# What US counties do you know? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 8, 2019, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343 "2019-08-08T11:14:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![curwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/1 "2019-08-08T11:14:14Z")
What counties can you name, that don’t have the name of the city in them? (And obviously the ones near to where you’re from are less interesting for the purposes of this question, so I’m leaving out the ones from the Bay Area and Boston) Here’s the ones I can think of: Kings Queens Dade Cook Cuyahoga Orange ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/2 "2019-08-08T11:28:05Z")
Dade and Broward 😃 Get me out of there and I’m “uh, what’s a county?” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/3 "2019-08-08T11:40:18Z")
Harlan County, U.S.A. Hazzard County Brisco County, Jr. ---
**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/4 "2019-08-08T11:50:36Z")
I could recite quite a few from the California map that used to be on my wall. But what do you mean by “the city”? Santa Clara _is_ in Santa Clara Co., but the area is pretty much dominated by the county seat of San Jose. ---
**Author:** ![curwin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@curwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curwin)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/5 "2019-08-08T11:52:31Z")
> [@kk\_fusion](#): > > I could recite quite a few from the California map that used to be on my wall. > > But what do you mean by “the city”? Santa Clara _is_ in Santa Clara Co., but the area is pretty much dominated by the county seat of San Jose. Ok, I guess that’s a grey area. I’m thinking more of counties like San Francisco, Los Angeles or Dallas. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/6 "2019-08-08T12:29:27Z")
> [@curwin](#): > > Ok, I guess that’s a grey area. I’m thinking more of counties like San Francisco, Los Angeles or Dallas. There are also oddities like Baltimore City, which is an entity unto itself, and _not_ in Baltimore County. I think this question is mostly “who spends a lot of time looking at maps and/or takes a lot road trips”. If presented with state maps with only county borders outlined(no names) I could place: Maryland - all 23 counties plus Baltimore City Texas - about 75 to 100 counties Oklahoma - maybe a dozen Louisiana - 10 parishes I can think of right now Virginia - about 20 counties and independent cities(a la Baltimore) Delaware - all three counties Plus somewhere between three and ten counties in each of PA, FL, AR, NM, NV, MT, WV, WI, NY, NC, CA ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/7 "2019-08-08T12:40:41Z")
OK, outside of my state (OH) and places where I’ve personally lived: All of the boroughs of New York, though I know that some of those have different names than the boroughs, so I might get some of the names wrong. Arlington, VA (DC light) Orange, CA (approximately Los Angeles) Maricopa, AZ (where Arpaio was sheriff of) Cambria, PA (because my grandparents lived there) I think there are a few others I know, but they all share a name with their principal city. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/8 "2019-08-08T12:56:07Z")
In the Chicagoland area: Cook Lake DuPage McHenry Kane Will In Illinois: Boone Ogle Jo Daviess Kendall Grundy ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/9 "2019-08-08T13:13:40Z")
Mason and Dixon Harris, Rusk, Brazos, Galveston Oklahoma, Logan, Canadian Larimer Dade ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/10 "2019-08-08T13:48:14Z")
Cook County. I have The Good Wife to thank for that. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/11 "2019-08-08T14:00:41Z")
Since newscasters never mention a New Jersey municipality without giving the county it’s in, all 21 of them. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/12 "2019-08-08T14:12:50Z")
All 83 counties of Michigan, of course. Cook and Sangamon Counties, IL Alameda Co, CA (Because of the stadium name). ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/13 "2019-08-08T14:22:07Z")
Most of the ones in PA including all of those around Allegheny County and Luzerne County. I also know a few in Ohio (like Shelby County) and Indiana (such as Tipton County). But in the interest of full disclosure its because I love history and also tend to enjoy county fairs. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/14 "2019-08-08T14:39:26Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Cook County. I have The Good Wife to thank for that. At the end of _The Blues Brothers_, Jake and Elwood are looking for the office of the Assessor of Cook County. I’ve also heard of Marin County in California; I believe it’s just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/15 "2019-08-08T15:01:06Z")
In Oregon: Multnomah Washington Deschutes Malheur Jefferson (the town of Jefferson is actually in Marion County) Morrow In Alaska, it’s boroughs. There is no town of Bristol Bay in Bristol Bay Bourough. Also: Northwest Arctic North Slope Aleutians (east and west) Lake and Peninsula ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/16 "2019-08-08T15:09:06Z")
I can name several dozen in my native Illinois, likely two dozen here in Missouri, another dozen in Florida. Does the OP really want me to list them all? In the states where I don’t know a dozen or more: Orange, California Stanislaus, California Tuolumne, California Mendocino, California Marin, California Barnstable, Massachusetts Orleans (Parish), Louisiana St. Tammany (Parish), Louisiana ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/17 "2019-08-08T15:24:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > OK, outside of my state (OH) and places where I’ve personally lived: > > All of the boroughs of New York, though I know that some of those have different names than the boroughs, so I might get some of the names wrong. > Arlington, VA (DC light) > Orange, CA (approximately Los Angeles) > Maricopa, AZ (where Arpaio was sheriff of) > Cambria, PA (because my grandparents lived there) > > I think there are a few others I know, but they all share a name with their principal city. boroughs : Brooklyn/Bronx/Manhattan/Queens/Staten Island… counties : Kings/Bronx/New York/Queens/Richmond Not the Bronx, it’s borough/county/“city name”, because Bronx, NY is what you’d put on an envelope to someone living there. Queens works because all addresses in use their town/area, like Flushing. Forest Hills, Long Island City… There’s no “Queens”. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/18 "2019-08-08T15:26:36Z")
Bunches, in part since my work-study job in college required me to do data entry on addresses at the county level. 🙂 Off the top of my head (and, as per the OP, not including counties that share a name with a major city in the county): Wisconsin: Brown Outagamie Calumet Dane Marathon Oneida Ozaukee Trempeauleau Door Illinois: Cook DuPage Kane Grundy Lake Winnebago Ogle Sangamon Will Minnesota: Kandiyohi (I just love that name!) Ohio: Hamilton Cuyahoga Michigan: Wayne ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/19 "2019-08-08T15:56:42Z")
There is a surprising number of Douglas Counties in the various 50 states, but there is no “Douglas” in Douglas County, Nevada. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2019, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-us-counties-do-you-know/838343/20 "2019-08-08T15:57:19Z")
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