List of counties in Florida

There are 67 counties in the U.S. state of Florida, which became a territory of the U.S. in 1821 with two counties complementing the provincial divisions retained as a Spanish territory, Escambia to the west and St. Johns to the east. The two counties were divided by the Suwannee River. All of the other counties were created later from these two original counties. Florida became the 27th U.S. state in 1845, and its last county was created in 1925 with the formation of Gilchrist County from a segment of Alachua County.^[1] Florida's counties are subdivisions of the state government. Florida's most populous county is Miami-Dade County, the seventh most populous county in the nation, with a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census.^[2]

Counties of Florida
Location	State of Florida
Number	67
Populations	7,955 (Liberty) – 2,838,461 (Miami-Dade)
Areas	240 square miles (620 km2) (Union) – 2,034 square miles (5,270 km2) (Palm Beach)
Government	County constitutional officers
Subdivisions	Communities

Population by county:

  0–49,999

  50,000–99,999

  100,000–199,999

  200,000–299,999

  300,000–499,999

  500,000–749,999

  750,000–999,999

  1,000,000–1,499,999

  1,500,000–1,999,999

  2,000,000+

Florida counties 1820-1936

In 1968, counties gained the power to develop their own charters.^[3] All but two of Florida's county seats are incorporated municipalities: the exceptions are Crawfordville, county seat of rural Wakulla County,^[4] and East Naples, located outside Naples city limits in Collier County.

The names of Florida's counties reflect its cultural heritage. Some are named for Confederate political leaders and Spanish explorers, marking the influence of Spanish sovereignty, while others are named for Christian saints, Native American sites, as well as political leaders of the United States. Natural features of the region, including rivers, lakes and flora, are also commonly used for county names. Florida has counties named for participants on both sides of the Second Seminole War: Miami-Dade County is partially named for Francis L. Dade, a major in the U.S. Army at the time; Osceola County is named for the war's native Muscogee-Seminole resistance leader Osceola.^[5]

Population figures are based on the 2024 vintage Census population estimates. The population of Florida is 23,372,215, an increase of 8.5% from 2020. The average population of Florida's counties is 348,839; Miami-Dade County is the most populous (2,838,461) and Liberty County is the least (7,955). The average land area is 805 sq mi (2,085 km²). The largest county is Collier County as per 2020 Census bureau of 1,998.32 sq mi.

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) is used by the U.S. government to uniquely identify counties and is provided for each entry. These codes link to the United States Census Bureau's "quick facts" for each county. Florida's FIPS code of 12 is used to distinguish from counties in other states. For example, Orange County's unique nationwide identifier is 12095.^[6]

Under the Florida Constitution the state government has the power to create and abolish counties. Each county in Florida is required to have a county seat under the state constitution.^[7]

