Most densely populated counties

Population per square mile of land, using the latest Census Bureau estimate and Gazetteer land area. Small urban counties and independent cities lead because a large population shares little land.

Ranks 1–100

Vintage 2025 population estimates · 2026 Gazetteer land area · 3,222 county equivalents · page 1 of 33

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What this part of the ranking shows

This page runs from New York County, New York at 73,478 people per mi² to Sacramento County, California at 1,677 people per mi². The 100 entries represent 27 state-level jurisdictions. Virginia has the most entries on this page (24).

New York County, New York ranks first at 73,478 people per mi², followed by Kings County, New York at 38,254 people per mi². Compare the first two entries to see their land areas side by side.

Density divides each county’s whole population by its whole land area. It is an average: a sparse county can contain a dense town, and a dense county can contain parkland or farms.

Most densely populated counties, ranks 1 through 100. Population is the July 1, 2025 estimate; density is per square mile of land.
Rank	County / equivalent	State	Population	Per mi²	Land mi²
1	New York County	New York	1,664,862	73,478	22.7
2	Kings County	New York	2,653,963	38,254	69.4
3	Bronx County	New York	1,406,332	33,324	42.2
4	Queens County	New York	2,358,182	21,690	108.7
5	San Francisco County	California	826,079	17,695	46.7
6	Hudson County	New Jersey	735,033	15,912	46.2
7	Suffolk County	Massachusetts	791,891	13,593	58.3
8	Philadelphia County	Pennsylvania	1,574,281	11,720	134.3
9	District of Columbia	District of Columbia	693,645	11,348	61.1
10	Alexandria city	Virginia	160,662	10,757	14.9
11	Arlington County	Virginia	243,931	9,383	26
12	Richmond County	New York	501,290	8,715	57.5
13	Falls Church city	Virginia	15,159	7,409	2
14	Essex County	New Jersey	896,379	7,109	126.1
15	Baltimore city	Maryland	569,997	7,042	80.9
16	San Juan Municipio	Puerto Rico	329,737	6,883	47.9
17	Union County	New Jersey	601,863	5,857	102.8
18	Cook County	Illinois	5,194,625	5,497	944.9
19	Manassas Park city	Virginia	16,560	5,474	3
20	Nassau County	New York	1,398,939	4,916	284.5
21	Denver County	Colorado	740,613	4,838	153.1
22	St. Louis city	Missouri	278,144	4,507	61.7
23	Manassas city	Virginia	44,332	4,504	9.8
24	Cataño Municipio	Puerto Rico	21,701	4,492	4.8
25	Norfolk city	Virginia	231,013	4,336	53.3
26	Charlottesville city	Virginia	44,388	4,333	10.2
27	Fairfax city	Virginia	26,772	4,290	6.2
28	Bergen County	New Jersey	977,026	4,197	232.8
29	Bayamón Municipio	Puerto Rico	180,562	4,064	44.4
30	Orange County	California	3,149,507	3,970	793.2
31	Richmond city	Virginia	237,257	3,959	59.9
32	Milwaukee County	Wisconsin	924,216	3,828	241.5
33	Ramsey County	Minnesota	541,623	3,557	152.3
34	Pinellas County	Florida	948,563	3,464	273.8
35	Carolina Municipio	Puerto Rico	149,874	3,304	45.4
36	Guaynabo Municipio	Puerto Rico	89,055	3,232	27.6
37	Trujillo Alto Municipio	Puerto Rico	66,348	3,198	20.7
38	Delaware County	Pennsylvania	580,937	3,161	183.8
39	Lexington city	Virginia	7,769	3,109	2.5
40	Winchester city	Virginia	28,272	3,075	9.2
41	Toa Baja Municipio	Puerto Rico	70,931	3,049	23.3
42	Dallas County	Texas	2,661,397	3,048	873.1
43	Fairfax County	Virginia	1,167,873	2,987	391
44	Harris County	Texas	5,045,026	2,955	1,707.3
45	Harrisonburg city	Virginia	50,839	2,933	17.3
46	Fredericksburg city	Virginia	30,393	2,908	10.5
47	Portsmouth city	Virginia	96,777	2,906	33.3
48	DeKalb County	Georgia	774,394	2,893	267.6
49	Wayne County	Michigan	1,769,038	2,891	611.8
50	Passaic County	New Jersey	531,624	2,856	186.1
51	Middlesex County	New Jersey	883,335	2,856	309.3
52	DuPage County	Illinois	934,298	2,849	327.9
53	Cuyahoga County	Ohio	1,232,925	2,696	457.2
54	Hampton city	Virginia	137,315	2,668	51.5
55	Newport News city	Virginia	183,230	2,656	69
