Texas Counties Map: Click All 254 Counties

How many counties are in Texas?

Texas has 254 counties. That's more than any other state.

Texas has 254 counties, more than any other state. Many Panhandle and West Texas counties are near-identical squares of about 900 square miles, a size often explained as keeping every county seat within a day's ride. Loving County, in West Texas, has fewer people than any other county in the country, and Harris County (Houston) has the third most.

How Texas's counties were formed

Texas had 23 Mexican-era municipalities by 1836, and under the Republic of Texas they became its first counties. The Texas Constitution of 1876 said a county made from unorganized land should cover at least 900 square miles and be square if possible, which is why so many West Texas counties are the same size. Kenedy County, created in 1921 in South Texas, was among the last new counties, and Texas has had 254 since Loving County organized in 1931.

Texas regions and the counties in each

Texas is usually taught in seven regions. The Panhandle and South Plains include Potter (Amarillo) and Lubbock, in a grid of square counties. West Texas runs to El Paso and the Big Bend counties of Brewster and Presidio. North Texas holds Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton. Central Texas and the Hill Country include Travis (Austin), Williamson, Bexar (San Antonio) and Gillespie. East Texas is the Piney Woods, from Smith (Tyler) to the Big Thicket. The Gulf Coast includes Harris, Galveston, Nueces (Corpus Christi), and the Rio Grande Valley is Cameron, Hidalgo, Willacy and Starr.

Notable places on the Texas county map

Guadalupe Peak, the state's highest point at 8,749 feet, is in Culberson County. Big Bend National Park is in Brewster County on the Rio Grande, the Alamo is in San Antonio (Bexar County), and NASA's Johnson Space Center is in Houston (Harris County). Padre Island National Seashore, the longest undeveloped barrier island in the world, spans Kleberg, Kenedy and Willacy counties.

Texas counties map: the biggest and smallest

Brewster County is the largest county in Texas, with 6,184 square miles of land, about 2% of the state. That's more land than the whole state of Connecticut, Delaware and Rhode Island. Rockwall County is the smallest, at 127 square miles.

The smallest counties by land area are Rockwall County (127 sq mi), Somervell County (186 sq mi) and Camp County (196 sq mi).

Which counties in Texas have the most people?

Harris County has the most people, about 5,009,302 in the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate, or 16% of everyone in Texas. The three biggest counties together hold 32% of the state's 31,290,831 people. Loving County has the fewest, about 48.

The most crowded is Dallas County, with about 3,042 people per square mile. The emptiest is Loving County, with less than one person 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 Austin in?

Austin, the capital of Texas, is in Travis County. Travis County ranks 5th of 254 by population. Texas is called the Lone Star State, and it became the 28th state in 1845.

Counties on the Texas border

Learning the edge of the map first gives children a frame to fill in. Texas shares a border with Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

How Texas's counties compare with other states

Texas ranks 2nd among the 50 states in land area and 2nd in population. Its average county covers about 1,029 square miles and holds about 123,192 people. Across the 50 states, the average county-level area covers about 1,139 square miles and holds about 109,381 people, so Texas's counties are close to the national average in size.

Landmarks for learning the counties of Texas

• Harris County (Houston) is on the Gulf Coast in the southeast.
• Dallas and Tarrant (Fort Worth) counties are in the north-central part of the state.
• Travis County (Austin, the capital) sits in the middle of the state.
• Brewster County, the largest, holds Big Bend National Park on the Rio Grande.

With 254 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 Texas county map worksheet to check that it sticks on paper.

All 254 Texas counties

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

Texas geography for homeschoolers

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