List of counties in Connecticut Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids 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	County government (abolished in 1960, except for County Sheriffs, which were abolished by an act of the state legislature effective in 2000)
Subdivisions	cities, towns, unincorporated communities, census designated place

Map of the counties of colonial Connecticut, 1766.

There were eight counties in the U.S. state of Connecticut.

Four of the counties – Fairfield, Hartford, New Haven and New London – were created in 1666, shortly after the Connecticut Colony and the New 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 the New Haven Colony.

Although Connecticut is divided into counties, there are no county-level governments, and local government in Connecticut exists solely at the municipal level. Almost all functions of county government were abolished in Connecticut in 1960, 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 the Connecticut Department of Corrections.

These counties are used in legacy geography, such as identifying land, national statistics and firmly within 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 as to many types of jurisdiction subdivided.

In 2019 the state recommended to the United States Census Bureau that the nine Councils 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." This proposal was approved by the Census Bureau in 2022, and will be fully implemented by 2024.

CT Counties by Population, with darker colors indicating a higher population, from the 2020 census

U.S. Census Bureau
Alphabetical listing
Former counties
See also

U.S. Census Bureau

Comparison of county boundaries to planning regions

The United States Census Bureau formally recognized the planning regions/councils of government as county equivalents in the Federal Register on June 6, 2022. A draft notice of potential recognition would have adapted the existing FIPS 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 incorporate towns 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.

Alphabetical listing

County	FIPS code	Seat	Est.	Origin	Etymology	Population	Area
Fairfield County	001	Bridgeport	1666	original county	From the hundreds of acres of salt marsh that bordered the coast.	&&&&&&&&&0959768.&&&&&0959,768	&&&&&&&&&&&&0626.&&&&&0626 sq mi (&&&&&&&&&&&01621.&&&&&01,621 km²)
Hartford County	003	Hartford	1666	original county	After Hertford, England (still said Hartford)	&&&&&&&&&0896854.&&&&&0896,854	&&&&&&&&&&&&0736.&&&&&0736 sq mi (&&&&&&&&&&&01906.&&&&&01,906 km²)
Litchfield County	005	Litchfield	1751	From parts of Fairfield, Hartford and New Haven Counties	City of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England	&&&&&&&&&0185000.&&&&&0185,000	&&&&&&&&&&&&0920.&&&&&0920 sq mi (&&&&&&&&&&&02383.&&&&&02,383 km²)
Middlesex County	007	Middletown	1785	From parts of Hartford and New London Counties	Former county of Middlesex, England	&&&&&&&&&0164759.&&&&&0164,759	&&&&&&&&&&&&0369.&&&&&0369 sq mi (&&&&&&&&&&&&0956.&&&&&0956 km²)
New Haven County	009	New Haven	1666	original county	After New Haven Colony, founded as a haven in which Puritans could be free from persecution.	&&&&&&&&&0863700.&&&&&0863,700	&&&&&&&&&&&&0606.&&&&&0606 sq mi (&&&&&&&&&&&01570.&&&&&01,570 km²)
New London County	011	New London	1666	original county	After London, England	&&&&&&&&&0268805.&&&&&0268,805	&&&&&&&&&&&&0666.&&&&&0666 sq mi (&&&&&&&&&&&01725.&&&&&01,725 km²)
Tolland County	013	Rockville	1785	From parts of Hartford and Windham Counties	Hamlet of Tolland, Somerset, England	&&&&&&&&&0150293.&&&&&0150,293	&&&&&&&&&&&&0410.&&&&&0410 sq mi (&&&&&&&&&&&01062.&&&&&01,062 km²)
Windham County	015	Willimantic	1726	From parts of Hartford and New London Counties	Either after Windham (now Wineham) in Sussex or Windham (now Wymondham, still said Windham) in Norfolk, England	&&&&&&&&&0116418.&&&&&0116,418	&&&&&&&&&&&&0513.&&&&&0513 sq mi (&&&&&&&&&&&01329.&&&&&01,329 km²)