Ohio Counties Map: Click All 88 Counties

How many counties are in Ohio?

Ohio has 88 counties. 12 states have more, and 37 have fewer.

Ohio has 88 counties. Franklin County, home to Columbus, is the capital county and has the most people. The Ohio River forms the southern border, and Lake Erie forms much of the northern one.

How Ohio's counties were formed

Washington County, created in 1788 around Marietta, was the first county in the Northwest Territory and is Ohio's oldest. Counties spread as settlers moved in from Pennsylvania, Virginia and New England. The northwest was divided last after the Great Black Swamp was drained. Noble County, created in 1851 from parts of four neighbors, was the 88th and last.

Ohio regions and the counties in each

Ohio's regions are easy to see on the map. Northeast Ohio includes Cuyahoga (Cleveland), Summit (Akron) and the Western Reserve counties settled from Connecticut. Northwest Ohio includes Lucas (Toledo) and the old Great Black Swamp. Central Ohio centers on Franklin (Columbus), Delaware and Licking. Southwest Ohio includes Hamilton (Cincinnati), Montgomery (Dayton) and Butler. Appalachian Ohio covers the hilly southeast, from Washington County to Lawrence County on the Ohio River.

Notable places on the Ohio county map

Campbell Hill, the state's highest point at 1,550 feet, is in Logan County. Cuyahoga Valley National Park lies between Cleveland and Akron in Summit and Cuyahoga counties. The caves and waterfalls of Hocking Hills are in Hocking County, Serpent Mound, an ancient earthwork shaped like a snake, is in Adams County, and the Lake Erie island village of Put-in-Bay belongs to Ottawa County.

Ohio counties map: the biggest and smallest

Ashtabula County is the largest county in Ohio, with 702 square miles of land, about 2% of the state. Lake County is the smallest, at 229 square miles.

The smallest counties by land area are Lake County (229 sq mi), Erie County (251 sq mi) and Ottawa County (255 sq mi).

Which counties in Ohio have the most people?

Franklin County has the most people, about 1,356,303 in the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate, or 11% of everyone in Ohio. The three biggest counties together hold 29% of the state's 11,883,304 people. Vinton County has the fewest, about 12,545.

The most crowded is Cuyahoga County, with about 2,713 people per square mile. The emptiest is Monroe County, with about 29 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 Columbus in?

Columbus, the capital of Ohio, is in Franklin County. It's also the county with the most people. Ohio is called the Buckeye State, and it became the 17th state in 1803.

Counties on the Ohio border

Learning the edge of the map first gives children a frame to fill in. Ohio shares a border with Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

How Ohio's counties compare with other states

Ohio ranks 35th among the 50 states in land area and 7th in population. Its average county covers about 464 square miles and holds about 135,038 people. Across the 50 states, the average county-level area covers about 1,139 square miles and holds about 109,381 people, so Ohio'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 Ohio

• Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) and Lake County line Lake Erie in the northeast.
• Hamilton County (Cincinnati) is the southwest corner on the Ohio River.
• Franklin County (Columbus) is in the middle of the state.

With 88 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 Ohio county map worksheet to check that it sticks on paper.

All 88 Ohio counties

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

Ohio 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 ohio, and check ohio school voucher program to see whether a program may help pay for Ohio history and geography curriculum. Each program decides what it covers.