Randolph County area

Randolph County, Alabama covers 584.1 square miles: 580.6 square miles of land and 3.584 square miles of water. Its county seat is Wedowee. An estimated 23,163 people lived there in 2025.

Official Census measurements · GEOID 011112026 Gazetteer · retrieved September 27, 2026
Land area580.6 mi²
Water area3.584 mi²
Population (2025)23,163
People per mi²40

County outline

Generalized outline of Randolph County, Alabama
2025 Census cartographic boundary, fitted to this frame. County maps are not at a common scale. The 2026 area measurements below come from the separate Gazetteer release. Map source and limitations.

Where Randolph County is located

Randolph County highlighted on a map of all U.S. county equivalents. About the maps

Area breakdown

Land accounts for 99.4% of Randolph County’s measured area and water for 0.6%. Its combined area converts to 1,512.9 square kilometers or approximately 373,846 acres.

Green: land · blue: water

MeasurementSquare milesSquare kilometersAcres
Land580.551,503.618371,552
Water3.5849.2832,293.8
Total584.1341,512.9373,845.8

How Randolph County compares

By original Census land area, Randolph County ranks #57 of 67 in Alabama and #1695 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Its land area is 0.864 times the Alabama county-equivalent median of 672.1 square miles. It accounts for 1.1% of the combined county land area in the state.

See the complete Alabama ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?

Population and density of Randolph County

The Census Bureau estimates that 23,163 people lived in Randolph County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #1,730 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #43 of 67 in Alabama. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 21,971, the population has grown by 1,192 (+5.4%), compared with +3.3% for Alabama as a whole.

With 580.6 square miles of land, that is 40 people per square mile (15 per km²), placing Randolph County #1,755 nationally for density and #37 in Alabama. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Alabama median is 49. Put another way, there are about 16 acres of land per resident.

Estimated population, 2020–2025 · line scaled to this county’s own range
July 1202020212022202320242025
Estimate22,09722,16522,45022,80023,06623,163
Change—+68+285+350+266+97

U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 population estimates. Estimates are revised each year and are not decennial census counts. Density divides the whole population by the whole county’s land area, so it describes an average, not how settlement is distributed within the county. Population sources and methods.

Cities and towns in Randolph County

4 incorporated places lie at least partly in Randolph County. Together they are home to 7,366 people (31.8%); the other 15,797 (68.2%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.

The largest is Roanoke city, with 5,440 residents in the county. The county seat, Wedowee town, has 751 residents.

Incorporated placePopulation 2025Since 2020Land mi²
Roanoke city5,440+2.4%18.7
Wadley town869+31.3%1.455
Wedowee townCounty seat751+2.7%3.494
Woodland town306+4.1%3.122

Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each place inside Randolph County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer, for the whole place even where it extends into other counties. How communities are listed.

Metropolitan area

Randolph County is not part of any metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area in the Office of Management and Budget’s July 2023 delineation; 1,306 other county equivalents are also outside one. These areas are built around an urban core of at least 10,000 people plus the counties tied to it by commuting, so counties outside them are generally rural.

ZIP codes

8 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Randolph County; 5 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.

3625836263362643626636274362763627836280

ZIP Code Tabulation Areas are the Census Bureau’s approximations of USPS ZIP Code service areas, from the 2020 Census relationship files. Lighter codes have less than half of their land in this county. Post-office-box and single-address ZIP Codes have no tabulation area.

Counties bordering Randolph County

Randolph County shares a land border with 7 county equivalents, including 3 in Georgia. It has more land than 4 of them. The largest neighbor is Tallapoosa County (716.5 mi²) and the smallest is Heard County (296 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Randolph County forms a block of 4,266.9 mi² of land, of which it holds 13.6%.

Map of Randolph County and the 7 county equivalents that border it Clay County, Alabama: 604 mi² landHeard County, Georgia: 296 mi² landChambers County, Alabama: 596.6 mi² landCleburne County, Alabama: 560.1 mi² landCarroll County, Georgia: 499.1 mi² landTallapoosa County, Alabama: 716.5 mi² landTroup County, Georgia: 414 mi² land
Randolph County (dark) and its bordering county equivalents. Select a neighbor to open its profile. Drawn from the 2025 Census cartographic boundaries in an equal-area projection. How borders are determined.
Bordering county equivalentLand mi²Size vs. RandolphCompare
Tallapoosa County716.51.2× largerCompare
Clay County604about the sameCompare
Chambers County596.6about the sameCompare
Cleburne County560.1about the sameCompare
Carroll CountyGeorgia499.11.2× smallerCompare
Troup CountyGeorgia4141.4× smallerCompare
Heard CountyGeorgia2962× smallerCompare

How big is Randolph County compared with U.S. states?

