Missouri Counties Map: Click All 115 Counties

Updated · By Edulist · 8 sources

Tap any county to learn about it. Turn off names in Map options to test yourself.

US Census Bureau cartographic boundaries via us-atlas (public domain)

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How to use it

  1. Explore the map

    Start in Learn mode. Every county is named; tap one to see its size, population and neighbors.

  2. Hide the names

    Open Map options and turn off Names. Try to name each county before you tap it.

  3. Take the quiz

    Choose Practice (no timer), Quiz (timed) or Challenge (60 seconds). Click, type, pick from four choices or drag labels.

  4. Retry what you missed

    The results list every county you missed. Retry missed runs just those, and your best score stays on this device.

Printables to go with it

How many counties are in Missouri?

Missouri has 115 counties. Only Texas, Georgia and Kentucky have more.

Missouri has 114 counties plus the City of St. Louis, which split from St. Louis County in 1876 and has been independent ever since. Texas County, in the Ozarks, is the largest county by area. Cole County holds the capital, Jefferson City, on the Missouri River.

How Missouri's counties were formed

In 1812 the Missouri Territory was organized into five districts that became its first counties: St. Charles, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau and New Madrid. Counties spread west along the Missouri River and then into the Ozarks. Worth County, created in 1861 on the Iowa border, was the 114th and last, and it is also the smallest county by land area (only the independent City of St. Louis is smaller). St. Louis City left St. Louis County in 1876.

Missouri regions and the counties in each

Missouri has five big regions. Northern Missouri, north of the Missouri River, is rolling farmland from Buchanan (St. Joseph) to Marion (Hannibal). The Kansas City area includes Jackson, Clay and Platte counties, and the St. Louis area includes St. Louis County, St. Louis City and St. Charles. The Ozarks fill the south-central counties, including Greene (Springfield), Taney (Branson), Camden and Texas. The Bootheel is the far southeast, from New Madrid down to Dunklin and Pemiscot.

Notable places on the Missouri county map

Taum Sauk Mountain, the state's highest point at 1,772 feet, is in Iron County in the St. Francois Mountains. The Gateway Arch rises over the Mississippi in St. Louis City. The Lake of the Ozarks winds through Camden, Miller, Morgan and Benton counties, and Mark Twain's boyhood home is in Hannibal, in Marion County.

Missouri counties map: the biggest and smallest

Texas County is the largest county in Missouri, with 1,177 square miles of land, about 2% of the state. That's more land than the whole state of Rhode Island. St. Louis city is the smallest, at 62 square miles.

RankCountyLand area (sq mi)Share of the state
1Texas County1,1772%
2Shannon County1,0041%
3Howell County9271%
4Franklin County9231%
5Nodaway County8771%

The smallest counties by land area are St. Louis city (62 sq mi), Worth County (267 sq mi) and Schuyler County (307 sq mi).

Which counties in Missouri have the most people?

St. Louis County has the most people, about 992,929 in the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate, or 16% of everyone in Missouri. The three biggest counties together hold 34% of the state's 6,245,466 people. Worth County has the fewest, about 1,872.

RankCountyPopulation (2024 est.)People per sq mi
1St. Louis County992,9291,955
2Jackson County727,3621,203
3St. Charles County423,726756
4Greene County307,942456
5St. Louis city279,6954,533
6Clay County263,370662
7Jefferson County231,888353
8Boone County192,154280
9Jasper County126,479198
10Cass County113,873163

The most crowded is St. Louis city, with about 4,533 people per square mile. The emptiest is Worth County, with about 7 people per square mile. Comparing the two is a quick way to show children that a big county on the map isn't always a big county in people.

What county is Jefferson City in?

Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri, is in Cole County. Cole County ranks 16th of 115 by population. Missouri is called the Show-Me State, and it became the 24th state in 1821.

FactMissouri
CapitalJefferson City
Capital countyCole County
Number of counties115
Land area68,746 sq mi
Population (July 2024 est.)6,245,466
NicknameThe Show-Me State
Statehood1821 (24th state)
RegionMidwest

Counties on the Missouri border

Learning the edge of the map first gives children a frame to fill in. Missouri shares a border with Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Neighboring stateMissouri counties on that border
ArkansasBarry, Butler, Dunklin, Howell, McDonald, Oregon, Ozark, Pemiscot, Ripley, Stone, Taney
IllinoisCape Girardeau, Clark, Jefferson, Lewis, Lincoln, Marion, Mississippi, Perry, Pike, Ralls, Scott, St. Charles, St. Louis, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve
IowaAtchison, Clark, Harrison, Mercer, Nodaway, Putnam, Schuyler, Scotland, Worth
KansasAndrew, Barton, Bates, Buchanan, Cass, Clay, Holt, Jackson, Jasper, Newton, Platte, Vernon
KentuckyMississippi, New Madrid
NebraskaAtchison, Holt
OklahomaMcDonald, Newton
TennesseeNew Madrid, Pemiscot

How Missouri's counties compare with other states

Missouri ranks 18th among the 50 states in land area and 19th in population. Its average county covers about 598 square miles and holds about 54,308 people. Across the 50 states, the average county-level area covers about 1,139 square miles and holds about 109,381 people, so Missouri'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 Missouri

  • St. Louis County and St. Louis City sit on the Mississippi River at the eastern edge.
  • Jackson County (Kansas City) is on the western border.
  • The Bootheel, a small strip of counties in the southeast, pokes down into Arkansas.

