Editing County (United States) (section)

===Population===
[[File:County population map.webp|thumb|County population map <br> 2022 Census data]]
The average U.S. county population was 104,435 in 2019, while the median county, which is [[Nicholas County, West Virginia]], had a population of 25,965 in 2019. The most populous county is [[Los Angeles County, California]], with 10,014,009 residents in 2020. This number is greater than the populations of 41 U.S. states, and is only slightly smaller than the combined population of the 10 least populous states and Washington, D.C. It also makes the population of Los Angeles County 17.4 times greater than that of the least populous state, Wyoming.

The second most populous county is [[Cook County, Illinois]], with a population of 5,275,541.<ref name="USCensus2015">{{cite web |title=American FactFinder |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=PEP_2015_PEPANNRES&src=pt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200214010228/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=PEP_2015_PEPANNRES&src=pt |archive-date=February 14, 2020 |access-date=December 27, 2016 |publisher=United States Census Bureau}}</ref> Cook County's population is larger than that of 28 individual [[List of U.S. states and territories by population|U.S. states]] and the combined populations of the six smallest states.<ref name=USCensus2015 />

The least populous county is [[Loving County, Texas]], with 64 residents in 2020. Eight county equivalents in the [[Territories of the United States|U.S. territories]] have no human population: [[Rose Atoll]], [[Northern Islands Municipality]], [[Baker Island]], [[Howland Island]], [[Jarvis Island]], [[Johnston Atoll]], [[Kingman Reef]], and [[Navassa Island]].<ref name="USMOICounties"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statoids.com/ump.html |title=Municipalities of Northern Mariana Islands |website=Statoids.com |access-date=July 7, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.statoids.com/uas.html |title=Districts of American Samoa |website=Statoids.com |access-date=July 7, 2018}}</ref> The remaining three islands in the [[U.S. Minor Outlying Islands]] ([[Midway Atoll]], [[Palmyra Atoll]] and [[Wake Island]]) have small non-permanent human populations. The county equivalent with the smallest non-zero population counted in the census is [[Swains Island|Swains Island, American Samoa]] (17 people),<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Swains-Island |title=Swains Island |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |edition=Online |access-date=July 7, 2018}}</ref> although since 2008 this population has not been permanent either.<ref>[http://npshistory.com/publications/noaa/unlocking-secrets-swains-island.pdf Unlocking the Secrets of Swains Island] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719004908/http://npshistory.com/publications/noaa/unlocking-secrets-swains-island.pdf |date=July 19, 2017 }}, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, September 2013.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200728235650/https://mtp.travel/users/1/posts/1575 Swains Island], Charles A. Veley, 27 November 2008.</ref><ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301667226_Assessment_of_the_Birds_of_Swains_Island_American_Samoa Assessment of the Birds of Swains Island, American Samoa], Andrew Titmus, Nicola Arcilla, and Christopher Lepczyk, ''The Wilson Journal of Ornithology'', March 2016.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200728231315/https://www.staradvertiser.com/2014/09/20/hawaii-news/atoll-envisioned-as-a-model-for-sustainability/ Atoll envisioned as a model for sustainability], Star Advertiser, 20 September 2014.</ref>

The most densely populated county or county equivalent is [[Manhattan|New York County, New York]] (coextensive with the [[New York City]] Borough of Manhattan), with {{convert|72,033|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|persons&nbsp;|persons}} in 2015. The [[Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska]], is both the most extensive and the least densely populated county or county equivalent with {{convert|0.0380|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|persons&nbsp;|persons}} in 2015.<ref name=USCensus2015 />

In the 50 states (plus the District of Columbia), a total of 981 counties have a population over 50,000; 592 counties have a population over 100,000; 137 counties have a population over 500,000; 45 counties have a population over 1,000,000; and 14 counties have a population over 2,000,000. At the other extreme, 35 counties have a population under 1,000; 307 counties have a population under 5,000; 709 counties have a population under 10,000; and 1,492 counties have a population between 10,000 and 50,000.<ref name=USCensus2015 />