List of counties in Alabama

The U.S. state of Alabama has 67 counties.[1] Each county serves as the local level of government within its borders. The land enclosed by the present state borders was joined to the United States of America gradually. Following the American Revolutionary War, West Florida was ceded to Spain by treaty while the remainder was organized primarily as the Mississippi Territory, and later the Alabama Territory.[2] The territorial assembly established some of the earliest county divisions that have survived to the present, including the earliest county formation, that of Washington County, created on June 4, 1800.[3] In 1814, the Treaty of Fort Jackson opened the territory to American settlers, which in turn led to a more rapid rate of county creation. Alabama was admitted to the Union as the 22nd state in 1819.[4] The Alabama state legislature formed additional counties from former native lands as the Indian Removal Act took effect and settlers populated different areas of Alabama.[5] In 1820, Alabama had 29 counties. By 1830 there were 36 and Native Americans still occupied large areas of 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.[6] Houston County was the last county created in the state, on February 9, 1903.[3]

Counties of Alabama
Alabama counties (clickable map)
Location	State of Alabama
Number	67
Populations	Greatest: 658,466 (Jefferson) Least: 9,045 (Greene) Average: 72,587 (2016)
Areas	Largest: 1,590 sq mi (4,100 km^2) (Baldwin) Smallest: 535 sq mi (1,390 km^2) (Etowah) Average: 782 sq mi (2,030 km^2)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	cities, towns, unincorporated communities, census designated place

According to 2010 U. S. Census data, the average population of Alabama's 67 counties is 71,399, with Jefferson County as the most populous (658,466), and Greene County (9,045) the least.[7] The average land area is 756 sq mi (1,958 km²). The largest county is Baldwin (1,590 sq mi, 4,118 km²) and the smallest is Etowah (535 sq mi, 1,386 km²).[8] The Constitution of Alabama requires that any new county in Alabama cover at least 600 square miles (1,600 km²) in area, effectively limiting the creation of new counties in the state.[9]

The Alabama Department of Revenue's Motor Vehicle Division issues standard automobile license plates that bear a one- or two-digit number identifying the county in which the vehicle is registered. This number is given in the fourth column in the table below. The first three prefixes are reserved for the state's historically most populous counties, and thereafter proceed alphabetically. Individual license plate numbers are assigned sequentially in each licensing office. The numbers are in the format XAA1111 or XXAA111, depending on whether the prefix is one or two digits. Overflow registrations are accommodated by substituting a letter for one of the registration numbers, such that XXZ999Z is followed by XXA0A0A.[10]

The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, used by the United States government to uniquely identify counties, is provided with each entry. The FIPS code links in the table point to U. S. Census "quick facts" pages for each county. Alabama's FIPS state code is 01.

