List of counties in Florida
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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.<ref name="alachua">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 1968, counties gained the power to develop their own charters.<ref name="FAC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> All but two of Florida's county seats are incorporated municipalities: the exceptions are Crawfordville, county seat of rural Wakulla County,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name=mapsetc/>
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.[1]
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.<ref name=FIPS/>
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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
CountiesEdit
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Former countiesEdit
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).<ref>Template:Cite act</ref><ref>Template:Cite act</ref> In 1834, it was merged back into Jackson County.<ref>Template:Cite act</ref>
Renamed countiesEdit
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<ref name=mapsetc/> | Dates<ref name=mapsetc/> | Etymology<ref name=mapsetc/> | Fate<ref name=mapsetc/> |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 (Template:Circa–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 countiesEdit
| County<ref name=mapsetc/> | Proposal date<ref name=mapsetc/> | Etymology<ref name=mapsetc/> | 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<ref>Template:Cite act</ref> | ||
| Gulf County | 1887 | Gulf of Mexico | Proposal to split Hillsborough County roughly along modern Hillsborough-Pinellas boundaries<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Leigh Read County | 1842 | Leigh Read (1809–1841), Florida legislator | Proposed renaming of Mosquito County | ||
| Miami County | 1947 | City of Miami | Consolidated city-county<ref>Template:Cite act</ref> | ||
| Ocean County | 1981 | Atlantic Ocean | Proposal for barrier island beach communities from Cape Canaveral to Sebastian Inlet to secede from Brevard County<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Ocean County | 1993 | Atlantic Ocean | Proposal for the Jacksonville Beaches communities to secede from Duval County<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | ||
| Springs County | 2020 | City of High Springs | citation | CitationClass=web
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| 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<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
See alsoEdit
- 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 readingEdit
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ReferencesEdit
- Specific
- General
- Atlas of Florida, revised edition. Edward A. Fernald & Elizabeth D. Purdum, editors (University Press of Florida, 1996). "Evolution of Counties", pp. 98–99.