Connecticut Counties Map: Click All 8 Counties

How many counties are in Connecticut?

Connecticut has 8 historical counties, though it no longer has county governments, and the Census Bureau now reports statistics for 9 planning regions instead.

Connecticut abolished its county governments in 1960, but the eight counties stayed on maps and in many people's addresses. In 2022 the US Census Bureau switched to Connecticut's nine planning regions for its statistics, so current population estimates are reported by planning region, not by county. This map shows the eight historical counties, which is what most maps and many classes still use.

Connecticut's towns do most of the work counties do elsewhere: there are 169 towns and cities, and each one runs its own schools, roads and land records. The eight counties survive mainly as names for courts' geographic areas, as historical units, and in everyday speech; people still say they live in Fairfield County or Litchfield County. When you see a newer Census map of Connecticut with nine regions, that's the planning-region system, which groups towns by how they work together rather than by the old county lines. Teaching both is a good lesson in why maps change: the land stays the same, but the lines people draw on it can move. To learn the old counties, start with the four on Long Island Sound, from west to east: Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex and New London. Then add the three along the northern border with Massachusetts, Litchfield, Hartford and Tolland, and finish with Windham in the northeast corner next to Rhode Island.

How Connecticut's counties were formed

Connecticut's four oldest counties, Hartford, New Haven, New London and Fairfield, date from 1666. Windham County followed in 1726, Litchfield in 1751, and Middlesex and Tolland in 1785, giving the state the eight counties still on most maps. County government ended on October 1, 1960, and the sheriffs were replaced by a state marshal system in 2000.

Connecticut regions and the counties in each

Most Connecticut maps group the eight counties three ways. The Gold Coast and shoreline counties face Long Island Sound: Fairfield, New Haven, Middlesex and New London. The Connecticut River Valley runs north to south through Hartford and Middlesex counties. The Quiet Corner is Windham and eastern Tolland County in the northeast, and the Litchfield Hills fill the northwest, where the Berkshires reach down from Massachusetts.

Notable places on the Connecticut county map

The state's highest ground, at 2,380 feet, is on the southern slope of Mount Frissell in the town of Salisbury in Litchfield County; the summit itself is across the line in Massachusetts. Mystic Seaport Museum, a recreated 1800s whaling village, is in New London County, as is the US Coast Guard Academy. The Connecticut River, New England's longest, flows through Hartford and Middlesex counties to Long Island Sound at Old Saybrook. Yale University, founded in 1701, has been in New Haven since 1716, and Hartford, the capital, is home to the Mark Twain House, where Twain wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Gillette Castle, a stone mansion built by the actor William Gillette, overlooks the Connecticut River in East Haddam in Middlesex County. The Mashantucket Pequot Museum, one of the largest Native American museums in the country, is in Ledyard in New London County.

Connecticut counties map: the biggest and smallest

Litchfield County is the largest county in Connecticut, with 921 square miles of land, about 19% of the state. Middlesex County is the smallest, at 369 square miles.

What county is Hartford in?

Hartford, the capital of Connecticut, is in Hartford County. Connecticut is called the Constitution State, and it became the 5th state in 1788.

Counties on the Connecticut border

Learning the edge of the map first gives children a frame to fill in. Connecticut shares a border with Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island.

How Connecticut's counties compare with other states

Connecticut ranks 48th among the 50 states in land area and 29th in population. Its average county covers about 605 square miles. Across the 50 states, the average county-level area covers about 1,139 square miles, so Connecticut's counties are smaller than usual in size. Small counties pack more names into the same space, so zooming in helps.

Landmarks for learning the counties of Connecticut

• Fairfield County is the southwest corner, next to New York.
• Hartford County is in the middle of the state, along the Connecticut River.
• New London County is the southeast corner, on Long Island Sound next to Rhode Island.
• Litchfield County, the largest, fills the hilly northwest corner next to New York and Massachusetts.
• Middlesex County, the smallest, follows the lower Connecticut River down to Long Island Sound.

With 8 counties, you can take on the whole map at once in a Practice round. Then print the Connecticut county map worksheet to check that it sticks on paper.

All 8 Connecticut counties

Every county on the map, A to Z with its land area. Current population estimates are reported by planning region, not by county, so they aren't listed.

Connecticut geography for homeschoolers

Pair this map with the Northeast states and capitals quiz and the US states quiz. If you teach at home, see homeschooling in ct, and check connecticut school choice to see whether a program may help pay for Connecticut history and geography curriculum. Each program decides what it covers.