List of counties in Alabama

Alabama counties (clickable map)

The U.S. state of Alabama has sixty-seven counties. The oldest is Washington County (created June 4, 1800) and the youngest is Houston County (created February 9, 1903).

Alabama was claimed by Spain, as Spanish Florida, and by England, as the Province of Carolina. The first permanent colony was made by the French on the banks of the Mobile River in 1702.

After the American Revolutionary War, West Florida south of the 31st parallel became a part of Spain while most of the rest was put in the Mississippi Territory. The territorial assembly established some of the earliest county divisions which have survived to the present. In 1817 the western part of the territory became the State of Mississippi and the remainder the Alabama Territory. The Alabama territorial legislature made some more counties.

Alabama became the 22nd state of the United States in 1819. The Alabama state legislature made more counties from former Indian lands as the Indian Removal Act took effect and settlers populated different areas of Alabama.

In 1820, Alabama had 29 counties. By 1830 there were 36, with Indians still occupying land in northeast and far western Alabama. By 1840, 49 counties had been created; 52 by 1850; 65 by 1870; and the present 67 counties by 1903.

According to 2020 U.S. Census data, the average population of Alabama's sixty-seven counties was 74,989, while Jefferson County had the most people (674,721), and Greene County (7,730) had the least. The average land area is 756 sq mi (1,958 km²). The largest county is Baldwin (1,590 sq mi or 4,118 km²), and the smallest is Etowah (535 sq mi or 1,386 km²).

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify counties, is provided with each entry. (In this system, St. Clair County is alphabetized ahead of Shelby County.) The FIPS code links in the table point to U.S. Census "quick facts" pages for each county.