Counties

County	FIPS code[11]	County seat[3]	License # [12]	Est.[3]	Formed from[13]	Etymology[6][14]	Density [15]	Population (2010)[15]	Land Area[15]	Map
Autauga County	001	Prattville	4	1818	Montgomery County	The Autauga or Atagi people, Native Americans who were a sub-group of the Alibamu	94.4	54,571	594.44 sq mi (1,540 km^2)
Baldwin County	003	Bay Minette	5	1809	Washington County and West Florida	Abraham Baldwin (1754–1807), U.S. legislator from Georgia	114.6	182,265	1,589.78 sq mi (4,118 km^2)
Barbour County	005	Clayton	6	1832	Pike County	James Barbour (1775–1842), Governor of Virginia and U.S. Senator	31.0	27,457	884.88 sq mi (2,292 km^2)
Bibb County	007	Centreville	7	1818	Montgomery County (as Cahawba County)	William Wyatt Bibb (1781–1820), 1st Governor of Alabama	36.8	22,915	622.58 sq mi (1,612 km^2)
Blount County	009	Oneonta	8	1818	Montgomery County and Creek territories	Willie Blount (1768–1835), Governor of Tennessee	88.9	57,322	644.78 sq mi (1,670 km^2)
Bullock County	011	Union Springs	9	1866	Barbour, Macon, Montgomery, and Pike counties	Edward Bullock (1822–1861), colonel in the Confederate States Army	17.5	10,914	622.80 sq mi (1,613 km^2)
Butler County	013	Greenville	10	1819	Conecuh and Monroe counties	William Butler (?–1818), captain in Creek War	27.0	20,947	776.83 sq mi (2,012 km^2)
Calhoun County	015	Anniston	11	1832	St. Clair County (as Benton County)	John C. Calhoun (1782–1850), 7th U.S. Vice President	195.7	118,572	605.87 sq mi (1,569 km^2)
Chambers County	017	LaFayette	12	1832	Montgomery County	Henry H. Chambers (1790–1826), U.S. Senator	57.4	34,215	596.53 sq mi (1,545 km^2)
Cherokee County	019	Centre	13	1836	Cherokee territory	Cherokee people, whose lands included Northeast Alabama	46.9	25,989	553.70 sq mi (1,434 km^2)
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	63.0	43,643	692.85 sq mi (1,794 km^2)
Choctaw County	023	Butler	15	1847	Sumter and Washington counties	Choctaw people, whose lands included Alabama	15.2	13,859	913.50 sq mi (2,366 km^2)
Clarke County	025	Grove Hill	16	1812	Washington County	John Clarke (1766–1832), general from Georgia	20.9	25,833	1,238.46 sq mi (3,208 km^2)
Clay County	027	Ashland	17	1866	Randolph and Talladega counties	Henry Clay (1777–1852), U.S. legislator from Kentucky	23.1	13,932	603.96 sq mi (1,564 km^2)
Cleburne County	029	Heflin	18	1866	Calhoun, Randolph, and Talladega counties	Patrick Cleburne (1828–1864), Major General in Confederate States Army	26.7	14,972	560.10 sq mi (1,451 km^2)
Coffee County	031	Elba and Enterprise[16]	19	1841	Dale County	John Coffee (1772–1833), military leader in War of 1812 and Creek War	73.6	49,948	678.97 sq mi (1,759 km^2)
Colbert County	033	Tuscumbia	20	1867	Franklin County	George Colbert (1764–1839) and Levi Colbert (1759–1834), Chickasaw chiefs	91.8	54,428	592.62 sq mi (1,535 km^2)
Conecuh County	035	Evergreen	21	1818	Monroe County	The Conecuh River, which flows through the county	15.6	13,228	850.16 sq mi (2,202 km^2)
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	17.7	11,539	650.93 sq mi (1,686 km^2)
Covington County	039	Andalusia	23	1821	Henry County	Leonard Covington (1768–1813), Brigadier General in War of 1812 and U.S. Congressman	36.6	37,765	1,030.46 sq mi (2,669 km^2)
Crenshaw County	041	Luverne	24	1866	Butler, Coffee, Covington, Lowndes, and Pike Counties	Anderson Crenshaw (1783–1847), Alabama Supreme Court justice and early settler	22.8	13,906	608.84 sq mi (1,577 km^2)
Cullman County	043	Cullman	25	1877	Blount, Morgan, and Winston counties	Colonel John G. Cullmann (1823–1895), founder of county seat	109.4	80,406	734.84 sq mi (1,903 km^2)
