State rankings
States Without Counties
Texas has the highest # of Counties (254), followed by Georgia (159) and Kentucky (120). Delaware has the lowest (3).
48 of 51 states
# of Counties
Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.
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All 48 ranked
Highest first.
Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →
Each dot is one state; the lines mark the median and the middle half.
Median
63
Middle half 23 – 89
Average
62.65
48 states
Highest
254
Texas
Lowest
3
Delaware
Data
Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.
51 states · # = rank by # of Counties
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Texas | 254 | — | — | — |
| 2 |  Georgia | 159 | — | — | — |
| 3 |  Kentucky | 120 | — | — | — |
| 4 |  Missouri | 114 | 1 | Independent City | St. Louis operates as both a city and a county. |
| 5 |  Kansas | 105 | — | — | — |
| 6 |  Illinois | 102 | — | — | — |
| 7 |  North Carolina | 100 | — | — | — |
| 8 |  Iowa | 99 | — | — | — |
| 9 |  Virginia | 95 | 38 | Independent City | Virginia is divided into 95 counties, along with 38 independent cities that are considered county-equivalents for census purposes. |
| 9 |  Tennessee | 95 | — | — | — |
| 11 |  Nebraska | 93 | — | — | — |
| 12 |  Indiana | 92 | — | — | — |
| 13 |  Ohio | 88 | — | — | — |
| 14 |  Minnesota | 87 | — | — | — |
| 15 |  Michigan | 83 | — | — | — |
| 16 |  Mississippi | 82 | — | — | — |
| 17 |  Oklahoma | 77 | — | — | — |
| 18 |  Arkansas | 75 | — | — | — |
| 19 |  Wisconsin | 72 | — | — | — |
| 20 |  Florida | 67 | — | — | — |
| 20 |  Pennsylvania | 67 | — | — | — |
| 20 |  Alabama | 67 | — | — | — |
| 23 |  South Dakota | 66 | — | — | — |
| 24 |  Colorado | 64 | — | — | — |
| 25 |  New York | 62 | — | — | — |
| 26 |  California | 58 | — | — | — |
| 27 |  Montana | 56 | — | — | — |
| 28 |  West Virginia | 55 | — | — | — |
| 29 |  North Dakota | 53 | — | — | — |
| 30 |  South Carolina | 46 | — | — | — |
| 31 |  Idaho | 44 | — | — | — |
| 32 |  Washington | 39 | — | — | — |
| 33 |  Oregon | 36 | — | — | — |
| 34 |  New Mexico | 33 | — | — | — |
| 35 |  Utah | 29 | — | — | — |
| 36 |  Maryland | 23 | 1 | Independent City | Baltimore City, although a municipality, has been considered an independent city on par with county jurisdictions since the adoption of the Maryland Constitution of 1851. |
| 36 |  Wyoming | 23 | — | — | — |
| 38 |  New Jersey | 21 | — | — | — |
| 39 |  Nevada | 16 | 1 | Independent City | Carson City is an independent city and the capital of the U.S. state of Nevada. |
| 39 |  Maine | 16 | — | — | — |
| 41 |  Arizona | 15 | — | — | — |
| 42 |  Massachusetts | 14 | — | — | — |
| 42 |  Vermont | 14 | — | — | — |
| 44 |  New Hampshire | 10 | — | — | — |
| 45 |  Connecticut | 8 | 9 | Councils of Government | Since June 2022, Connecticut's nine councils of government have been used by the US Census Bureau instead of the state's eight counties, which now exist for historical purposes only. |
| 46 |  Hawaii | 5 | — | — | — |
| 46 |  Rhode Island | 5 | — | — | — |
| 48 |  Delaware | 3 | — | — | — |
| — |  Louisiana | — | 64 | Parishes | Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes. |
| — |  Alaska | — | 30 | Boroughs, Census Areas | Alaska is divided into 19 equivalent boroughs and 11 sparsely populated census areas. |
| — |  District of Columbia | — | 1 | Federal District | The District of Columbia is a single federal district that is not part of any state or county. |
What correlates with # of Counties?
Pearson r against 2,101 other state metrics sharing at least 29 states. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.
Higher together
Places that have a higher # of Counties tend to score higher on these (or rank better)
Opposite directions
Places that have a higher # of Counties tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)
- Plot
- Emergency Preparedness Rank WalletHubSafest States in the USA rank: rank 1 is the bestPlotr = +0.72 · very strong · n = 48
- Plot
- Plot
- Plot
- Culture and Diversity RankBest States to RetireA rank: rank 1 is the bestPlotr = +0.61 · strong · n = 48
Quick answers
- Which state has the highest # of Counties?
- Texas has the highest # of Counties, at 254, followed by Georgia (159) and Kentucky (120).
- Which state has the lowest # of Counties?
- Delaware has the lowest # of Counties, at 3.
- What is the median # of Counties across US states?
- The median is 63 across the 48 US states with data.
- Where does this states without counties data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2023 - US Census; List of United States counties and county equivalents - Wiki.