Counties

County	FIPS code	County seat	License #	Created	Formed from	Meaning of name	Density (/sq mi)	Population (2020)	Land Area	Map
Autauga County	001	Prattville	4	1818	Montgomery County	The Autauga or Atagi people, Native Americans who were a sub-group of the Alibamu	98.9	58,805	594.44 sq mi (1,540 km2)
Baldwin County	003	Bay Minette	5	1809	Washington County and West Florida	Abraham Baldwin (1754–1807), U.S. legislator from Georgia	145.8	231,767	1,589.78 sq mi (4,118 km2)
Barbour County	005	Clayton	6	1832	Pike County	James Barbour (1775–1842), Governor of Virginia and U.S. Senator	28.5	25,223	884.88 sq mi (2,292 km2)
Bibb County	007	Centreville	7	1818	Montgomery County (as Cahawba County)	William Wyatt Bibb (1781–1820), 1st Governor of Alabama	35.8	22,293	622.58 sq mi (1,612 km2)
Blount County	009	Oneonta	8	1818	Montgomery County and Creek territories	Willie Blount (1768–1835), Governor of Tennessee	91.7	59,134	644.78 sq mi (1,670 km2)
Bullock County	011	Union Springs	9	1866	Barbour, Macon, Montgomery, and Pike counties	Edward Bullock (1822–1861), colonel in the Confederate States Army	16.6	10,357	622.80 sq mi (1,613 km2)
Butler County	013	Greenville	10	1819	Conecuh and Monroe counties	William Butler (?–1818), captain in Creek War	24.5	19,051	776.83 sq mi (2,012 km2)
Calhoun County	015	Anniston	11	1832	St. Clair County (as Benton County)	John C. Calhoun (1782–1850), 7th U.S. Vice President	192.2	116,441	605.87 sq mi (1,569 km2)
Chambers County	017	LaFayette	12	1832	Montgomery County	Henry H. Chambers (1790–1826), U.S. Senator	58.3	34,772	596.53 sq mi (1,545 km2)
Cherokee County	019	Centre	13	1836	Cherokee territory	Cherokee people, whose lands included Northeast Alabama	45.1	24,971	553.70 sq mi (1,434 km2)
Chilton County	021	Clanton	14	1868	Autauga, Bibb, Perry, and Shelby counties (as Baker County)	William Parish Chilton (1810–1871), Alabama Supreme Court Justice and Confederate congressman	65.0	45,014	692.85 sq mi (1,794 km2)
Choctaw County	023	Butler	15	1847	Sumter and Washington counties	Choctaw people, whose lands included Alabama	13.9	12,665	913.50 sq mi (2,366 km2)
Clarke County	025	Grove Hill	16	1812	Washington County	John Clarke (1766–1832), general from Georgia	18.6	23,087	1,238.46 sq mi (3,208 km2)
Clay County	027	Ashland	17	1866	Randolph and Talladega counties	Henry Clay (1777–1852), U.S. legislator from Kentucky	23.6	14,236	603.96 sq mi (1,564 km2)
Cleburne County	029	Heflin	18	1866	Calhoun, Randolph, and Talladega counties	Patrick Cleburne (1828–1864), Major General in Confederate States Army	26.9	15,056	560.10 sq mi (1,451 km2)
Coffee County	031	Elba and Enterprise	19	1841	Dale County	John Coffee (1772–1833), military leader in War of 1812 and Creek War	78.7	53,465	678.97 sq mi (1,759 km2)
Colbert County	033	Tuscumbia	20	1867	Franklin County	George Colbert (1764–1839) and Levi Colbert (1759–1834), Chickasaw chiefs	96.6	57,227	592.62 sq mi (1,535 km2)
Conecuh County	035	Evergreen	21	1818	Monroe County	The Conecuh River, which flows through the county	13.6	11,597	850.16 sq mi (2,202 km2)
Coosa County	037	Rockford	22	1832	Montgomery County	The Coosa River, which flows through the county, and is itself named after a Native American village	16.0	10,387	650.93 sq mi (1,686 km2)
Covington County	039	Andalusia	23	1821	Henry County	Leonard Covington (1768–1813), Brigadier General in War of 1812 and U.S. Congressman	36.5	37,570	1,030.46 sq mi (2,669 km2)
Crenshaw County	041	Luverne	24	1866	Butler, Coffee, Covington, Lowndes, and Pike Counties	Anderson Crenshaw (1783–1847), Alabama Supreme Court justice and early settler	21.7	13,194	608.84 sq mi (1,577 km2)
Cullman County	043	Cullman	25	1877	Blount, Morgan, and Winston counties	Colonel John G. Cullmann (1823–1895), founder of county seat	119.6	87,866	734.84 sq mi (1,903 km2)
Dale County	045	Ozark	26	1824	Covington and Henry counties	Samuel Dale (1772–1841), Brigadier General and state legislator	87.9	49,326	561.15 sq mi (1,453 km2)
Dallas County	047	Selma	27	1818	Monroe and Montgomery counties	Alexander James Dallas (1759–1817), U.S. Secretary of Treasury	39.3	38,462	978.69 sq mi (2,535 km2)
DeKalb County	049	Fort Payne	28	1836	Cherokee territory	Johann de Kalb (1721–1780), major general in American Revolutionary War	91.1	71,608	777.09 sq mi (2,013 km2)
Elmore County	051	Wetumpka	29	1866	Autauga, Coosa, Montgomery, and Tallapoosa counties	John Archer Elmore (1762–1834), Revolutionary War veteran	142.2	87,977	618.48 sq mi (1,602 km2)
Escambia County	053	Brewton	30	1868	Baldwin and Conecuh counties	Escambia Creek, a tributary of the Conecuh River	38.9	36,757	945.08 sq mi (2,448 km2)
Etowah County	055	Gadsden	31	1866	Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, DeKalb, Marshall, and St. Clair counties (as Baine County)	Etowah Indian Mounds	193.3	103,436	534.99 sq mi (1,386 km2)
Fayette County	057	Fayette	32	1824	Marion, Pickens, Tuscaloosa, and Walker counties	Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette (1757–1834), Revolutionary War commander	26.0	16,321	627.66 sq mi (1,626 km2)
Franklin County	059	Russellville	33	1818	Cherokee territory	Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), politician, diplomat, inventor, and publisher	50.7	32,113	633.82 sq mi (1,642 km2)
Geneva County	061	Geneva	34	1868	Coffee, Dale, and Henry counties	Named after Geneva, New York, the origin of several early settlers	46.4	26,659	574.41 sq mi (1,488 km2)
Greene County	063	Eutaw	35	1819	Marengo and Tuscaloosa counties	Nathanael Greene (1742–1786), Revolutionary War general	11.9	7,730	647.11 sq mi (1,676 km2)
Hale County	065	Greensboro	36	1867	Greene, Marengo, Perry, and Tuscaloosa counties	Stephen F. Hale (1816–1862), lieutenant colonel in Confederate States Army	23.0	14,785	643.94 sq mi (1,668 km2)