Dale County	045	Ozark	26	1824	Covington and Henry counties	Samuel Dale (1772–1841), Brigadier General and state legislator	89.6	50,251	561.15 sq mi (1,453 km^2)
Dallas County	047	Selma	27	1818	Monroe and Montgomery counties	Alexander James Dallas (1759–1817), U.S. Secretary of Treasury	44.8	43,820	978.69 sq mi (2,535 km^2)
DeKalb County	049	Fort Payne	28	1836	Cherokee territory	Johann de Kalb (1721–1780), major general in American Revolutionary War	91.52	71,109	777.09 sq mi (2,013 km^2)
Elmore County	051	Wetumpka	29	1866	Autauga, Coosa, Montgomery, and Tallapoosa counties	John Archer Elmore (1762–1834), Revolutionary War veteran	128.32	79,303	618.48 sq mi (1,602 km^2)
Escambia County	053	Brewton	30	1868	Baldwin and Conecuh counties	Escambia Creek, a tributary of the Conecuh River	40.55	38,319	945.08 sq mi (2,448 km^2)
Etowah County	055	Gadsden	31	1866	Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, DeKalb, Marshall, and St. Clair counties (as Baine County)	Etowah Indian Mounds	195.20	104,430	534.99 sq mi (1,386 km^2)
Fayette County	057	Fayette	32	1824	Marion, Pickens, Tuscaloosa, and Walker counties	Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette (1757–1834), Revolutionary War commander	27.45	17,241	627.66 sq mi (1,626 km^2)
Franklin County	059	Russellville	33	1818	Cherokee territory	Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), politician, diplomat, inventor, and publisher	50.01	31,704	633.82 sq mi (1,642 km^2)
Geneva County	061	Geneva	34	1868	Coffee, Dale, and Henry counties	Named after Geneva, New York, the origin of several early settlers	46.67	26,790	574.41 sq mi (1,488 km^2)
Greene County	063	Eutaw	35	1819	Marengo and Tuscaloosa counties	Nathanael Greene (1742–1786), Revolutionary War general	13.98	9,045	647.11 sq mi (1,676 km^2)
Hale County	065	Greensboro	36	1867	Greene, Marengo, Perry, and Tuscaloosa counties	Stephen F. Hale (1816–1862), lieutenant colonel in Confederate States Army	24.47	15,760	643.94 sq mi (1,668 km^2)
Henry County	067	Abbeville	37	1819	Conecuh County	Patrick Henry (1736–1799), Revolutionary War patriot and Governor of Virginia	30.79	17,302	561.75 sq mi (1,455 km^2)
Houston County	069	Dothan	38	1903	Dale, Geneva, and Henry counties	George S. Houston (1811–1879), 24th Governor of Alabama and U.S. Congressman	175.08	101,547	579.82 sq mi (1,502 km^2)
Jackson County	071	Scottsboro	39	1819	Cherokee territory	Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), 7th U.S. President	49.38	53,227	1,077.87 sq mi (2,792 km^2)
Jefferson County	073	Birmingham	1	1819	Blount County	Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), 3rd U.S. President	592.68	658,466	1,111.28 sq mi (2,878 km^2)
Lamar County	075	Vernon	40	1867	Fayette and Marion counties (as Jones County)	Lucius Q. C. Lamar (1825–1893), U.S. Supreme Court justice	24.07	14,564	604.85 sq mi (1,567 km^2)
Lauderdale County	077	Florence	41	1818	Cherokee and Chickasaw territories	James Lauderdale (1780–1814), Colonel in War of 1812	138.79	92,709	667.70 sq mi (1,729 km^2)
Lawrence County	079	Moulton	42	1818	Cherokee territory	James Lawrence (1781–1813), naval officer in War of 1812	49.69	34,339	690.68 sq mi (1,789 km^2)
Lee County	081	Opelika	43	1866	Chambers, Macon, Russell, and Tallapoosa counties	Robert E. Lee (1807–1870), Commander of the Confederate States Army	230.67	140,247	607.54 sq mi (1,574 km^2)
Limestone County	083	Athens	44	1818	Elk and Madison counties	Limestone Creek, named for local geological deposits	147.83	82,782	559.94 sq mi (1,450 km^2)
Lowndes County	085	Hayneville	45	1830	Butler, Dallas, and Montgomery counties	William Lowndes (1782–1822), U.S. Congressman from South Carolina	15.78	11,299	715.91 sq mi (1,854 km^2)