Counties

County	FIPS code[6]	County seat[8]	Est.[5]	Formed from[9]	Etymology[5]	Density	Population[10]	Area[11][8]	Map
Alachua County	001	Gainesville	1824	Duval and St. Johns	From a Seminole-Creek word meaning "jug", apparently in reference to the sinkholes common in the area[12]	333.85	291,782	874 sq mi (2,264 km2)
Baker County	003	Macclenny	1861	New River	James McNair Baker (1821–1892), a Confederate senator and later a judge in the fourth judicial district	50.13	29,325	585 sq mi (1,515 km2)
Bay County	005	Panama City	1913	Calhoun and Washington	St. Andrew's Bay, the central geographic feature of the county	261.41	199,718	764 sq mi (1,979 km2)
Bradford County	007	Starke	1858	Columbia named New River until 1861	Richard Bradford, the first officer from Florida to die in the Civil War; he was killed during the Battle of Santa Rosa Island	95.82	28,075	293 sq mi (759 km2)
Brevard County	009	Titusville	1844	Hillsborough and Mosquito named St. Lucie until 1855[13]	Theodore Washington Brevard, early settler and later state comptroller from 1853 to 1861[13]	646.80	658,447	1,018 sq mi (2,637 km2)
Broward County	011	Fort Lauderdale	1915	Miami-Dade and Palm Beach	Napoleon Bonaparte Broward (1857–1910), 19th governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909	1685.25	2,037,472	1,209 sq mi (3,131 km2)
Calhoun County	013	Blountstown	1838	Franklin, Jackson, and Washington	John C. Calhoun (1782–1850) leading Southern politician from South Carolina	23.42	13,278	567 sq mi (1,469 km2)
Charlotte County	015	Punta Gorda	1921	DeSoto	Probably a corruption of the name of the Calusa, a group of Native Americans from the area	305.65	212,122	694 sq mi (1,797 km2)
Citrus County	017	Inverness	1887	Hernando	The county's citrus trees	291.39	170,174	584 sq mi (1,513 km2)
Clay County	019	Green Cove Springs	1858	Duval	Henry Clay (1777–1852), Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829 under John Quincy Adams	393.94	236,760	601 sq mi (1,557 km2)
Collier County	021	East Naples	1923	Lee	Barron Collier (1873–1939), an advertising entrepreneur who developed much of the land in southern Florida	205.45	416,233	2,026 sq mi (5,247 km2)
Columbia County	023	Lake City	1832	Alachua	Christopher Columbus (c. 1451–1506), explorer of the Americas	92.82	73,977	797 sq mi (2,064 km2)
DeSoto County	027	Arcadia	1887	Manatee	Hernando de Soto (c. 1496/1497–1542), a Spanish explorer and conquistador	57.68	36,744	637 sq mi (1,650 km2)
Dixie County	029	Cross City	1921	Lafayette	Dixie, the common nickname for the Southern United States	25.02	17,614	704 sq mi (1,823 km2)
Duval County	031	Jacksonville	1822	St. Johns	William Pope Duval (1784–1854), the first governor of the Florida Territory	1363.25	1,055,159	774 sq mi (2,005 km2)
Escambia County	033	Pensacola	1821	One of the two original counties	Disputed origin; possibly from the Creek or Choctawword Shambia, meaning "clear water", or from Spanish word "cambiar", meaning to barter	498.91	331,275	664 sq mi (1,720 km2)
Flagler County	035	Bunnell	1917	St. Johns and Volusia	Henry Morrison Flagler (1830–1913), founder of the Florida East Coast Railway	281.95	136,744	485 sq mi (1,256 km2)
Franklin County	037	Apalachicola	1832	Gadsden and Washington	Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America	24.31	12,979	534 sq mi (1,383 km2)
Gadsden County	039	Quincy	1823	Jackson	James Gadsden (1788–1858), American diplomat and namesake of the Gadsden Purchase	85.56	44,151	516 sq mi (1,336 km2)
Gilchrist County	041	Trenton	1925	Alachua	Albert W. Gilchrist (1858–1926), the 20th governor of Florida	57.97	20,233	349 sq mi (904 km2)
Glades County	043	Moore Haven	1921	DeSoto	The Florida Everglades	16.97	13,132	774 sq mi (2,005 km2)
Gulf County	045	Port St. Joe	1925	Calhoun	The Gulf of Mexico	28.10	15,876	565 sq mi (1,463 km2)
Hamilton County	047	Jasper	1827	Jefferson	Alexander Hamilton (1757–1804), the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and a Founding Father	27.83	14,334	515 sq mi (1,334 km2)
Hardee County	049	Wauchula	1921	DeSoto	Cary A. Hardee (1876–1957), governor of Florida at the time of creation of Hardee County	40.92	26,068	637 sq mi (1,650 km2)
Hendry County	051	LaBelle	1923	Lee	Francis A. Hendry (1833–1917), early Floridian pioneer and politician	40.01	46,130	1,153 sq mi (2,986 km2)
Hernando County	053	Brooksville	1843	Alachua and Hillsborough named Benton from 1844 to 1850	Hernando de Soto (c. 1496/1497–1542), a Spanish explorer and conquistador	456.38	218,150	478 sq mi (1,238 km2)
Highlands County	055	Sebring	1921	DeSoto	Named for the county's hilly terrain	106.79	109,778	1,028 sq mi (2,663 km2)
Hillsborough County	057	Tampa	1834	Alachua	Wills Hill, Earl of Hillsborough (1718–1793), former Secretary of State for the Colonies	1504.69	1,581,426	1,051 sq mi (2,722 km2)
Holmes County	059	Bonifay	1848	Jackson and Walton	Holmes Creek, which forms the eastern boundary of the county	41.24	19,876	482 sq mi (1,248 km2)
Indian River County	061	Vero Beach	1925	St. Lucie	The Indian River Lagoon, which flows through the county	342.22	172,139	503 sq mi (1,303 km2)
Jackson County	063	Marianna	1822	Escambia	Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), the seventh President of the United States	54.56	49,980	916 sq mi (2,372 km2)
Jefferson County	065	Monticello	1827	Leon	Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), the third President of the United States and principal author of the Declaration of Independence	26.62	15,921	598 sq mi (1,549 km2)