Henry County	067	Abbeville	37	1819	Conecuh County	Patrick Henry (1736–1799), Revolutionary War patriot and Governor of Virginia	30.5	17,146	561.75 sq mi (1,455 km2)
Houston County	069	Dothan	38	1903	Dale, Geneva, and Henry counties	George S. Houston (1811–1879), 24th Governor of Alabama and U.S. Congressman	184.9	107,202	579.82 sq mi (1,502 km2)
Jackson County	071	Scottsboro	39	1819	Cherokee territory	Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), 7th U.S. President	48.8	52,579	1,077.87 sq mi (2,792 km2)
Jefferson County	073	Birmingham	1	1819	Blount County	Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), 3rd U.S. President	607.2	674,721	1,111.28 sq mi (2,878 km2)
Lamar County	075	Vernon	40	1867	Fayette and Marion counties (as Jones County)	Lucius Q. C. Lamar (1825–1893), U.S. Supreme Court justice	23.1	13,972	604.85 sq mi (1,567 km2)
Lauderdale County	077	Florence	41	1818	Cherokee and Chickasaw territories	James Lauderdale (1780–1814), Colonel in War of 1812	140.1	93,564	667.70 sq mi (1,729 km2)
Lawrence County	079	Moulton	42	1818	Cherokee territory	James Lawrence (1781–1813), naval officer in War of 1812	47.9	33,073	690.68 sq mi (1,789 km2)
Lee County	081	Opelika	43	1866	Chambers, Macon, Russell, and Tallapoosa counties	Robert E. Lee (1807–1870), Commander of the Confederate States Army	286.8	174,241	607.54 sq mi (1,574 km2)
Limestone County	083	Athens	44	1818	Elk and Madison counties	Limestone Creek, named for local geological deposits	185.0	103,570	559.94 sq mi (1,450 km2)
Lowndes County	085	Hayneville	45	1830	Butler, Dallas, and Montgomery counties	William Lowndes (1782–1822), U.S. Congressman from South Carolina	14.4	10,311	715.91 sq mi (1,854 km2)
Macon County	087	Tuskegee	46	1832	Montgomery County	Nathaniel Macon (1758–1837), U.S. legislator from North Carolina	32.1	19,532	608.89 sq mi (1,577 km2)
Madison County	089	Huntsville	47	1808	Cherokee and Chickasaw territories	James Madison (1751–1836), 4th U.S. President	484.2	388,153	801.59 sq mi (2,076 km2)
Marengo County	091	Linden	48	1818	Choctaw territory	Battle of Marengo	19.8	19,323	976.88 sq mi (2,530 km2)
Marion County	093	Hamilton	49	1818	Tuscaloosa County	Francis Marion (1732–1795), military leader in American Revolutionary War	39.5	29,341	742.29 sq mi (1,923 km2)
Marshall County	095	Guntersville	50	1836	Blount and Jackson counties and Cherokee territory	John Marshall (1755–1835), Chief Justice of the United States 1801–1835	172.5	97,612	565.84 sq mi (1,466 km2)
Mobile County	097	Mobile	2	1812	Mobile District of West Florida after annexation into Mississippi Territory	Mobile Bay, on which county is located, and which is itself named after the Maubila tribe of Native Americans	337.4	414,809	1,229.44 sq mi (3,184 km2)
Monroe County	099	Monroeville	51	1815	Creek territory	James Monroe (1758–1831), 5th U.S. President	19.3	19,772	1,025.67 sq mi (2,656 km2)
Montgomery County	101	Montgomery	3	1816	Monroe County	Lemuel P. Montgomery (1786–1814), Major in Creek War	291.9	228,954	784.25 sq mi (2,031 km2)
Morgan County	103	Decatur	52	1818	Cherokee territory (as Cotaco County)	Daniel Morgan (1736–1802), U.S. Congressman	213.0	123,421	579.34 sq mi (1,500 km2)
Perry County	105	Marion	53	1819	Cahawba, Dallas, Marengo, and Tuscaloosa counties	Oliver Hazard Perry (1795–1819), naval officer in War of 1812	11.8	8,511	719.66 sq mi (1,864 km2)
Pickens County	107	Carrollton	54	1820	Tuscaloosa County	Andrew Pickens (1739–1817), General in the Revolutionary War	21.7	19,123	881.41 sq mi (2,283 km2)
Pike County	109	Troy	55	1821	Henry and Montgomery counties	Zebulon Pike (1779–1813), explorer and officer in War of 1812	49.1	33,009	672.09 sq mi (1,741 km2)
Randolph County	111	Wedowee	56	1832	St. Clair and Shelby counties	John Randolph (1773–1833), U.S. Senator from Virginia	37.8	21,967	580.55 sq mi (1,504 km2)
Russell County	113	Phenix City	57	1832	Barbour, Bullock, Lee and Macon counties	Gilbert C. Russell (1782–1861), officer in Creek War	92.3	59,183	641.14 sq mi (1,661 km2)
St. Clair County	115	Ashville and Pell City	59	1818	Shelby County	Arthur St. Clair (1736–1818), President of Continental Congress	144.2	91,103	631.90 sq mi (1,637 km2)
Shelby County	117	Columbiana	58	1818	Montgomery County	Isaac Shelby (1750–1826), Governor of Kentucky	284.1	223,024	784.93 sq mi (2,033 km2)
Sumter County	119	Livingston	60	1832	Choctaw territory	Thomas Sumter (1734–1832), U.S. Congressman from South Carolina	13.7	12,345	903.89 sq mi (2,341 km2)
Talladega County	121	Talladega	61	1832	St. Clair and Shelby counties	Talatigi, Creek Indian name for the county seat, meaning "border town"	111.5	82,149	736.78 sq mi (1,908 km2)
Tallapoosa County	123	Dadeville	62	1832	Montgomery and Shelby counties	Tallapoosa River	57.7	41,311	716.52 sq mi (1,856 km2)
Tuscaloosa County	125	Tuscaloosa	63	1818	Montgomery County and Choctaw territory	Iroquoian name for the Black Warrior River	171.8	227,036	1,321.75 sq mi (3,423 km2)
Walker County	127	Jasper	64	1823	Blount, Jefferson, and Tuscaloosa counties	John Williams Walker (1783–1823), U.S. Senator from Alabama	82.6	65,342	791.19 sq mi (2,049 km2)
Washington County	129	Chatom	65	1800	Adams and Pickering counties of Mississippi Territory	George Washington (1732–1799), 1st U.S. President	14.2	15,388	1,080.21 sq mi (2,798 km2)
Wilcox County	131	Camden	66	1819	Dallas and Monroe counties	Joseph M. Wilcox (1790–1814), lieutenant in Creek War	11.9	10,600	888.50 sq mi (2,301 km2)
Winston County	133	Double Springs	67	1850	Walker County (as Hancock County)	John A. Winston (1812–1871), 15th Governor of Alabama	38.4	23,540	612.98 sq mi (1,588 km2)

