Everyone knows that Texas exists, but how many people know there are three Texases in the United States? How is it possible that there is more than one Texas?
While it is true that there is only one state of Texas, there are also two counties in the United States that are also named Texas. This was a shocking discovery for me, and it prompted me to research how many counties share their name with a state. Here is a list of every county or county equivalent that shares its name with a state.
Arkansas (1)
The only state to have an Arkansas County unsurprisingly is Arkansas. The county’s largest city is Stuttgart.
Colorado (1)
Texas is the state that possess the only Colorado County in the United States. The largest city in the county is Columbus.
Delaware (6)
The states to have a Delaware County are Indiana, Iowa, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. The largest city of all of the Delaware Counties is Muncie, Delaware County, Indiana.
Hawaii (1)
The one and only Hawaii County in the United States is in the state of Hawaii; the county of Hawaii completely encompasses the island of Hawaii. Hawaii County’s largest city is Hilo.
Idaho (1)
Idaho County exists in the state of Idaho. Its largest city is Grangeville.
Indiana (1)
The county of Indiana is in the state of Pennsylvania, whose largest city is Indiana.
Iowa (2)
There are two counties of Iowa in the Unites States, which are in the states of Iowa and Wisconsin. The largest of their cities is Dodgeville, Iowa County, Wisconsin.
Mississippi (2)
The two counties of Mississippi are in the states of Arkansas and Missouri. The largest city within the counties is Blytheville, Mississippi County, Arkansas.
Nevada (2)
Arkansas and California are the only states with a Nevada County, and the largest city in the counties is Truckee, Nevada County, California.
New York (1)
New York County is found in the state of New York; the county is more often referred to as the borough of Manhattan. New York County is part of New York City.
Ohio (3)
The three states to contain an Ohio County are Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. The largest city of the counties is Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia.
Oklahoma (1)
The county of Oklahoma is in the state of Oklahoma, and its largest city is Oklahoma City.
Oregon (1)
Oregon County is contained in the state of Missouri. The county’s largest city is Thayer.
Texas (2)
Oklahoma and Missouri are the states with the counties of Texas, and their largest city is Guymon, Texas County, Oklahoma.
Utah (1)
The county of Utah is located in the state of Utah and its largest city is Provo.
Washington (31)
Apparently most states have a Washington county; these counties are obviously named after the president of the Constitutional Convention, commander of the Continental Army, and first president of the United States, George Washington.
The states that have a Washington County are Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin, plus Louisiana has the parish of Washington. The largest city of all the cities in these counties is Hillsboro, Washington County, Oregon.
Some interesting patterns that I realized while making this map are that most Washington Counties are in the east, nearly every county either borders another state or a county that borders another state, about half of the counties are in the northern region of their state and half are in the southern, and about half are in the eastern region of their state and half are in the western, with very few in the center.
Wyoming (3)
The three states that have a Wyoming County are New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Their largest city is Perry, Wyoming County, New York.
There are a few counties whose names either contain a part of a state name or have a word added onto a state name. These county names do not exactly share their name with any state, but here is a list of the partially matching counties.
Dakota (2)
The two states with a Dakota County are Minnesota and Nebraska. The largest city of the two counties is Lakeville, Dakota County, Minnesota.
Hampshire (2)
The states of Massachusetts and West Virginia have a Hampshire County, and the largest city within them is Amherst, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.
Jersey (1)
Jersey County is in the state of Illinois and its largest city is Jerseyville. This Illinoisan county is apparently named after the state of New Jersey.
Virginia Beach (1)
Virginia Beach, Virginia, is an Independent City, which is a city that does not exist in any county and is considered a primary administrative division of its state; independent cities are federally classified as county equivalents.
York (5)
The states of Maine, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia all have a York County. The largest city in the counties is Rock Hill, York County, South Carolina.
The state whose name is shared with the most counties is by far Washington with 31 matches. The state that has the most counties that share their names with another state is Pennsylvania with 5 matching counties if you include the partially matching counties, but if you only include exact matches, then it is a five way tie between Arkansas, Missouri, New York, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania, with 4 exactly matching counties each.
Which of these counties is your favorite?
Onward American 