Lafayette County	067	Mayo	1856	Madison	Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette (1757–1834), French aristocrat and general in the American Revolutionary War	15.91	8,640	543 sq mi (1,406 km2)
Lake County	069	Tavares	1887	Orange and Sumter	Named for the many lakes in the region	466.11	444,204	953 sq mi (2,468 km2)
Lee County	071	Fort Myers	1887	Monroe	Robert E. Lee (1807–1870), commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War	1070.84	860,959	804 sq mi (2,082 km2)
Leon County	073	Tallahassee	1824	Gadsden	Juan Ponce de León (1474–1521), Spanish explorer who named Florida	450.51	300,488	667 sq mi (1,728 km2)
Levy County	075	Bronson	1845	Alachua	David Levy Yulee (1810–1886), one of the state's original United States Senators	42.72	47,765	1,118 sq mi (2,896 km2)
Liberty County	077	Bristol	1855	Gadsden	The patriotic ideal of liberty	9.52	7,955	836 sq mi (2,165 km2)
Madison County	079	Madison	1827	Jefferson	James Madison (1751–1836), fourth President of the United States	26.54	18,364	692 sq mi (1,792 km2)
Manatee County	081	Bradenton	1855	Hillsborough	The manatee, or sea cow, is native to Florida waters.	618.56	458,352	741 sq mi (1,919 km2)
Marion County	083	Ocala	1844	Alachua, Hillsborough, and Mosquito	Francis Marion (c. 1732–1795), military officer during the American Revolution	271.63	428,905	1,579 sq mi (4,090 km2)
Martin County	085	Stuart	1925	Palm Beach	John W. Martin (1884–1958), governor of Florida at time of creation of the county	297.96	165,666	556 sq mi (1,440 km2)
Miami-Dade County	086	Miami	1836	Monroe named Dade until 1997	City of Miami and Francis L. Dade (c. 1793–1835), Major in the United States Army during the Second Seminole War	1458.61	2,838,461	1,946 sq mi (5,040 km2)
Monroe County	087	Key West	1823	St. Johns	James Monroe (1758–1831), fifth President of the United States	81.15	80,908	997 sq mi (2,582 km2)
Nassau County	089	Fernandina Beach	1824	Duval	Duchy of Nassau in Germany	160.09	104,376	652 sq mi (1,689 km2)
Okaloosa County	091	Crestview	1915	Santa Rosa and Walton	A Choctaw word meaning "a pleasant place", "black water", or "beautiful place"	235.56	220,483	936 sq mi (2,424 km2)
Okeechobee County	093	Okeechobee	1917	Osceola and St. Lucie	Lake Okeechobee, which was in turn is from the Hitchiti words for "big water"	54.74	42,369	774 sq mi (2,005 km2)
Orange County	095	Orlando	1824	St. Johns named Mosquito until 1845	The fruit that was the county's main product	1689.04	1,533,646	908 sq mi (2,352 km2)
Osceola County	097	Kissimmee	1887	Brevard and Orange	Osceola (1804–1838), a leader of the Seminole during the Second Seminole War	354.05	468,058	1,322 sq mi (3,424 km2)
Palm Beach County	099	West Palm Beach	1909	Miami Dade County	The county's large amounts of palm trees	777.80	1,582,055	2,034 sq mi (5,268 km2)
Pasco County	101	Dade City	1887	Hernando	Samuel Pasco (1834–1917), United States Senator at the time of creation of the county	884.72	659,114	745 sq mi (1,930 km2)
Pinellas County	103	Clearwater	1912	Hillsborough	From the Spanish Punta Piñal, or "Point of Pines"	3449.54	965,870	280 sq mi (725 km2)
Polk County	105	Bartow	1861	Brevard and Hillsborough	James K. Polk (1795–1849), the 11th President of the United States	454.87	852,878	1,875 sq mi (4,856 km2)
Putnam County	107	Palatka	1849	Alachua and St. Johns	Benjamin A. Putnam (1801–1869), soldier during the Second Seminole War and Floridian legislator	107.07	77,301	722 sq mi (1,870 km2)
St. Johns County	109	St. Augustine	1821	One of the two original counties	Name derived from the St. Johns River, which in turn derives its name from San Juan del Puerto	549.96	334,928	609 sq mi (1,577 km2)
St. Lucie County	111	Fort Pierce	1905	Brevard	Saint Lucy (283–304), the Christian martyr	682.99	390,670	572 sq mi (1,481 km2)
Santa Rosa County	113	Milton	1842	Escambia	Santa Rosa Island, which is in turn named for Saint Rosa de Viterbo (1235–1252), a saint born in Viterbo, Italy	204.38	207,653	1,016 sq mi (2,631 km2)
Sarasota County	115	Sarasota	1921	Manatee	Native American word, of uncertain meaning, for the area	833.22	476,604	572 sq mi (1,481 km2)
Seminole County	117	Sanford	1913	Orange	The Seminole Native American tribe	1605.86	494,605	308 sq mi (798 km2)
Sumter County	119	Bushnell	1853	Marion	Thomas Sumter (1734–1832), general in the American Revolution	283.32	154,693	546 sq mi (1,414 km2)
Suwannee County	121	Live Oak	1858	Columbia	The Suwannee River, a 266-mile long river in northern Florida	69.09	47,536	688 sq mi (1,782 km2)
Taylor County	123	Perry	1856	Madison	Zachary Taylor (1784–1850), 12th President of the United States	20.96	21,843	1,042 sq mi (2,699 km2)
Union County	125	Lake Butler	1921	Bradford	Named for the area's residents united desire to split into a separate county	65.58	15,738	240 sq mi (622 km2)
Volusia County	127	DeLand	1854	Orange	The port of Volusia, whose etymology is uncertain; possibly derived from the Native American word for "Land of the Euchees", the term for the area's native inhabitants	545.00	602,772	1,106 sq mi (2,865 km2)
Wakulla County	129	Crawfordville	1843	Leon	The Wakulla River, itself named for a Spanish corruption of a Timucuan word used to describe the body of water, but that is of uncertain meaning	61.14	37,115	607 sq mi (1,572 km2)
Walton County	131	DeFuniak Springs	1824	Escambia and Jackson	George Walton, first Secretary of Florida Territory	84.75	89,666	1,058 sq mi (2,740 km2)
Washington County	133	Chipley	1825	Jackson and Walton	George Washington (1732–1799), first President of the United States	45.69	26,503	580 sq mi (1,502 km2)