Randolph County has less land than any of the 50 states. Rhode Island, the smallest state by land area, has 1,033.9 mi², about 1.8 times as much. Alabama’s county land could hold about 87 areas the size of Randolph County.

Land area: Randolph County and the closest-sized states
Randolph County580.6 mi²
Rhode Island1,033.9 mi²

Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 24.1 miles (38.8 km) on each side. Real county shapes are rarely square, so this is a scale reference rather than a width or driving distance.

State figures are the sums of each state’s county-equivalent land measurements in the same Census release, so states and counties are compared on the same basis. Published state totals can differ slightly because of rounding. Compare all states · Counties bigger than entire states.

What stands out about Randolph County?

Randolph County has more land than 1,527 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.

Land area compared with the typical county equivalent
Randolph County580.6 mi²
Alabama median672.1 mi²
National median604.5 mi²

A median is the middle county-equivalent measurement, not the average of the largest and smallest. All three bars use the same linear scale. Very small areas may appear as a thin sliver; the labels retain their values.

Does including water change its rank?

Using land plus water places Randolph County at #1,807 nationally by total area, 112 places farther from the top than its land rank. Other county equivalents gain more area when their water measurements are included.

Its water share is 0.6%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 0.6 percentage points lower. This describes the statistical geography’s land/water mix, not flood exposure or developable land.

Closest positions in the national land ranking

These entries sit immediately beside Randolph County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.

Land rankCounty equivalentLand mi²Comparison
#1694Chester County, South Carolina580.9Compare
#1695Randolph County, Alabama580.6This county
#1696Macon County, Illinois580.5Compare

Calculated from the same Census release as the area table. Total-area order uses original ALAND + AWATER; water shares and chart labels use published square miles. Calculation details.

Representative coordinates

The Census internal point is 33.296461, -85.464064. It represents a location inside the geography; it is not necessarily the centroid or the address of a courthouse.

Source and precision

U.S. Census Bureau, 2026 Gazetteer Files, Counties. Original ALAND: 1,503,618,339 m²; AWATER: 9,283,012 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.

Download the official county source ZIP ↗ · Methodology

Common questions

How big is Randolph County?

Randolph County, Alabama has 580.6 square miles (1,503.6 km²) of land and 3.584 square miles of water, for a total area of 584.1 square miles. It ranks #1695 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.

Is Randolph County the largest county in Alabama?

No. Randolph County ranks #57 of 67 in Alabama by land area. The largest is Baldwin County, with 1,589.9 square miles of land.

What counties border Randolph County?

Randolph County shares a land border with Clay County, Heard County, Georgia, Chambers County, Cleburne County, Carroll County, Georgia, Tallapoosa County, and Troup County, Georgia.

What is the population of Randolph County?

The Census Bureau estimates Randolph County had 23,163 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #1,730 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 40 people per square mile of land.

What is the county seat of Randolph County?

The county seat of Randolph County is Wedowee.

What cities and towns are in Randolph County?

Randolph County has 4 incorporated places. The most populous are Roanoke city, Wadley town, Wedowee town, and Woodland town; 15,797 residents live outside any incorporated place.

Is Randolph County part of a metropolitan area?

No. Randolph County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.

How many ZIP codes are in Randolph County?

8 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Randolph County, and 5 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.

How does Randolph County compare with U.S. states?

It has less land than every state. Rhode Island, the smallest, has 1.8 times as much land.

How many acres of land are in Randolph County?

The land measurement converts to approximately 371,552 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 373,846 acres. One square mile equals 640 acres.

Why might another source show a different area?

Check whether it reports land or total area, its Census vintage, and its rounding. Our guide explains how to reconcile county area figures.

Can this establish a property boundary?

No. Statistical measurements and generalized maps do not establish property lines. Consult the relevant local surveying or land-records authority.

Cite this county

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