,890.88 730.07 1,250,578 1,231,814 -18,764 -1.5 Pittsburgh
39 Salt Lake Utah 1,922.50 742.28 1,185,238 1,216,274 31,036 2.6 Salt Lake City
40 Mecklenburg North Carolina 1,356.75 523.84 1,115,482 1,206,285 90,803 8.1 Charlotte
41 Contra Costa California 1,854.27 715.94 1,165,927 1,172,607 6,680 0.6 Martinez
42 Fairfax Virginia 1,012.60 390.97 1,150,309 1,160,925 10,616 0.9 Fairfax
43 Fulton Georgia 1,363.98 526.63 1,066,710 1,090,354 23,644 2.2 Atlanta
44 Montgomery Maryland 1,272.34 491.25 1,062,061 1,082,273 20,212 1.9 Rockville
45 Pima Arizona 23,794.31 9,187.04 1,043,433 1,080,149 36,716 3.5 Tucson
46 Duval Florida 1,974.07 762.19 995,567 1,055,159 59,592 6.0 Jacksonville
47 Denton Texas 2,275.13 878.43 906,422 1,045,120 138,698 15.3 Denton
48 Fresno California 15,431.13 5,957.99 1,008,654 1,024,125 15,471 1.5 Fresno
49 Westchester New York 1,114.98 430.50 1,004,457 1,006,447 1,990 0.2 White Plains
50 Gwinnett Georgia 1,114.69 430.38 957,062 1,003,869 46,807 4.9 Lawrenceville
51 Honolulu Hawaii 1,555.92 600.74 1,016,508 998,747 -17,761 -1.7 Honolulu
52 St. Louis Missouri 1,315.20 507.80 1,004,125 992,929 -11,196 -1.1 Clayton
53 Capitol Connecticut 2,660.80 1,027.34 976,248 991,508 15,260 1.6 Hartford
54 Marion Indiana 1,026.41 396.30 977,203 981,628 4,425 0.5 Indianapolis
55 Bergen New Jersey 603.49 233.01 955,732 978,641 22,909 2.4 Hackensack
56 Prince George's Maryland 1,250.16 482.69 967,201 966,629 -572 -0.1 Upper Marlboro
57 Pinellas Florida 709.14 273.80 959,107 965,870 6,763 0.7 Clearwater
58 Fort Bend Texas 2,292 885 822,779 958,434 135,655 16.5 Richmond
59 Erie New York 2,700.56 1,042.69 954,236 950,602 -3,634 -0.4 Buffalo
60 Pierce Washington 4,324.01 1,669.51 921,130 941,170 20,040 2.2 Tacoma
61 DuPage Illinois 848.22 327.50 932,877 937,142 4,265 0.5 Wheaton
62 Milwaukee Wisconsin 625.23 241.40 939,489 924,740 -14,749 -1.6 Milwaukee
63 Kern California 21,061.57 8,131.92 909,235 922,529 13,294 1.5 Bakersfield
64 Hidalgo Texas 4,068.52 1,570.87 870,781 914,820 44,039 5.1 Edinburg
65 Shelby Tennessee 1,976.61 763.17 929,744 910,530 -19,214 -2.1 Memphis
66 Middlesex New Jersey 800.08 308.91 863,162 890,119 26,957 3.1 New Brunswick
67 Macomb Michigan 1,241.18 479.22 881,217 886,175 4,958 0.6 Mount Clemens
68 Essex New Jersey 326.89 126.21 863,728 881,527 17,799 2.1 Newark
69 Worcester Massachusetts 3,912.88 1,510.77 862,111 881,248 19,137 2.2 Worcester
70 Montgomery Pennsylvania 1,251.07 483.04 856,553 879,190 22,637 2.6 Norristown
71 El Paso Texas 2,622.86 1,012.69 865,657 875,784 10,127 1.2 El Paso
72 Snohomish Washington 5,406.01 2,087.27 827,957 864,113 36,156 4.4 Everett
73 Lee Florida 2,031.88 784.51 760,822 860,959 100,137 13.2 Fort Myers
74 Polk 4,660 1,798 725,046 852,878 127,832 17.6 Bartow
75 Baltimore Maryland 1,549.59 598.30 854,535 852,425 -2,110 -0.2 Towson
76 Hamilton Ohio 1,051.30 405.91 830,639 837,359 6,720 0.8 Cincinnati
77 Ventura California 4,773.69 1,843.13 843,843 835,427 -8,416 -1.0 Ventura
78 San Francisco 121.40 46.87 873,965 827,526 -46,439 -5.3 San Francisco
79 Essex Massachusetts 1,275.73 492.56 809,829 823,938 14,109 1.7 Salem and Lawrence
80 Oklahoma Oklahoma 1,835.83 708.82 796,292 816,490 20,198 2.5 Oklahoma City
81 San Joaquin California 3,603.51 1,391.32 779,233 816,108 36,875 4.7 Stockton
82 Multnomah Oregon 1,117.05 431.30 815,428 795,897 -19,531 -2.4 Portland
83 Jefferson Kentucky 985.27 380.42 782,969 793,881 10,912 1.4 Louisville
84 Suffolk Massachusetts 150.62 58.15 797,936 793,144 -4,792 -0.6 Boston
85 Cobb Georgia 879.43 339.55 766,149 787,538 21,389 2.8 Marietta
86 DeKalb 693.03 267.58 764,382 770,307 5,925 0.8 Decatur
87 El Paso Colorado 5,508.39 2,126.80 730,395 752,772 22,377 3.1 Colorado Springs
88 Monroe New York 1,702.15 657.21 759,443 752,202 -7,241 -1.0 Rochester
89 Montgomery Texas 2,699.23 1,042.18 620,443 749,613 129,170 20.8 Conroe
90 Utah Utah 5,188.91 2,003.45 659,399 747,234 87,835 13.3 Provo
91 San Mateo California 1,161.37 448.41 764,442 742,893 -21,549 -2.8 Redwood City
92 Norfolk Massachusetts 1,025.91 396.11 725,981 740,754 14,773 2.0 Dedham
93 Hudson New Jersey 119.63 46.19 724,854 736,185 11,331 1.6 Jersey City
94 Davidson Tennessee 1,305.44 504.03 715,884 729,505 13,621 1.9 Nashville
95 Denver Colorado 401.36 154.97 715,522 729,019 13,497 1.9 Denver
96 Williamson Texas 2,889.99 1,115.83 609,017 727,480 118,463 19.5 Georgetown
97 Jackson Missouri 1,565.55 604.46 717,204 727,362 10,158 1.4 Independence and Kansas City
98 Lake Illinois 1,149.10 443.67 714,342 718,604 4,262 0.6 Waukegan
99 Will 2,167.58 836.91 696,355 708,583 12,228 1.8 Joliet
100 District of Columbia 177.0 68.34 689,545 702,250 12,705 1.8 N/A
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References

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  1. ^ "Growth in Metro Areas Outpaced Nation". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 13, 2025.
  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).