In Hawaii, one county holds 62.7% of the state’s land; in Georgia, the largest holds just 1.6%. In 48 of 51 states the largest county by area is not the most populous one.
“What is the largest county in my state?” has a simple answer, but the answer means very different things from state to state. In some states the largest county is a giant that dwarfs the rest; in others, counties are close to equal in size and the largest barely stands out.
This guide lists the largest and smallest county equivalent by land area in each of the 51 states and territories with more than one, using the 2026 Census Gazetteer. It then measures how dominant the largest county is and how wide the gap is between the extremes.
Largest and smallest county in every state
Land area excludes water. Select a county for its full profile, or a state for its complete ranking.
The District of Columbia is a single county equivalent and is not listed.
Where one county dominates
Dividing the largest county’s land by the state’s total shows how much of the map it covers. Small states with few counties lead, but a few large states have one exceptional county too.
| State | Largest county | Share of state land | Counties in state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | Hawaii County | 62.7% | 5 |
| Delaware | Sussex County | 48% | 3 |
| Rhode Island | Providence County | 39.6% | 5 |
| Alaska | Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area | 25.5% | 30 |
| Maine | Aroostook County | 21.6% | 16 |
| Connecticut | Capitol Planning Region | 21.2% | 9 |
| New Hampshire | Coos County | 20% | 10 |
| Massachusetts | Worcester County | 19.4% | 14 |
| Nevada | Nye County | 16.6% | 17 |
| Arizona | Coconino County | 16.4% | 15 |
At the other end, Ohio (1.7%), Missouri (1.7%), and Georgia (1.6%) have no dominant county: their largest covers less than 2% of the state.
The widest gaps between largest and smallest
The ratio between the largest and smallest county shows how uneven a state’s divisions are. Independent cities and consolidated city-counties produce the extreme ratios, because a compact city sits in the same ranking as rural counties.
| State | Largest ÷ smallest | Largest | Smallest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | 474× | Pittsylvania County (969 mi²) | Falls Church city (2.05 mi²) |
| California | 430× | San Bernardino County (20,068.4 mi²) | San Francisco County (46.7 mi²) |
| Hawaii | 336× | Hawaii County (4,028.4 mi²) | Kalawao County (12 mi²) |
| Alaska | 329× | Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area (145,767.5 mi²) | Skagway Municipality (442.9 mi²) |
| Colorado | 145× | Las Animas County (4,772.9 mi²) | Broomfield County (33 mi²) |
| Nevada | 126× | Nye County (18,181.9 mi²) | Carson City (144.5 mi²) |
| New York | 118× | St. Lawrence County (2,679.5 mi²) | New York County (22.7 mi²) |
| New Mexico | 63× | Catron County (6,924.2 mi²) | Los Alamos County (109.1 mi²) |
| Texas | 49× | Brewster County (6,183.8 mi²) | Rockwall County (127.2 mi²) |
| Minnesota | 41× | St. Louis County (6,248.1 mi²) | Ramsey County (152.3 mi²) |
The most even state is Arkansas, where Union County has only 2 times the land of Lafayette County. See why independent cities rank smallest.
Largest is rarely most populous
In only 3 of the 51 states is the largest county by land also the most populous. Large counties are usually large because they were drawn across thinly settled land, while people concentrate in smaller urban counties. Capitol Planning Region (Connecticut), Providence County (Rhode Island), Shelby County (Tennessee) are the exceptions where size and population coincide.
Each county profile shows both measures side by side, with density and the county’s rank in its state. The most populous counties ranking lists the national order.
Sources and calculation notes
County examples and calculations use our pinned 2026 Census Gazetteer dataset. Ratios use published square-mile values; land rankings use original square meters. Population figures are Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates, joined by GEOID; examples labeled hypothetical are teaching examples.
- Original 2026 Census county measurements (ZIP)
- Census Bureau: Gazetteer Files
- Census Bureau: County population estimates, Vintage 2025
How we calculate and verify the data · Download and reproduce the examples · Suggest a correction