County statistics of the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term "county" is used in 48 of the 50 states of the United States for the level of local government below the state itself. Louisiana uses the term "parishes," Alaska uses "boroughs." In several states in New England, some or all counties within states have no governments of their own; the counties continue to exist as legal entities, however, and are used by states for some administrative functions and by the United States Census bureau for statistical analysis.
Note that in Virginia, any municipality that is incorporated as a city legally becomes independent of any county. The statistics below do not include Virginia independent cities. The only Virginia statistic affected is "smallest county by area"; if independent cities are included, Falls Church becomes the smallest "county" in the state, and in fact the smallest county-level political subdivision in the United States, at 2.0 square miles (5 km²). The three independent cities in other states (Baltimore, Maryland, Carson City, Nevada, and St. Louis, Missouri) are also not included in these lists.
Note also that in Alaska, most of the land area of the state has no county-level government. Those parts of the state are divided by the United States Census Bureau into census areas, which are not the same as boroughs. The state's largest statistical division by area is the Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, which is larger than any of the state's boroughs. Although Anchorage is called a "municipality", it is considered a consolidated city and borough.
Although most U.S. counties were created during the 19th century, the most recent county in the United States is Broomfield County in Colorado, created in 2001.
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[edit] Twenty most populous counties in America
The population is based on a 2004 estimate. From the 2000 Census to the year 2004, all counties remained the same in ranking, while Dallas County overtook Queens County to rank ninth.
| Rank | County name | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles County, California | 9,937,739 |
| 2 | Cook County, Illinois | 5,327,777 |
| 3 | Harris County, Texas | 3,644,285 |
| 4 | Maricopa County, Arizona | 3,501,001 |
| 5 | Orange County, California | 2,987,591 |
| 6 | San Diego County, California | 2,931,714 |
| 7 | Kings County, New York | 2,475,290 |
| 8 | Miami-Dade County, Florida | 2,363,600 |
| 9 | Dallas County, Texas | 2,294,706 |
| 10 | Queens County, New York | 2,237,216 |
| 11 | Wayne County, Michigan | 2,061,162 |
| 12 | King County, Washington | 1,737,034 |
| 13 | San Bernardino County, California | 1,709,434 |
| 14 | Santa Clara County, California | 1,682,585 |
| 15 | Broward County, Florida | 1,623,018 |
| 16 | Riverside County, California | 1,545,387 |
| 17 | New York County, New York | 1,537,195 |
| 18 | Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania | 1,517,550 |
| 19 | Middlesex County, Massachusetts | 1,465,396 |
| 20 | Tarrant County, Texas | 1,446,219 |
[edit] Twenty-five largest counties (or county equivalents) by land area
Data presented below is based on U.S. Census department data from 2000.[1] Alaska's Unorganized Borough has been considered a county-equivalent; statistics for its individual census areas are not included.
[edit] By size (square miles)
[edit] By population (as of 2000)
NOTE: Due to the recent events of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, East Baton Rouge Parish is the most populous parish in Louisiana.
[edit] List of States by Average County Area
Ranking of states based on the average area for all counties or equivalents in each state. Taken by dividing the state's total area by the number of counties in the state. See also List of U.S. states by area.
| Rank | State name | Mean County Area (sq.mi.) | Mean County Area (sq.km.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | 24565.44 | 63624.21 |
| 2 | Arizona | 7599.87 | 19683.56 |
| 3 | Nevada | 6503.59 | 16844.22 |
| 4 | Wyoming | 4252.96 | 11015.11 |
| 5 | New Mexico | 3684.52 | 9542.85 |
| 6 | Utah | 2927.55 | 7582.32 |
| 7 | California | 2822.34 | 7309.84 |
| 8 | Oregon | 2732.81 | 7077.93 |
| 9 | Hawaii | 2732.75 | 7077.79 |
| 10 | Montana | 2625.75 | 6800.66 |
| 11 | Maine | 2211.56 | 5727.92 |
| 12 | Idaho | 1899.32 | 4919.21 |
| 13 | Washington | 1828.21 | 4735.03 |
| 14 | Colorado | 1626.47 | 4212.53 |
| 15 | North Dakota | 1333.96 | 3454.95 |
| 16 | Michigan | 1178.19 | 3051.51 |
| 17 | South Dakota | 1168.42 | 3026.20 |
| 18 | Texas | 1057.41 | 2738.67 |
| 19 | Minnesota | 999.30 | 2588.17 |
| 20 | Florida | 981.42 | 2541.86 |
| 21 | New Hampshire | 935.00 | 2421.64 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | 909.69 | 2356.10 |
| 23 | Oklahoma | 907.77 | 2351.10 |
| 24 | New York | 879.94 | 2279.02 |
| 25 | Nebraska | 831.76 | 2154.26 |
| 26 | Delaware | 829.67 | 2148.83 |
| 27 | Louisiana | 810.00 | 2097.89 |
| 28 | Kansas | 783.59 | 2029.49 |
| 29 | Alabama | 782.37 | 2026.34 |
| 30 | Massachusetts | 753.93 | 1952.67 |
| 31 | Arkansas | 709.05 | 1836.44 |
| 32 | South Carolina | 696.09 | 1802.86 |
| 33 | Connecticut | 692.88 | 1794.54 |
| 34 | Pennsylvania | 687.39 | 1780.33 |
| 35 | Vermont | 686.71 | 1778.58 |
| 36 | Missouri | 606.12 | 1569.85 |
| 37 | Mississippi | 590.61 | 1529.67 |
| 38 | Iowa | 568.40 | 1472.16 |
| 39 | Illinois | 567.78 | 1470.55 |
| 40 | North Carolina | 538.19 | 1393.91 |
| 41 | Maryland | 516.96 | 1338.92 |
| 42 | Ohio | 509.38 | 1319.28 |
| 43 | Tennessee | 443.61 | 1148.95 |
| 44 | West Virginia | 440.55 | 1141.01 |
| 45 | New Jersey | 415.29 | 1075.59 |
| 46 | Indiana | 395.85 | 1025.24 |
| 47 | Georgia | 373.74 | 967.99 |
| 48 | Kentucky | 336.74 | 872.16 |
| 49 | Virginia | 319.21 | 826.75 |
| 50 | Rhode Island | 242.80 | 628.85 |
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density for Counties: 2000. Data Set: Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on March 14, 2007.
- US Census Quick Facts
- For a state map showing the counties, select in http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/ the state and select "view map"; select a county to obtain data about it.*
- Labor Statistics County Employment and Wages
- For a table of counties of a state, with areas, populations, densities and more (using miles), select the state in [1].
- Map of the US showing population density per county (pdf, see p.6)
- 2002 Census of Governments; Volume 1, No. 1, Government Organization. U.S. Census Bureau. [2]. Page 8 shows a chart of counties by population and by state.
