About WhichCounty

WhichCounty makes clear, accurate county maps of every U.S. state and gives them away for free: labeled maps for the screen, printable PDFs, and the data behind them.

Where the data comes from

• Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files (1:500,000), which follow the shoreline, simplified for display.
• Population: Census Bureau county population estimates, Vintage 2025 (July 1, 2025). Change since 2020 is measured against the April 1, 2020 estimates base.
• Land area: Census Bureau 2026 Gazetteer files.
• Median household income: American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates.
• Cities and towns: Census Bureau city and town population estimates (Vintage 2025) and Census designated places from the American Community Survey.
• ZIP codes: Census Bureau ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (2020) and their county relationship file. ZCTAs are close to, but not the same as, USPS ZIP codes.
• County seats, founding years and name origins: Wikidata (CC0). There is no official national list of county seats, so we check Wikidata against state sources and fix errors by hand.
• Addresses: the “Find your county” box sends street addresses to the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder. City and ZIP searches run in your browser. “Use my location” is checked in your browser and only goes to the geocoder when you are outside the state or on a county line. We don't store any of it (privacy policy).

How the maps are drawn

Each state uses its own Lambert conformal conic projection, so shapes and areas look right for that state. County names are placed automatically inside each county and checked so that no two labels overlap; counties too small for a name get a leader line or an inset map. Neighboring counties never share a color.

Updates

We rebuild the maps when the Census Bureau publishes new data: population estimates each spring, boundaries each spring, Gazetteer and county relationship files each fall, and the American Community Survey each December. The “Updated” date on each page changes only when its data or map changes.

Contact and corrections

Spotted a wrong county seat, a missing town or a label in the wrong place? Email maps@whichcounty.com and we will fix it.

This site uses Census Bureau data but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau. Map license: CC BY 4.0.