List of counties in Missouri
Template:Infobox subdivision type
There are 114 counties and one independent city in the U.S. State of Missouri. Following the Louisiana Purchase and the admittance of Louisiana into the United States in 1812, five counties were formed out of the Missouri Territory at the first general assembly: Cape Girardeau, New Madrid, Saint Charles, Saint Louis, and Ste. Genevieve. Most subsequent counties were apportioned from these five original counties. Six more counties were added through the 1836 Platte Purchase, the acquired lands of which formed the northwest tip of the state and consisted of Andrew, Atchison, Buchanan, Holt, Nodaway, and Platte counties.[1]
In Missouri, the county level of government comes between those of the city and the state. Its primary responsibilities include maintaining roads, providing security, prosecuting criminals, and collecting taxes. Elected officials at this level include a sheriff, prosecuting attorney, and assessor.[2]
Most of the counties in Missouri are named after politicians. One such county, Cass, was originally named Van Buren County after President Martin Van Buren, and was changed to its present name in support of Van Buren's Democratic opponent Lewis Cass during the presidential election of 1848. Other counties are named after war heroes, natural resources, explorers, and former U.S. territories.[3]
The city of St. Louis is an independent city, and is not within the limits of a county. Its residents voted to secede from St. Louis County in 1876. Throughout the United States, St. Louis is one of three independent cities outside the state of Virginia (the other two are Baltimore, Maryland, and Carson City, Nevada).[4]
Population figures are based on the 2025 Census estimate. According to that census estimate, the population of Missouri is 6,270,541, an increase of 1.9% from 2020. The average population of Missouri's counties is 54,526; St. Louis County is the most populous (990,911), and Worth County is the least (1,914). The average land area is 599 sq mi (1,550 km2). The largest county is Texas County (1,179 sq mi, 3,054 km2) and the smallest is St. Louis city (61.9 sq mi, 160 km2).[5][6]
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. To distinguish from counties in other states, one must use Missouri's FIPS code, 29. For example, Adair County's unique nationwide identifier is 29001.[7]
Counties
[edit]Template:Countytabletop Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow Template:Countyrow |}
Former county names
[edit]
| County[3] | Etymology[3][8] | Changed to[3][9] |
|---|---|---|
| Allen County | Unknown
|
Atchison County in 1845 |
| Ashley County | William Henry Ashley (1778–1838), early settler | Texas County in 1845 upon organization |
| Decatur County | Stephen Decatur (1779–1820), American naval officer[10] | Ozark County in 1845 |
| Dodge County | Unknown
|
Dodge County was created as its own county from Putnam County in 1846, but was dissolved back into Putnam County in 1853 |
| Highland County | Unknown
|
Sullivan County in 1845 upon organization |
| Kinderhook County | Kinderhook, New York, birthplace of Martin Van Buren | Camden County in 1843 |
| Lillard County | James Lillard of Tennessee, who served in the first state legislature of Missouri | Lafayette County in 1825 |
| Niangua County | Niangua River, a tributary of the Osage River – "niangua" comes from the Native American word nehemgar, which means "a river of numerous springs or sources"[11] | Dallas County in 1844 because of the difficulty in pronouncing and spelling Niangua |
| Rives County | Unknown
|
Henry County in 1841 |
| Seneca County | Seneca Nation, a group of Native Americans from New York | McDonald County in 1847 upon organization |
| Van Buren County | Martin Van Buren (1782–1862), eighth President of the United States and also Vice President under Andrew Jackson | Cass County in 1849 in honor of Van Buren's opponent in the presidential election of 1848 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Timeline of Missouri History: 1673–1799". Missouri State Government Web. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ↑ "County Government Links". Missouri State Government Web. Archived from the original on May 23, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "What are the Origins of Missouri Counties?". Missouri State Government Web. Retrieved September 17, 2009.
- ↑ "About St. Louis: Government". City of St. Louis. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
- ↑ U.S. Census Bureau Archived July 2, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, ("Missouri County Selection Map")
- ↑ "2020 Population and Housing State Data". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
- ↑ "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". US Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on March 21, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2009.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedetym2 - ↑ Missouri Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. "Missouri: Consolidated Chronology of State and County Boundaries". The Newberry Library. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
- ↑ Stevens, Walter B. (1921). Centennial history of Missouri (The Center State) One Hundred Years in the Union 1820–1921. Chicago: Clarke Pub. Co. p. 72.
- ↑ Stevens, Walter B. (1921). Centennial history of Missouri (The Center State) One Hundred Years in the Union 1820–1921. Chicago: Clarke Pub. Co. p. 73.
Further reading
[edit]- writer, Statf (2022). "MISSOURI COUNTY GOVERNMENT OVERVIEW" (PDF). ce.naco.org. National Association of Counties (NACo). Retrieved January 3, 2025. Cite has empty unknown parameter:
|medrxiv=(help)
External links
[edit]- Missouri Association of Counties
- Digitized 1930 Plat Books of Missouri Counties from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books
Template:Missouri Template:U.S. Counties