# Half of all Americans live in these 146 counties **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 16, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279 "2014-07-16T15:56:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/1 "2014-07-16T15:56:03Z")
An interesting snapshot of U.S. population density: [http://mentalfloss.com/article/57832/half-country-lives-these-counties](http://mentalfloss.com/article/57832/half-country-lives-these-counties) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/2 "2014-07-16T16:06:24Z")
Great map. There are 12 states that don’t have any of those counties. The least populous is Williamson, Texas, with 422,000 (north suburbs of Austin), so half the population lives in a county of 422,000 or more. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/3 "2014-07-16T16:11:56Z")
There are 14 states there that really don’t deserve more than one Senator. It would be fair - not all of them are red. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/4 "2014-07-16T16:26:32Z")
Very interesting. I’ve lived several places across the country, and only one of those is in a “non-blue” county (and I was only there three months). So I’ve spent almost my entire life in “most populated” counties. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/5 "2014-07-16T16:29:57Z")
I love the comment: “Woohoo! I live in one of these counties. What are the odds?!” ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/6 "2014-07-16T16:33:20Z")
I’ve lived in six of them. Anybody higher? ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/7 "2014-07-16T16:40:33Z")
I just have 4: Johnson County KS, Jackson County MO, Honolulu County HI, and San Diego County CA. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/8 "2014-07-16T16:47:34Z")
I’ve lived in four: Santa Clara County, CA; Middlesex Country, MA; Sacramento County, CA; and the City and County of San Francisco. Those are the only four counties I’ve ever lived in, so I’ve always been in high population areas. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/9 "2014-07-16T16:48:03Z")
It’s interesting to me that the area around Norfolk, VA doesn’t show up at all. The various cities in the region are considered to be independent of the counties, and the largest city, Norfolk, only has about 250,000 people, so it makes sense. I was just surprised when I saw no blue in southeast Virginia. I have lived in seven of those places. I currently live in a county with a population of 70,000. Baltimore City, MD Baltimore County, MD Anne Arundel County, MD Prince Georges County, MD Miami-Dade County, FL Franklin County, OH Middlesex County, NJ ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/10 "2014-07-16T16:59:05Z")
I missed Honolulu: that makes me tied with **Crotalus** Crotalus, why so many places for you? Me, I’m a one-moron diasporan ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/11 "2014-07-16T17:09:52Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > I missed Honolulu: that makes me tied with **Crotalus** > > Crotalus, why so many places for you? Me, I’m a one-moron diasporan Without boring you with a detailed biography: I was born in Baltimore city, and living in the other places in Maryland pretty much all resulted from being a renter and moving around to be closer to a particular job. Four of my seven would fit inside of a 40 mile circle. In the early 80s, I worked for a company that hired me in Maryland, then transferred me to Columbus, OH (Franklin County), Miami, FL, and Manhattan (I lived in Middlesex County, NJ) over the course of four years. When I left that company I moved back to Maryland. Fourteen years ago I met my wife online and moved from Baltimore County to Ross County, OH, population 78,000. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/12 "2014-07-16T17:11:38Z")
I was born and raised in a non-blue one, went to college and lived there for 5 years in another non-blue one, but now I live in Houston. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/13 "2014-07-16T17:11:53Z")
I’m in Montgomery County, MD, right now but have also lived in: Cuyahoga County, OH (born there) Adams County, CO Denver County, CO Prince George’s County, MD District of Columbia, DC ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/14 "2014-07-16T17:23:41Z")
Hmm, how many for me? Cook (Chicago) Broward (Ft. Lauderdale area) Dade (Miami) Mecklenburg (Charlotte) Somerset (NJ burbs) Hudson (corrupt NJ burb) Delaware (Philly area) Chester (Philly area) 8 total. I just moved from Delaware to Chester, and hope to stay here for a while. ---
**Author:** ![zev\_steinhardt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/97f17d/32.png) [@zev\_steinhardt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zev_steinhardt)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/15 "2014-07-16T17:38:04Z")
I’ve lived my entire life in three counties – and all three of them are on the list. Queens County, NY Morris County, NJ Kings County, NY Zev Steinhardt ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/16 "2014-07-16T17:39:13Z")
Interesting. Other than the 2 years I went to school in Minneapolis, I’ve never lived in a blue county. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/17 "2014-07-16T17:42:12Z")
I lived in Fairfax County, VA and now live in Washington DC which doesn’t have any representation in Congress, yipee! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/18 "2014-07-16T18:17:42Z")
I’ve lived in two: Allegheny County, Pa. (when I was a boarder at a prep school) and Cuyahoga County, Ohio (where I’ve lived since 1995). ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/19 "2014-07-16T18:31:59Z")
Born non-blue (147,474). Raised non-blue (same). College non-blue (266,344). Bought a house non-blue (36,015). Then moved to Los Angeles County (9.963 million). ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2014, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279/20 "2014-07-16T18:34:47Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Born non-blue (147,474). Raised non-blue (same). College non-blue (266,344). Bought a house non-blue (36,015). > > Then moved to Los Angeles County (9.963 million). Hocking Hills, Hollywood Hills; once a hillbilly… 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-americans-live-in-these-146-counties/693279.md?page=2)