56	Tarrant County	Texas	2,248,466	2,598	865.4
57	Franklin County	Ohio	1,361,536	2,557	532.4
58	Marion County	Indiana	992,196	2,506	396
59	Colonial Heights city	Virginia	18,738	2,492	7.5
60	Toa Alta Municipio	Puerto Rico	65,754	2,432	27
61	Camden County	New Jersey	535,799	2,420	221.4
62	Greater Bridgeport Planning Region	Connecticut	337,697	2,409	140.2
63	Broomfield County	Colorado	79,174	2,402	33
64	Los Angeles County	California	9,694,934	2,388	4,060.3
65	Gwinnett County	Georgia	1,018,099	2,361	431.2
66	Westchester County	New York	1,015,743	2,358	430.8
67	Mecklenburg County	North Carolina	1,233,383	2,355	523.6
68	Cobb County	Georgia	793,345	2,335	339.7
69	Roanoke city	Virginia	99,111	2,331	42.5
70	Hennepin County	Minnesota	1,284,784	2,319	554
71	Hopewell city	Virginia	23,261	2,247	10.4
72	Alameda County	California	1,636,630	2,219	737.5
73	Montgomery County	Maryland	1,074,582	2,179	493.1
74	Orleans Parish	Louisiana	362,154	2,136	169.6
75	Caguas Municipio	Puerto Rico	124,161	2,118	58.6
76	Clayton County	Georgia	297,471	2,099	141.7
77	Jefferson County	Kentucky	795,222	2,088	380.8
78	Fulton County	Georgia	1,098,791	2,086	526.9
79	Bristol County	Rhode Island	50,001	2,072	24.1
80	Hamilton County	Ohio	838,418	2,068	405.5
81	Rockland County	New York	357,397	2,058	173.7
82	Middlesex County	Massachusetts	1,669,979	2,042	817.9
83	Prince George's County	Maryland	970,374	2,011	482.6
84	St. Louis County	Missouri	990,911	1,949	508.5
85	Norfolk County	Massachusetts	739,749	1,868	396.1
86	Douglas County	Nebraska	606,460	1,857	326.5
87	Virginia Beach city	Virginia	453,737	1,854	244.7
88	Macomb County	Michigan	886,221	1,849	479.4
89	Multnomah County	Oregon	795,391	1,845	431
90	Montgomery County	Pennsylvania	877,643	1,817	482.9
91	Radford city	Virginia	17,243	1,782	9.7
92	Mercer County	New Jersey	399,289	1,779	224.5
93	Salem city	Virginia	25,816	1,778	14.5
94	Williamsburg city	Virginia	15,861	1,775	8.9
95	Bexar County	Texas	2,160,088	1,741	1,240.5
96	Suffolk County	New York	1,546,090	1,697	910.9
97	Orange County	Florida	1,528,002	1,692	903
98	Essex County	Massachusetts	826,653	1,678	492.5
99	Allegheny County	Pennsylvania	1,225,035	1,678	730
100	Sacramento County	California	1,618,460	1,677	965.4

Read the differences behind ranks 1–100

The median density among these 100 entries is 2,856 people per mi². The first and last entries span 71,801 people per square mile. This median describes the entries on this page, not the full national dataset. Pagination is a browsing boundary, not a distinct geographic region.

Adjacent ranks can differ by a handful of residents or by many thousands. Open a county profile for its population trend since 2020, land area, and state comparisons.

Where the entries on this page are located

Virginia24 entries · 24% of this page
New York9 entries · 9% of this page
Puerto Rico9 entries · 9% of this page
New Jersey8 entries · 8% of this page
California5 entries · 5% of this page
Georgia5 entries · 5% of this page

The remaining 21 jurisdictions contribute 40 entries. The list above shows the six most represented, with alphabetical ordering when counts tie.

These counts describe representation in this slice of the ranking. They do not measure a state’s share of national land or population. Compare the first and last county equivalents on this page to inspect land, water, and total area separately.

Read the geographic explanation behind this ranking, or return to the ranking overview for the national distribution and guidance on selecting a measurement.

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Population rankings use Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates; density rankings divide them by original ALAND square meters. Land rankings use original ALAND square meters; total-area rankings use ALAND + AWATER. Exact ties use ascending GEOID. Displayed square-mile values are rounded. Read the methodology.