County outline
Where Cheyenne County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 99.8% of Cheyenne County’s measured area and water for 0.2%. Its combined area converts to 4,613.9 square kilometers or approximately 1,140,115 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 1,778.276 | 4,605.714 | 1,138,096.6 |
| Water | 3.153 | 8.166 | 2,017.9 |
| Total | 1,781.429 | 4,613.88 | 1,140,114.6 |
How Cheyenne County compares
By original Census land area, Cheyenne County ranks #24 of 64 in Colorado and #334 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1.242 times the Colorado county-equivalent median of 1,431.5 square miles. It accounts for 1.7% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete Colorado ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Cheyenne County
The Census Bureau estimates that 1,713 people lived in Cheyenne County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #3,141 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #59 of 64 in Colorado. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 1,749, the population has declined by 36 (−2.1%), compared with +4.1% for Colorado as a whole.
With 1,778.3 square miles of land, that is 0.96 people per square mile (0.37 per km²), placing Cheyenne County #3,156 nationally for density and #61 in Colorado. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the Colorado median is 11. Put another way, there are about 664 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 1,746 | 1,718 | 1,729 | 1,718 | 1,692 | 1,713 |
| Change | — | −28 | +11 | −11 | −26 | +21 |
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 Cheyenne County
2 incorporated places lie at least partly in Cheyenne County. Together they are home to 972 people (56.7%); the other 741 (43.3%) live outside any incorporated place, in unincorporated communities and rural areas.
The largest is Cheyenne Wells town, with 722 residents in the county.
| Incorporated place | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheyenne Wells townCounty seat | 722 | −4.4% | 1.07 |
| Kit Carson town | 250 | −4.2% | 0.591 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each place inside Cheyenne County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer, for the whole place even where it extends into other counties. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Cheyenne 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
5 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Cheyenne County; 4 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
8080280810808258086281045
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 Cheyenne County
Cheyenne County shares a land border with 5 county equivalents, including 2 in Kansas. It has more land than 3 of them. The largest neighbor is Lincoln County (2,577.7 mi²) and the smallest is Greeley County (778.4 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Cheyenne County forms a block of 9,976.7 mi² of land, of which it holds 17.8%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Cheyenne | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County | 2,577.7 | 1.4× larger | Compare |
| Kit Carson County | 2,160.8 | 1.2× larger | Compare |
| Kiowa County | 1,767.8 | about the same | Compare |
| Wallace CountyKansas | 913.7 | 1.9× smaller | Compare |
| Greeley CountyKansas | 778.4 | 2.3× smaller | Compare |
How big is Cheyenne County compared with U.S. states?
Cheyenne County has more land than 1 of the 50 states. It is about 1.7 times the land area of Rhode Island (1,033.9 mi²), while Delaware, the next larger state, has 1.1 times as much land (1,948.6 mi²). Colorado’s county land could hold about 58 areas the size of Cheyenne County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 42.2 miles (67.9 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 Cheyenne County?
Cheyenne County has more land than 2,888 of the other 3,221 county equivalents in the dataset.
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 Cheyenne County at #376 nationally by total area, 42 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 0.2%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 1 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 Cheyenne County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #333 | Jefferson County, Oregon | 1,781.7 | Compare |
| #334 | Cheyenne County, Colorado | 1,778.3 | This county |
| #335 | Marshall County, Minnesota | 1,775.1 | Compare |
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 38.835658, -102.601798. 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: 4,605,713,997 m²; AWATER: 8,166,128 m². Rankings use ALAND; exact ties use ascending GEOID. Tables preserve Census-published square miles to three decimals, with conversions based on those values.
Common questions
How big is Cheyenne County?
Cheyenne County, Colorado has 1,778.3 square miles (4,605.7 km²) of land and 3.153 square miles of water, for a total area of 1,781.4 square miles. It ranks #334 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Cheyenne County the largest county in Colorado?
No. Cheyenne County ranks #24 of 64 in Colorado by land area. The largest is Las Animas County, with 4,772.9 square miles of land.
What counties border Cheyenne County?
Cheyenne County shares a land border with Kiowa County, Kit Carson County, Lincoln County, Wallace County, Kansas, and Greeley County, Kansas.
What is the population of Cheyenne County?
The Census Bureau estimates Cheyenne County had 1,713 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #3,141 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 0.96 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Cheyenne County?
The county seat of Cheyenne County is Cheyenne Wells.
What cities and towns are in Cheyenne County?
Cheyenne County has 2 incorporated places. The most populous are Cheyenne Wells town and Kit Carson town; 741 residents live outside any incorporated place.
Is Cheyenne County part of a metropolitan area?
No. Cheyenne County is outside every metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area in the July 2023 OMB delineation.
How many ZIP codes are in Cheyenne County?
5 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Cheyenne County, and 4 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Cheyenne County compare with U.S. states?
It has more land than 1 of the 50 states, including Rhode Island (1,033.9 square miles of land).
How many acres of land are in Cheyenne County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 1,138,097 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 1,140,115 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.