Largest counties by population
Rank US counties and county equivalents by resident population, not land area.
U.S. Census Bureau Population EstimatesPeriod: July 1, 2024–July 1, 2025 · Vintage 2025Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:10:35+00:00
July 1 resident population estimates from a single Census vintage. Counties are ranked by population, not land area. County equivalents include independent cities and other Census county-equivalent areas.
Ranks are competition ranks computed across the full filtered set.
| Rank | Name | State | Population | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Franklin County | Arkansas | 17,725 | 0.7% |
| 1952 | Otero County | Colorado | 17,683 | -1.1% |
| 1953 | Delaware County | Iowa | 17,674 | 0.4% |
| 1954 | Jasper County | Georgia | 17,632 | 2.6% |
| 1955 | Marion County | Arkansas | 17,593 | 0.1% |
| 1956 | Hughes County | South Dakota | 17,570 | 0.1% |
| 1957 | Lafayette County | Wisconsin | 17,478 | 0.8% |
| 1958 | Winston County | Mississippi | 17,473 | 0.1% |
| 1959 | Gunnison County | Colorado | 17,439 | 0.2% |
| 1960 | Patrick County | Virginia | 17,424 | 0.2% |
| 1961 | Piscataquis County | Maine | 17,409 | -0.3% |
| 1962 | Union County | South Dakota | 17,402 | 0.2% |
| 1963 | Madison County | Iowa | 17,270 | 0.7% |
| 1964 | Humboldt County | Nevada | 17,267 | 0.5% |
| 1965 | Radford city | Virginia | 17,243 | 0.0% |
| 1966 | Burnett County | Wisconsin | 17,223 | 0.2% |
| 1967 | Appomattox County | Virginia | 17,172 | 1.0% |
| 1968 | Buckingham County | Virginia | 17,137 | 0.2% |
| 1969 | Cooper County | Missouri | 17,136 | 0.0% |
| 1970 | McCreary County | Kentucky | 17,124 | 1.2% |
| 1971 | Attala County | Mississippi | 17,100 | -0.8% |
| 1972 | Ben Hill County | Georgia | 17,099 | 0.4% |
| 1973 | Washburn County | Wisconsin | 17,087 | 0.4% |
| 1974 | Bertie County | North Carolina | 17,086 | -0.6% |
| 1975 | Drew County | Arkansas | 17,054 | 0.4% |
| 1976 | Haywood County | Tennessee | 17,042 | -1.0% |
| 1977 | Richland County | Wisconsin | 17,036 | -0.5% |
| 1978 | Fountain County | Indiana | 17,013 | 0.8% |
| 1979 | Bond County | Illinois | 16,959 | 2.2% |
| 1980 | Mason County | Kentucky | 16,936 | 0.1% |
| 1981 | Schuyler County | New York | 16,924 | -1.3% |
| 1982 | Mariposa County | California | 16,918 | -0.2% |
| 1983 | Leon County | Texas | 16,894 | 0.9% |
| 1984 | McDowell County | West Virginia | 16,878 | -1.8% |
| 1985 | Clayton County | Iowa | 16,845 | -0.8% |
| 1986 | Hancock County | Illinois | 16,803 | -0.8% |
| 1987 | Tama County | Iowa | 16,796 | 0.0% |
| 1988 | Piatt County | Illinois | 16,791 | 0.9% |
| 1989 | Bayfield County | Wisconsin | 16,787 | 0.0% |
| 1990 | Rush County | Indiana | 16,767 | 0.1% |
| 1991 | Jackson County | Arkansas | 16,741 | 0.6% |
| 1992 | Richland County | North Dakota | 16,731 | 0.3% |
| 1993 | Chickasaw County | Mississippi | 16,730 | -0.4% |
| 1994 | La Paz County | Arizona | 16,711 | 0.2% |
| 1995 | Alamosa County | Colorado | 16,688 | 0.0% |
| 1996 | Baker County | Oregon | 16,658 | -0.6% |
| 1997 | Union County | Illinois | 16,656 | -1.0% |
| 1998 | Parke County | Indiana | 16,642 | 1.1% |
| 1999 | Kanabec County | Minnesota | 16,628 | 0.0% |
| 2000 | Pitkin County | Colorado | 16,625 | -0.8% |
3144 ranked entries.