Former counties and county names

• Baine County (for David W. Baine), changed to Etowah County in 1868
• Baker County (for Alfred Baker, a local landowner), changed to Chilton County in 1874
• Benton County, first named in 1832 for Thomas Hart Benton. In 1849, Benton renounced his support for slavery, alienating him from the Democratic Party. He lost his seat in 1851, and in 1858 the name of the county was changed to Calhoun County, honoring Benton's Senate rival, John C. Calhoun, who had died soon after presiding over the momentous Compromise of 1850.
• Cahawba County, for the former capital city of Cahawba, changed to Bibb County in 1820
• Cotaco County (for Cotaco Creek), changed to Morgan County in 1821
• Elk County (for the Elk River), originally part of another Houston County (for John Houstoun), changed to Lauderdale County and Limestone County in 1818
• Hancock County (for John Hancock), changed to Winston County in 1858
• Jones County (for Josiah Jones, a local political leader), changed back to Covington County in 1868 after Jones refused the honor
• Jones County (for E. P. Jones), then Sanford County, before becoming Lamar County in 1877
• Sanford County (for H. C. Sanford), changed to Lamar County in 1877

Fictional counties of note

• Aurora County, the setting for several books by Deborah Wiles.
• Beechum County, the setting for the 1992 film, My Cousin Vinny.
• Greenbow County, the title character's birthplace in the 1986 Winston Groom novel Forrest Gump, which was adapted into a feature film in 1994.
• Hazzard County, the setting for the CBS TV show The Dukes of Hazzard, that ran from 1979-1985.
• Maycomb County, the setting for Harper Lee's 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which was adapted into a feature film in 1962.
• Pearl County, the setting for William March's 1943 novel Looking Glass and of several of his short stories.

References

• "CountyState.info Alabama". Official County Websites. Archived from the original on 2013-09-01. Retrieved 2007-09-13. - official sites