With 115 counties, work one region at a time: study it with names on, then take a Practice round and stop when you've found that group. Then print the Missouri county map worksheet to check that it sticks on paper.

All 115 Missouri counties

Every county on the map, A to Z, with its land area and July 2024 population estimate.

CountyLand (sq mi)Population
Adair County56725,660
Andrew County43318,091
Atchison County5475,139
Audrain County69224,304
Barry County77835,618
Barton County59211,717
Bates County83716,394
Benton County70420,614
Bollinger County61810,610
Boone County686192,154
Buchanan County40883,574
Butler County69541,814
Caldwell County4269,000
Callaway County83545,126
Camden County65644,135
Cape Girardeau County57983,658
Carroll County6958,414
Carter County5075,359
Cass County697113,873
Cedar County47515,023
Chariton County7517,397
Christian County56396,045
Clark County5056,623
Clay County398263,370
Clinton County41921,721
Cole County39277,625
Cooper County56517,122
Crawford County74322,808
Dade County4907,622
Dallas County54117,877
Daviess County5638,541
DeKalb County4219,884
Dent County75314,721
Douglas County81412,290
Dunklin County54227,002
Franklin County923107,256
Gasconade County51914,655
Gentry County4916,298
Greene County675307,942
Grundy County4359,766
Harrison County7238,186
Henry County69722,575
Hickory County3998,766
Holt County4634,241
Howard County46410,150
Howell County92740,762
Iron County5509,420
Jackson County605727,362
Jasper County639126,479
Jefferson County656231,888
Johnson County82955,880
Knox County5043,740
Laclede County76536,738
Lafayette County62833,511
Lawrence County61239,151
Lewis County5059,852
Lincoln County62765,888
Linn County61611,910
Livingston County53214,658
Macon County80115,177
Madison County49412,852
Maries County5278,506
Marion County43728,425
McDonald County53924,054
Mercer County4543,452
Miller County59325,668
Mississippi County41211,750
Moniteau County41515,294
Monroe County6488,890
Montgomery County53511,511
Morgan County59822,399
New Madrid County67515,212
Newton County62561,519
Nodaway County87720,503
Oregon County7908,699
Osage County60713,478
Ozark County7459,090
Pemiscot County49314,407
Perry County47419,100
Pettis County68243,791
Phelps County67245,672
Pike County67017,961
Platte County420113,207
Polk County63633,070
Pulaski County54753,964
Putnam County5174,539
Ralls County47010,499
Randolph County48324,077
Ray County56923,199
Reynolds County8095,927
Ripley County63010,715
Saline County75623,325
Schuyler County3074,069
Scotland County4374,698
Scott County42037,957
Shannon County1,0047,275
Shelby County5015,926
St. Charles County561423,726
St. Clair County6759,848
St. Francois County45267,503
St. Louis city62279,695
St. Louis County508992,929
Ste. Genevieve County49918,546
Stoddard County82328,438
Stone County46432,630
Sullivan County6485,750
Taney County63256,744
Texas County1,17725,715
Vernon County82619,787
Warren County42938,478
Washington County76023,583
Wayne County75910,820
Webster County59342,041
Worth County2671,872
Wright County68219,505

Missouri geography for homeschoolers

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

Sources

  1. US Census Bureau: Gazetteer Files (2020 county land areas)
  2. US Census Bureau: County Population Totals, 2020–2024 (Vintage 2024)
  3. US Census Bureau: Geographic Areas Reference Manual, Chapter 4 (counties and equivalents)
  4. Newberry Library: Atlas of Historical County Boundaries, Missouri
  5. Missouri Secretary of State: Missouri counties
  6. US Geological Survey: Highest and lowest elevations by state
  7. US Census Bureau: Census Regions and Divisions of the United States
  8. us-atlas: US Census Bureau cartographic boundary files (map data)

Questions

What is the largest county in Missouri?

By land area, Texas County is the largest, at about 1,177 square miles. By population, St. Louis County is the largest, with about 992,929 people in the July 2024 Census estimate.

What county is Jefferson City, Missouri in?

Jefferson City is in Cole County. Its dot appears on the map when the Capitals option is on.

Is there a printable Missouri county map?

Yes. The [Missouri county map worksheet](/printables/maps/missouri-county-map) prints the same map with every county named. It's free to print for a family, co-op or class.

Can my child use the county quiz on a phone or tablet?

Yes. Tap counties directly, pinch to zoom, and use the full-screen button so the map fills the screen. List mode in Map options turns any round into multiple choice with a clue that names the neighboring counties.

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