| Counties of Connecticut | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | State of Connecticut |
| Number | 8 |
| Populations | 116,418 (Windham) – 957,419 (Fairfield) |
| Areas | 369 square miles (960 km2) (Middlesex) – 920 square miles (2,400 km2) (Litchfield) |
| Government |
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| Subdivisions |
|
There are eightcounties in theU.S. state ofConnecticut.
Four of the counties – Fairfield, Hartford, New Haven and New London – were created in 1666, shortly after theConnecticut Colony and theNew Haven Colony combined. Windham and Litchfield counties were created later in the colonial era, while Middlesex and Tolland counties were created after American independence (both in 1785). Six of the counties are named for locations in England, where many early Connecticut settlers originated; Fairfield County was named after the salt marshes that bordered the coast, while New Haven County was named for theNew Haven Colony.[1]
Although Connecticut is divided into counties, there are no county-level governments, andlocal government in Connecticut exists solely at the municipal level.[2] Almost all functions of county government were abolished in Connecticut in 1960,[3] except for elected county sheriffs and their departments under them. Those offices and their departments were abolished by an act of the state legislature effective in December 2000. The functions the county sheriffs' departments played were assumed by the newly organized State Marshal Commission and theConnecticut Department of Corrections.[4]
These counties are used in legacy geography, such as identifying land, national statistics, and personnel rostering and court jurisdictions in the state's judicial and state marshal system. However, the three most populous—Fairfield, Hartford and New Haven—are subdivided in the state's judicial system.[5]
In 2019, the state recommended to theUnited States Census Bureau that the nineCouncils of Governments replace its counties for statistical purposes. According to the Census Bureau, "Connecticut's COGs/Planning Regions have the authority to carry out administrative functions that are typically found among counties in other states."[6] This proposal was approved by the Census Bureau in 2022, and was fully implemented in 2024.[7]
TheUnited States Census Bureau formally recognized theplanning regions/councils of government ascounty equivalents in theFederal Register on June 6, 2022. A draft notice of potential recognition would have adapted the existingFIPS codes for the eight "legacy counties", however in response to submitted comments, the bureau retired the codes and assigned new ones to more clearly illustrate the break in geographic continuity. The Census noted that there is substantial correlation between the historic county borders and planning regions, however planning regions may incorporatetowns from several counties. The bureau notes that the recognition of planning regions as county equivalents was unique to the specific conditions in Connecticut, and would not constitute a binding precedent on similar conditions in other states.[9]
| County | FIPS code[10] | Seat[b][12] | Est.[12] | Origin[1] | Etymology[13] | Population[14] | Area[12] | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairfield County | 001 | Bridgeport | 1666 | original county | From the hundreds of acres of salt marsh that bordered the coast. | 959,768 | 626 sq mi (1,621 km2) |  |
| Hartford County | 003 | Hartford | 1666 | original county | AfterHertford, England (still said Hartford) | 896,854 | 736 sq mi (1,906 km2) |  |
| Litchfield County | 005 | Litchfield | 1751 | From parts of Fairfield, Hartford and New Haven Counties | City ofLichfield,Staffordshire, England | 185,000 | 920 sq mi (2,383 km2) |  |
| Middlesex County | 007 | Middletown | 1785 | From parts of Hartford and New London Counties | Former county ofMiddlesex, England | 164,759 | 369 sq mi (956 km2) |  |
| New Haven County | 009 | New Haven | 1666 | original county | AfterNew Haven Colony, founded as a haven in whichPuritans could be free from persecution. | 863,700 | 606 sq mi (1,570 km2) |  |
| New London County | 011 | New London | 1666 | original county | AfterLondon, England | 268,805 | 666 sq mi (1,725 km2) |  |
| Tolland County | 013 | Rockville | 1785 | From parts of Hartford and Windham Counties | Hamlet ofTolland, Somerset, England | 150,293 | 410 sq mi (1,062 km2) |  |
| Windham County | 015 | Willimantic | 1726 | From parts of Hartford and New London Counties | Either after Windham (nowWineham) inSussex or Windham (nowWymondham, still said Windham) inNorfolk, England | 116,418 | 513 sq mi (1,329 km2) |  |
Both were extraterritorial:
a history of Connecticut.
