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l About County GovernmentCounty governments serve the people of America.

Today’s county government is one of the most flex-ible, locally responsive and creative governments in the United States. Counties vary in size, population, geography, and even governmental structure. Coun-ties range in geographical size from 26 square miles (Arlington County, Virginia) to 87,860 square miles (North Slope Borough, Alaska). The populations of counties also have a wide range. Loving County, Texas, with its 45 residents, is the smallest, while Los Angeles County, California, is home to about 10 mil-lion people.

County governments meet the challenges they face with innovation and well-planned strategies. Being close to the people they serve, counties are always ac-countable for the decisions they make. The responsi-bilities and services of county governments vary from state to state. Responsibilities include education, so-cial services, criminal justice, transportation and road maintenance, public safety, homeland security, hous-ing, land planning, environmental quality, water and sewer service, and solid waste disposal.

County officials are dedicated public-minded indi-viduals who care deeply about their communities and the important issues affecting them. County govern-ments often partner with other levels of government to ensure a better quality of life for their citizens.

There are 3,068 county governments in the United States of America.

There are 40 consolidated city county governments.

What is in a name?• 30 states have a Washington county• 26 states have a Jefferson county• 25 states have a Franklin county• 24 states have a Jackson county• 24 states have a Lincoln county

47 of 50 states have functioning county governments.

Counties are also called parishes and boroughs.

Delaware has only 3 county governments and Hawaii only 5.

Texas has 254 counties and Georgia has 159.

60 counties have no incorporated cities.

Interesting Facts About Counties

About NACo – The Voice of America’s CountiesThe National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization that represents county governments in the United States. Found-ed in 1935, NACo provides essential services to the nation’s 3,068 counties. NACo advances issues with a unified voice before the federal government, improves the public’s understanding of county government, assists counties in finding and sharing innovative solutions through education and research, and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money. For more information about NACo, visit www.naco.org.

25 Massachusetts Avenue, NW l Suite 500 l Washington, DC 20001 l 202.393.6226 l fax 202.393.2630 l www.naco.org

County populations• 37 counties – 1 million +• 116 counties – 500,000 +• 545 counties – 100,000 +• 2,144 counties – below 50,000

Top five metro economies• Area around New York City, NY• Area around Los Angeles County, CA• Area around Cook County, IL• Area around Suffolk County, MA• Area around Washington, DC

Expenditures for all counties – nearly $300,000,000,000

If these county economies were nations ...• Area around New York City, NY – 14th in the world• Area around Los Angeles County, CA – 16th in the world• Area around Cook County, IL – 18th in the world• Area around Suffolk County, MA – 23rd in the world• Area around Washington, DC – 27th in the world

Largest county in land area• North Slope Borough, AL – 86,000 square miles• In lower 48 – San Bernardino County, CA – 26,000 square miles

Smallest county in land area• Arlington County, VA – 26 square miles

Largest county by population• Los Angeles County, CA – about 10 million people according to the 2009 estimate

Smallest county by population• Loving County, TX – 45 people, according to the 2009 estimate