County outline
Where Chautauqua County is located
Area breakdown
Land accounts for 70.7% of Chautauqua County’s measured area and water for 29.3%. Its combined area converts to 3,885.5 square kilometers or approximately 960,123 acres.
Green: land · blue: water
| Measurement | Square miles | Square kilometers | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land | 1,060.41 | 2,746.449 | 678,662.4 |
| Water | 439.782 | 1,139.03 | 281,460.5 |
| Total | 1,500.192 | 3,885.479 | 960,122.9 |
How Chautauqua County compares
By original Census land area, Chautauqua County ranks #13 of 62 in New York and #612 of 3,222 nationally. National rankings include the 50 states, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Its land area is 1.622 times the New York county-equivalent median of 653.7 square miles. It accounts for 2.3% of the combined county land area in the state.
See the complete New York ranking · What counts as a county equivalent?
Population and density of Chautauqua County
The Census Bureau estimates that 124,126 people lived in Chautauqua County on July 1, 2025. That ranks #529 of 3,222 county equivalents nationally and #23 of 62 in New York. Since the April 1, 2020 estimates base of 127,650, the population has declined by 3,524 (−2.8%), compared with −1% for New York as a whole.
With 1,060.4 square miles of land, that is 117 people per square mile (45 per km²), placing Chautauqua County #891 nationally for density and #31 in New York. The median county equivalent has 47 people per square mile; the New York median is 112. Put another way, there are about 5.5 acres of land per resident.
| July 1 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Estimate | 127,383 | 126,549 | 125,558 | 125,061 | 124,697 | 124,126 |
| Change | — | −834 | −991 | −497 | −364 | −571 |
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 Chautauqua County
Chautauqua County is divided into 31 cities and towns. In New York, county subdivisions are local governments, and together they cover all of the county’s land and residents.
The most populous is Jamestown city, with 27,663 residents (22.3% of the county). The largest by land is Chautauqua town, at 67.4 mi², or 6.4% of the county’s land. Among those with at least 1,000 residents in 2020, Clymer town grew fastest since then (+2.8%).
| County subdivision | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamestown city | 27,663 | −3.6% | 8.9 | 0.8% |
| Pomfret town | 12,605 | −3.3% | 43.8 | 4.1% |
| Dunkirk city | 12,326 | −3.2% | 4.545 | 0.4% |
| Ellicott town | 8,558 | −2.5% | 30.5 | 2.9% |
| Busti town | 7,369 | −2.5% | 48.2 | 4.5% |
| Hanover town | 6,808 | −2.3% | 49.2 | 4.6% |
| Westfield town | 4,423 | −3% | 47 | 4.4% |
| Ellery town | 4,053 | −1.6% | 47.5 | 4.5% |
| Chautauqua town | 3,995 | −0.5% | 67.4 | 6.4% |
| Portland town | 3,926 | −8.7% | 34 | 3.2% |
| Carroll town | 3,389 | −2.1% | 33.5 | 3.2% |
| Sheridan town | 2,501 | −2.6% | 37.3 | 3.5% |
| Ripley town | 2,255 | −2.8% | 48.8 | 4.6% |
| North Harmony town | 2,197 | +0.3% | 42.1 | 4% |
| Poland town | 2,176 | −1.9% | 36.5 | 3.4% |
Show the other 16 subdivisions
| Name | Population 2025 | Since 2020 | Land mi² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harmony town | 2,063 | −2.4% | 45.1 |
| Stockton town | 1,999 | −2% | 47.2 |
| Clymer town | 1,807 | +2.8% | 36.1 |
| Gerry town | 1,718 | −3.8% | 36.1 |
| Sherman town | 1,636 | +1.2% | 36.3 |
| Charlotte town | 1,543 | +0.9% | 36.5 |
| Ellington town | 1,477 | −0.9% | 36.5 |
| Kiantone town | 1,351 | −2.4% | 18.4 |
| Dunkirk town | 1,202 | −2.9% | 6.212 |
| Villenova town | 1,047 | −1.5% | 36.2 |
| Cherry Creek town | 1,034 | −0.1% | 36.6 |
| Arkwright town | 994 | −1% | 35.7 |
| French Creek town | 988 | −1.6% | 36.3 |
| Mina town | 980 | −2.8% | 35.8 |
| Cattaraugus Reservation | 43 | −2.3% | 2.446 |
| Chautauqua Lake UT | 0 | — | 0 |
Population: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 subcounty estimates, counting only the part of each subdivision inside Chautauqua County. Land: 2026 Census Gazetteer. How communities are listed.
