US Counties With the Lowest Population, Decennial Census

3,142 US counties ranked by population, decennial census, from lowest to highest. First are Alpine County, CA (710.32), Esmeralda County, NV (757.80) and Denali Borough, AK (797.93). The middle one of the 3,142 has 999.03.

What this measures

The census count for that decade (2010 or 2020), which the Religion Census divides by. It is kept separate from the American Community Survey estimate so the religion rates have their own exact base. Source: .

This is a count, so it is ranked per 1,000 residents. Ranked by the raw total, it would just list the biggest counties.

For most measures, a national ranking mostly sorts places by income and by how urban they are. Each county’s own page compares it with the 50 counties most like it instead, which is often the fairer view.

The 100 lowest counties

Every state, lowest first

Each state’s own published figure, not an average of its counties.

More on population, decennial census

• US Counties With the Highest Population, Decennial Census
• Population, decennial census by US county: map by year and what it goes with

A ranking describes places, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All US rankings.