How many counties are in the US: 3,144 counties, 3,031 county governments, and how many cities there are

This page is for anyone who needs the number of counties or cities in the US, and for companies that sell to local government: software, public safety equipment, infrastructure and engineering services, consulting and staffing. It reconciles the Census Bureau's geographic and government counts, breaks them down by state and size, and shows how to download the lists and who buys. For special districts, school districts and federal agencies, see our list of government agencies.

How many counties and cities there are

The Gazetteer is the Census Bureau's list of geographic areas. The Government Units List is its inventory of governments active at the end of fiscal year 2026, extracted on 13 August 2026.

What counts as a county

Connecticut abolished county government in 1960. In 2022 the Census Bureau replaced its eight old counties with nine planning regions as county equivalents, which is why some older sources say 3,143.

Why there are 3,144 counties but 3,031 county governments

113 county areas have no county government of their own:

• Independent cities (41 county areas). Virginia's 38, Baltimore, St. Louis and Carson City are counted as city governments.
• Alaska (15). The 11 census areas of the unorganized borough have no borough government, and 4 more Alaska county equivalents aren't counted as county governments.
• Connecticut (9) and Rhode Island (5). Neither state has county government.
• Massachusetts (9). Only 5 of its 14 counties still have a county government.
• Consolidated city-counties (most of the remaining 33). Where a city and county merged, the Census of Governments counts one city government: New York City's five boroughs, and others in Georgia (7), Louisiana (4), Tennessee (3) and elsewhere.
• The District of Columbia.

Counties by state

Virginia's 133 are 95 counties and 38 independent cities, and Missouri's 115 include the independent city of St. Louis.

Counties by population

The median county has about 26,000 people. The 50 counties of a million or more hold 30% of the US population. Los Angeles County is the largest (9,694,934) and Loving County, Texas, the smallest (52).

How many cities there are

The answer depends on what you call a city. The Census Bureau counts 19,489 municipal governments and 19,483 incorporated places with population estimates; the Gazetteer gives each incorporated place its legal title:

Add the 12,540 census-designated places, communities that look like towns but have no municipal government, and the Gazetteer lists 32,058 places in the 50 states and DC. Illinois has the most municipal governments (1,294), followed by Texas (1,226), Pennsylvania (1,014), Missouri and Iowa (940 each) and Ohio (923).

Most incorporated places are small:

The five largest are New York (8,584,629), Los Angeles (3,869,089), Chicago (2,731,585), Houston (2,397,315) and Phoenix (1,665,481). Incorporated places hold 63% of the population; the rest live in townships, census-designated places and unincorporated county land, where the county is the local government.

How to download the lists

The Government Units List is the closest thing to a ready-made prospect list. Its contact titles show who answers the Census for each government: for cities, most often the mayor (5,644) or a clerk; for counties, the board chair, county judge, clerk or administrator. 2,232 county governments and 10,015 municipal governments list a website.

Who buys in county and city government

As general guidance: the elected board or council approves the budget and large contracts; a county administrator or manager, or a city manager or mayor, runs operations; department heads (sheriff, clerk, assessor, public works, IT, parks) own their budgets; and a purchasing office runs bids above the state's threshold. Many local governments buy through cooperative contracts another public agency has already competed. Small governments often have one clerk doing several of these jobs. Our guide to selling to government covers bids and contracts in more depth.

Worked example: permitting software for North Carolina counties

Illustrative example. The company and its rates are invented; the counts come from the Census Government Units List 2026.

The seller: Piedmont Permits (piedmont-permits.example) sells building permit and inspection software. The territory: North Carolina.

1. Count the market. North Carolina has 100 county governments. 44 have 50,000 to 249,999 people (2024 estimates), and all 44 list a website.
2. Find the trigger. Check each county's budget documents and meeting minutes for a permitting system replacement, a new inspections director, or a growth plan.
3. Do the arithmetic. If an illustrative one county in eight replaces its system each year, that's 5 or 6 evaluations a year. Winning a third of them at $60,000 a year gives about 2 new counties and $120,000 in annual revenue a year.
4. Find the buyer. The Census contact is often the board chair or county manager; the buyer is the planning or inspections director, with IT and purchasing. Finding them and what's changed is the slow part; Bebop finds the contacts and researches each county in the list.

Subject: Permit turnaround in [county name]

Hi [first name],

I read in [county]'s [budget or board minutes] that permit volume rose [figure] last year and the board discussed [topic].

Counties your size tell us the backlog usually sits in scheduling inspections, not in the plan review itself.

We work with [number] North Carolina counties on permitting and inspections. Would 20 minutes comparing your current turnaround with theirs be useful before your next budget cycle?

[Your name]
[Phone number]

Next step: see the NAICS code for a municipality when you register as a government vendor, or profile each county with the account research template.