List of counties in Florida


There are 67 counties in the U.S. state of Florida. It 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, divided by the Suwannee River. All of the other counties were apportioned 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. Florida's counties are subdivisions of the state government. In 1968, counties gained the power to develop their own charters. All but two of Florida's county seats are incorporated municipalities. The exceptions are Crawfordville, county seat of rural Wakulla County, and East Naples, located outside Naples city limits in Collier County.
The names of Florida's counties reflect its diverse 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 placenames, and 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 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 a Native American resistance leader during the war.
Population figures are based on the 2010 United States Census. The population of Florida is 18,801,310, an increase of 17.6% from 2000. The average population of Florida's counties is 280,616; Miami-Dade County is the most populous and Liberty County is the least. The average land area is 805 sq mi. The largest county is Palm Beach County and the smallest is Union County. The total area of the state is 65,795 sq miles; of this, the land area of the state constitutes while the water area constitutes 11,868 sq miles.
The Federal Information Processing Standard 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, Alachua County's unique nationwide identifier is 12001.

Counties

Former counties

Fayette County was created in 1832 from the portion of Jackson County east of the Chipola River, with county seat at Ochesee. In 1834 it was merged back into Jackson County.

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.
CountyDatesEtymologyFate
Benton County1844–1850Thomas Benton, U.S. Senator from Missouri who supported the Armed Occupation Act of 1842 that many Floridians wanted in order to evict Native AmericansOriginal name of county was Hernando County, and the name was changed back to that in 1850
Dade County1836–1997Francis L. Dade, Major in the United States Army during the Second Seminole WarChanged to Miami-Dade County in 1997, in order to benefit from the City of Miami's internationally recognizable name
Mosquito County1824–1845Taken 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 County1858–1861The New RiverRenamed to Bradford County in 1861
St. Lucie County1844–1855Saint Lucy, the Christian martyrRenamed Brevard County in 1855

Proposed counties

Two counties were proposed in Florida's state legislature, but neither actually became counties. A bill was passed by the legislature to create Bloxham County, but residents did not vote to approve it. See Leigh Read County, Florida for the events surrounding the proposed county.
CountyProposal dateEtymologyNotes
Bloxham County1915William D. Bloxham, 13th and 17th governor of Floridacounty seat at Williston
Leigh Read County1842Leigh Read, legislatorproposed renaming of Mosquito County
Miami County1947City of Miamiconsolidated city-county
Ocean County1991Atlantic OceanJacksonville Beaches