Former counties

Fayette County was created in 1832 from the portion of Jackson County east of the Chipola River, with its county seat at Ochesee (now in Calhoun County east of Altha).^[14][15] In 1834, it was merged back into Jackson County.^[16]

Renamed counties

Five counties in Florida have been renamed. Most renamings occurred between 1845 and 1861, during the first sixteen years of Florida's statehood. One occurred in 1997, when Dade County changed its name to Miami-Dade County.

County[5]	Dates[5]	Etymology[5]	Fate[5]
Benton County	1844–1850	Thomas Benton (1782–1858), U.S. Senator from Missouri who supported the Armed Occupation Act of 1842 that many Floridians wanted in order to evict Native Americans	Original name of county was Hernando County, and the name was changed back to that in 1850
Dade County	1836–1997	Francis L. Dade (c. 1793–1835), Major in the United States Army during the Second Seminole War	Changed to Miami-Dade County in 1997, in order to benefit from the City of Miami's internationally recognizable name
Mosquito County	1824–1845	Taken from the name the Spanish had given the entire coast, "Los Mosquitos"	Mosquito had already repeatedly ceded land to other counties by 1845, when it was renamed Orange County
New River County	1858–1861	The New River	Renamed to Bradford County in 1861
St. Lucie County	1844–1855	Saint Lucy (283–304), the Christian martyr	Renamed Brevard County in 1855

Proposed counties

County[5]	Proposal date[5]	Etymology[5]	Notes
Bloxham County	1915	William D. Bloxham (1835–1911), 13th and 17th governor of Florida	Proposal to combine parts of Levy County and Marion County, with its county seat at Williston[17]
Gulf County	1887	Gulf of Mexico	Proposal to split Hillsborough County roughly along modern Hillsborough-Pinellas boundaries[18]
Leigh Read County	1842	Leigh Read (1809–1841), Florida legislator	Proposed renaming of Mosquito County
Miami County	1947	City of Miami	Consolidated city-county[19]
Ocean County	1981	Atlantic Ocean	Proposal for barrier island beach communities from Cape Canaveral to Sebastian Inlet to secede from Brevard County[20]
Ocean County	1993	Atlantic Ocean	Proposal for the Jacksonville Beaches communities to secede from Duval County[21][22]
Springs County	2020	City of High Springs	Proposal to split Alachua County along 34th Street in Gainesville[23][24]
Wilson County	1917	Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924), 28th president of the United States	Proposal to combine parts of Pinellas County north of Dunedin and the western half of Pasco County, with its county seat at Tarpon Springs[25]

See also

• List of municipalities in Florida
• List of former municipalities in Florida
• List of places in Florida
• List of county seats in Florida
• List of census-designated places in Florida

Further reading

• Utley, Geo. B. (1908). "Origin of the County Names in Florida". Florida Historical Society Quarterly. 1 (3): 29–35. Retrieved May 25, 2018.
• "FLORIDA COUNTY GOVERNMENT OVERVIEW" (PDF). ce.naco.org. National Association of Counties (NACo). 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2025.