Metropolitan area
Chautauqua County is a central county of the Jamestown-Dunkirk, NY Micropolitan Statistical Area. Chautauqua County is the area’s only county equivalent, so the micro area has the same 1,060.4 square miles of land. By combined land it ranks #166 of 542 micropolitan areas, and #16 by population.
ZIP codes
38 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Chautauqua County; 35 of them have most of their land inside the county, and the others mainly cover neighboring areas.
1404814062140631408114135141361413814166147011471014712147161471814720147221472314724147261472814732147331473614738147401474214747147501475214756147571476714769147751478114782147841478514787
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 Chautauqua County
Chautauqua County shares a land border with 4 county equivalents, including 2 in Pennsylvania. It has more land than 3 of them. The largest neighbor is Cattaraugus County (1,308.2 mi²) and the smallest is Erie County (799 mi²). Together with its neighbors, Chautauqua County forms a block of 5,094.6 mi² of land, of which it holds 20.8%.
| Bordering county equivalent | Land mi² | Size vs. Chautauqua | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cattaraugus County | 1,308.2 | 1.2× larger | Compare |
| Erie County | 1,042.8 | about the same | Compare |
| Warren CountyPennsylvania | 884.3 | 1.2× smaller | Compare |
| Erie CountyPennsylvania | 799 | 1.3× smaller | Compare |
How big is Chautauqua County compared with U.S. states?
Chautauqua County has more land than 1 of the 50 states. It is about 1 times the land area of Rhode Island (1,033.9 mi²), while Delaware, the next larger state, has 1.8 times as much land (1,948.6 mi²). New York’s county land could hold about 44 areas the size of Chautauqua County.
Another way to picture it: the same land area would fill a square about 32.6 miles (52.4 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 Chautauqua County?
Chautauqua County has more land than 2,610 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 Chautauqua County at #453 nationally by total area, 159 places closer to the top than its land rank. The water assigned to this geography moves it ahead of some county equivalents with more land.
Its water share is 29.3%, compared with a national county-equivalent median of 1.2% — 28.1 percentage points higher. 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 Chautauqua County in the national ranking. They can be in different states and are not necessarily geographic neighbors.
| Land rank | County equivalent | Land mi² | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| #611 | Keith County, Nebraska | 1,062.1 | Compare |
| #612 | Chautauqua County, New York | 1,060.4 | This county |
| #613 | Garfield County, Oklahoma | 1,058.5 | 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 42.304216, -79.407595. 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: 2,746,450,224 m²; AWATER: 1,139,029,653 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 Chautauqua County?
Chautauqua County, New York has 1,060.4 square miles (2,746.4 km²) of land and 439.8 square miles of water, for a total area of 1,500.2 square miles. It ranks #612 of 3,222 U.S. county equivalents by land area.
Is Chautauqua County the largest county in New York?
No. Chautauqua County ranks #13 of 62 in New York by land area. The largest is St. Lawrence County, with 2,679.5 square miles of land.
What counties border Chautauqua County?
Chautauqua County shares a land border with Cattaraugus County, Warren County, Pennsylvania, Erie County, Pennsylvania, and Erie County.
What is the population of Chautauqua County?
The Census Bureau estimates Chautauqua County had 124,126 residents on July 1, 2025, ranking #529 of 3,222 county equivalents. That is 117 people per square mile of land.
What is the county seat of Chautauqua County?
The county seat of Chautauqua County is Mayville.
What cities and towns are in Chautauqua County?
Chautauqua County has 31 county subdivisions (cities, towns and townships). The most populous five are Jamestown city, Pomfret town, Dunkirk city, Ellicott town, and Busti town.
Is Chautauqua County part of a metropolitan area?
Yes. It is a central county of the Jamestown-Dunkirk, NY Micropolitan Statistical Area.
How many ZIP codes are in Chautauqua County?
38 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas have land in Chautauqua County, and 35 of them have most of their land inside the county. Census ZIP Code Tabulation Areas approximate USPS ZIP Code areas.
How does Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua County?
The land measurement converts to approximately 678,662 acres. Including water, total area is approximately 960,123 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.