Macon County	087	Tuskegee	46	1832	Montgomery County	Nathaniel Macon (1758–1837), U.S. legislator from North Carolina	35.22	21,452	608.89 sq mi (1,577 km^2)
Madison County	089	Huntsville	47	1808	Cherokee and Chickasaw territories	James Madison (1751–1836), 4th U.S. President	417.47	334,811	801.59 sq mi (2,076 km^2)
Marengo County	091	Linden	48	1818	Choctaw territory	Battle of Marengo	21.52	21,027	976.88 sq mi (2,530 km^2)
Marion County	093	Hamilton	49	1818	Tuscaloosa County	Francis Marion (1732–1795), military leader in American Revolutionary War	41.48	30,776	742.29 sq mi (1,923 km^2)
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	164.34	93,019	565.84 sq mi (1,466 km^2)
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	336.04	412,992	1,229.44 sq mi (3,184 km^2)
Monroe County	099	Monroeville	51	1815	Creek territory	James Monroe (1758–1831), 5th U.S. President	22.48	23,068	1,025.67 sq mi (2,656 km^2)
Montgomery County	101	Montgomery	3	1816	Monroe County	Lemuel P. Montgomery (1786–1814), Major in Creek War	292.55	229,363	784.25 sq mi (2,031 km^2)
Morgan County	103	Decatur	52	1818	Cherokee territory (as Cotaco County)	Daniel Morgan (1736–1802), U.S. Congressman	206.37	119,490	579.34 sq mi (1,500 km^2)
Perry County	105	Marion	53	1819	Cahawba, Dallas, Marengo, and Tuscaloosa counties	Oliver Hazard Perry (1795–1819), naval officer in War of 1812	14.71	10,591	719.66 sq mi (1,864 km^2)
Pickens County	107	Carrollton	54	1820	Tuscaloosa County	Andrew Pickens (1739–1817), General in the Revolutionary War	22.41	19,746	881.41 sq mi (2,283 km^2)
Pike County	109	Troy	55	1821	Henry and Montgomery counties	Zebulon Pike (1779–1813), explorer and officer in War of 1812	48.96	32,899	672.09 sq mi (1,741 km^2)
Randolph County	111	Wedowee	56	1832	St. Clair and Shelby counties	John Randolph (1773–1833), U.S. Senator from Virginia	39.44	22,913	580.55 sq mi (1,504 km^2)
Russell County	113	Phenix City	57	1832	Barbour, Bullock, Lee and Macon counties	Gilbert C. Russell (1782–1861), officer in Creek War	82.60	52,947	641.14 sq mi (1,661 km^2)
St. Clair County	115	Ashville and Pell City	59	1818	Shelby County	Arthur St. Clair (1736–1818), President of Continental Congress	132.27	83,593	631.90 sq mi (1,637 km^2)
Shelby County	117	Columbiana	58	1818	Montgomery County	Isaac Shelby (1750–1826), Governor of Kentucky	248.52	195,085	784.93 sq mi (2,033 km^2)
Sumter County	119	Livingston	60	1832	Choctaw territory	Thomas Sumter (1734–1832), U.S. Congressman from South Carolina	15.22	13,763	903.89 sq mi (2,341 km^2)
Talladega County	121	Talladega	61	1832	St. Clair and Shelby counties	Talatigi, Creek Indian name for the county seat, meaning "border town"	111.66	82,291	736.78 sq mi (1,908 km^2)
Tallapoosa County	123	Dadeville	62	1832	Montgomery and Shelby counties	Tallapoosa River	58.04	41,616	716.52 sq mi (1,856 km^2)
Tuscaloosa County	125	Tuscaloosa	63	1818	Montgomery County and Choctaw territory	Iroquoian name for the Black Warrior River	147.24	194,656	1,321.75 sq mi (3,423 km^2)
Walker County	127	Jasper	64	1823	Blount, Jefferson, and Tuscaloosa counties	John Williams Walker (1783–1823), U.S. Senator from Alabama	84.73	67,023	791.19 sq mi (2,049 km^2)
Washington County	129	Chatom	65	1800	Adams and Pickering counties of Mississippi Territory	George Washington (1732–1799), 1st U.S. President	16.28	17,581	1,080.21 sq mi (2,798 km^2)
Wilcox County	131	Camden	66	1819	Dallas and Monroe counties	Joseph M. Wilcox (1790–1814), lieutenant in Creek War	13.14	11,670	888.50 sq mi (2,301 km^2)
Winston County	133	Double Springs	67	1850	Walker County (as Hancock County)	John A. Winston (1812–1871), 15th Governor of Alabama	40.10	24,484	612.98 sq mi (1,588 km^2)

