There are 23 counties in the U.S. state of Wyoming. There were originally five counties in the Wyoming Territory: Laramie and Carter, established in 1867; Carbon and Albany established in 1868; and Uinta, an annexed portion of Utah and Idaho, extending from Montana (including Yellowstone Park) to the Wyoming–Utah boundary.[1] On July 10, 1890, Wyoming was admitted to the Union with thirteen counties in it. Ten more counties were created after statehood.[1]
| Counties of Wyoming | |
|---|---|
| Location | State of Wyoming |
| Number | 23 |
| Populations | 2,354 (Niobrara) – 100,984 (Laramie) |
| Areas | 2,004 square miles (5,190 km2) (Hot Springs) – 10,426 square miles (27,000 km2) (Sweetwater) |
| Government | |
| Subdivisions |
|
Two counties were renamed after their creation. Carter County was renamed Sweetwater County on December 1, 1869.[2] Pease County, formed in 1875, was renamed Johnson County in 1879.[3]
The Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) code, which is used by the United States government to uniquely identify states and counties, is provided with each entry.[4] Wyoming's code is 56, which when combined with any county code would be written as 56XXX. The FIPS code for each county links to census data for that county.[5]
List
edit| County | FIPS code [5] | County seat[6] | Est.[1] | Formed from[1] | Etymology[7] | Population[8] | Area[6][8] | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany County | 001 | Laramie | 1868 | One of the original five counties. | City of Albany, New York, from which early settlers hailed. | 38,257 | 4,274 sq mi (11,070 km2) |
|
| Big Horn County | 003 | Basin | 1896 | Parts of Sheridan County, Johnson County, and Fremont County. | Big Horn Mountains, a mountain range extending into northern Wyoming | 12,018 | 3,137 sq mi (8,125 km2) |
|
| Campbell County | 005 | Gillette | 1911 | Parts of Weston County and Crook County. | John Allen Campbell (1835–80), first governor of the Wyoming Territory (1869–75) | 47,498 | 4,797 sq mi (12,424 km2) |
|
| Carbon County | 007 | Rawlins | 1868 | One of the original five counties. | The vast coal beds in the county. | 14,334 | 7,897 sq mi (20,453 km2) |
|
| Converse County | 009 | Douglas | 1888 | Parts of Albany County and Laramie County. | Amasa Rice Converse (1842–1885), a banker and rancher from Cheyenne, Wyoming. | 13,809 | 4,255 sq mi (11,020 km2) |
|
| Crook County | 011 | Sundance | 1875 | Parts of Laramie County and Albany County. | General George Crook (1828–90), who served in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. | 7,592 | 2,859 sq mi (7,405 km2) |
|
| Fremont County | 013 | Lander | 1884 | Part of Sweetwater County. | John C. Frémont (1813–90), explorer, U.S. Senator for California, and the first presidential candidate of a major party to run on a platform in opposition to slavery | 39,815 | 9,183 sq mi (23,784 km2) |
|
| Goshen County | 015 | Torrington | 1911 | Part of Laramie County. | The Land of Goshen, a Biblical paradise. | 12,642 | 2,225 sq mi (5,763 km2) |
|
| Hot Springs County | 017 | Thermopolis | 1911 | Parts of Fremont County, Big Horn County, and Park County. | The hot springs at Thermopolis within the county borders. | 4,661 | 2,004 sq mi (5,190 km2) |
|
| Johnson County | 019 | Buffalo | 1875 | Parts of Carbon County and Sweetwater County. | Edward P. Johnson (1843–1879), a lawyer from Cheyenne, Wyoming. (Initial name, Pease County, named for E. L. Pease, President of the Territorial Legislative Council.)[9] | 8,759 | 4,166 sq mi (10,790 km2) |
|
| Laramie County | 021 | Cheyenne | 1867 | One of the original five counties. | Jacques La Ramee (1785?–1821), a French-Canadian fur trapper. | 100,984 | 2,686 sq mi (6,957 km2) |
|
| Lincoln County | 023 | Kemmerer | 1911 | Part of Uinta County. | Abraham Lincoln (1809–65), U.S. President (1861–65) | 20,880 | 4,069 sq mi (10,539 km2) |
|
| Natrona County | 025 | Casper | 1888 | Part of Carbon County. | The natron, or soda deposits found within the county's borders. Natrona means natron in Spanish. | 79,941 | 5,340 sq mi (13,831 km2) |
|
| Niobrara County | 027 | Lusk | 1911 | Part of Converse County. | The Niobrara River, which flows through the state. Niobrara is Omaha for flat or broad river. | 2,354 | 2,626 sq mi (6,801 km2) |
|
| Park County | 029 | Cody | 1909 | Part of Big Horn County. | Yellowstone National Park | 30,735 | 6,943 sq mi (17,982 km2) |
|
| Platte County | 031 | Wheatland | 1911 | Part of Laramie County. | North Platte River. Plate is French for flat. | 8,546 | 2,085 sq mi (5,400 km2) |
|
| Sheridan County | 033 | Sheridan | 1888 | Part of Johnson County. | Philip Sheridan (1831–88), American Civil War general. | 32,519 | 2,523 sq mi (6,535 km2) |
|
| Sublette County | 035 | Pinedale | 1921 | Parts of Fremont County and Lincoln County. | William Sublette, pioneer and fur trapper. | 8,969 | 4,882 sq mi (12,644 km2) |
|
| Sweetwater County | 037 | Green River | 1867 | One of the original five counties. | Sweetwater River (a tributary of the North Platte River), which flows through the state. (Original name, Carter County, named for sutler William Alexander Carter.)[10] | 41,249 | 10,426 sq mi (27,003 km2) |
|
| Teton County | 039 | Jackson | 1921 | Part of Lincoln County. | Teton Range, a small mountain range of the Rocky Mountains at the Wyoming–Idaho state line | 23,232 | 4,008 sq mi (10,381 km2) |
|
| Uinta County | 041 | Evanston | 1869 | One of the original five counties. | The Uinta Mountains, named in turn after the Uintah Native American people. | 20,745 | 2,082 sq mi (5,392 km2) |
|
| Washakie County | 043 | Worland | 1911 | Part of Big Horn County | Washakie (1804–1900), a leader of Shoshone Native American tribe. | 7,710 | 2,240 sq mi (5,802 km2) |
|
| Weston County | 045 | Newcastle | 1890 | Part of Crook County | John Weston (1831–95), who was responsible for bringing the first railroad to the area. | 6,808 | 2,398 sq mi (6,211 km2) |
|
References
edit- ^ a b c d "General Facts About Wyoming". State of Wyoming. Archived from the original on May 12, 2007. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
- ^ "Carter County Records". Wyoming State Archives. Archived from the original on May 3, 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
- ^ "Wyoming Counties". American Local History Network. RootsWeb.com. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
- ^ "FIPS Publish 6-4". National Institute of Standards and Technology. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
- ^ a b "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". US Environmental Protection Agency. Archived from the original on July 30, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
- ^ a b "NACo - Find a county". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
- ^ "Name Derivations of Wyoming Counties". Wyoming State Library. Archived from the original on August 25, 2013. Retrieved July 20, 2007.
- ^ a b "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Wyoming". United States Census Bureau, Population Division. July 2023. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
- ^ "Pease County". Wyoming Places. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
- ^ Gardner, Dudley. "Sweetwater County, Wyoming". WyoHistory. Retrieved February 27, 2022.