Former county names

County[6]	Named for[6]	Changed to[3]
Baine County	David W. Baine, Colonel in the Civil War	Etowah County in 1868
Baker County	Alfred Baker, a local landowner	Chilton County in 1874
Benton County	Thomas Hart Benton, U. S. Senator from Missouri	Calhoun County in 1858, honoring Benton's rival John C. Calhoun of South Carolina after Benton's renunciation of slavery
Cahawba County	former state capital of Cahawba	Bibb County in 1820
Cotaco County	Cotaco Creek, a tributary of the Tennessee River	Morgan County in 1821
Hancock County	John Hancock, signer of the Declaration of Independence	Winston County in 1858
Jones County	Josiah Jones, a local political leader	Covington County (its former name) in 1868 after Jones refused the honor
Jones County	E.P. Jones, a local landowner	Sanford County, which subsequently became Lamar County in 1877
Sanford County	H.C. Sanford, a local landowner	Lamar County in 1877

Former counties

County	Established	Dissolved	Named for	Notes
Decatur County	December 7, 1821	December 28, 1825	Commodore Stephen Decatur of the United States Navy.	Created in 1822 with Woodville as its county seat. Abolished several years later, divided between Madison County and Jackson County.
Elk County[17]	May 9, 1817	January 26, 1818	Elk River	Established by Mississippi Territory prior to Mississippi–Alabama split; abolished prior to Alabama statehood

See also

• List of census county divisions in Alabama

References

Specific

1. "List of Alabama Counties". Bama Politics. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
2. "Alabama History Timeline, 1701–1800". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
3. National Association of Counties. "NACo – Find a county". Archived from the original on March 9, 2008. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
4. "Alabama History Timeline, 1801–1860". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
5. "Alabama Counties: Cherokee". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
6. Foscue, Virginia O. (1989) Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 0-8173-0410-X
7. "U.S. Census website". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
8. "2010 Census U.S. Gazetteer Files". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
9. Wikisource:Alabama State Constitution of 1901/Initial Constitution#Section 39
10. Nicholson, David. "Alabama License Plates, 1969–present". License Plates of North America, 1969–present. Retrieved August 8, 2007.
11. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA.gov. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved February 23, 2008.
12. Nicholson, David. "Alabama County Codes". License Plates of North America, 1969–present. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
13. Owen, Thomas McAdory; Owen, Marie Bankhead (1921). History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Company.
14. "Alabama Counties". Alabama Department of Archives and History. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
15. "Community Facts". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
16. Coffee County, Alabama. "History of Coffee County". Archived from the original on October 27, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
17. McDonald, William Lindsey (2003) [1997]. A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama. Killen, Alabama: Bluewater Publications. pp. 223–224. ISBN 9780971994560. Retrieved May 8, 2012.

General

• "CountyState.info Alabama". Official County Websites. Retrieved September 13, 2007.

External links

• Map series showing evolution of county boundaries. Cartographic Research Laboratory. University of Alabama Department of Geography.
• Alabama Counties Alabama Counties Features. Digital Alabama