County facts · Land area · October 22, 2026
Largest Counties in Missouri by Area and Population
The largest Missouri counties by land area and by 2023 population, plus the smallest, county seats and a link to each official parcel map.
Looking for the largest counties in Missouri? Missouri has 114 counties plus 1 independent city, which sit outside any county and are counted by the Census Bureau as county equivalents. Together they cover about 68,746 square miles of land, based on the Census Bureau's 2020 Gazetteer. The largest by land area is Texas County, at about 1,177 square miles, roughly 4.4 times the size of the smallest, Worth County (267 sq mi). Measured by people instead, the largest is St. Louis County, with about 987,059 residents in the Census Bureau's July 1, 2023 estimate.
The rankings below compare counties with counties. The independent city is listed in its own section further down, but it is included in the statewide totals.
Each table below links the county's Platbookmapper page and its official parcel viewer, so you can go straight from the numbers to the property lines.
Missouri counties at a glance
- Counties: 114, plus 1 independent city
- Land area: about 68,746 sq mi, plus about 960 sq mi of water inside county lines
- Residents, 2023 estimates: about 6,196,156, or about 90 people per square mile of land
- Median county land area: about 592 sq mi
- With a verified public parcel viewer in our directory: 106 of 115
The 10 largest Missouri counties by land area
| # | County | Seat | Land (sq mi) | 2023 pop. | People per sq mi | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas County | Houston | 1,177 | 25,619 | 22 | BreezeMaps |
| 2 | Shannon County | Eminence | 1,004 | 7,238 | 7.2 | BreezeMaps |
| 3 | Howell County | West Plains | 927 | 40,735 | 44 | CAMAvision Maps |
| 4 | Franklin County | Union | 923 | 106,404 | 115 | CAMAvision Maps |
| 5 | Nodaway County | Maryville | 877 | 20,695 | 24 | listed link under review |
| 6 | Bates County | Butler | 837 | 16,242 | 19 | IntegrityGIS |
| 7 | Callaway County | Fulton | 835 | 44,731 | 54 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 8 | Johnson County | Warrensburg | 829 | 54,962 | 66 | IntegrityGIS |
| 9 | Vernon County | Nevada | 826 | 19,710 | 24 | IntegrityGIS |
| 10 | Stoddard County | Bloomfield | 823 | 28,397 | 34 | CAMAvision Maps |
Together these 10 cover about 13% of Missouri's land area and hold about 6% of its residents.
The 10 most populous Missouri counties
| # | County | Seat | 2023 pop. | Land (sq mi) | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Louis County | Clayton | 987,059 | 508 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 2 | Jackson County | Independence, Kansas City | 718,560 | 605 | county web map |
| 3 | St. Charles County | St. Charles | 416,659 | 561 | county web map |
| 4 | Greene County | Springfield | 304,611 | 675 | county web map |
| 5 | Clay County | Liberty | 259,772 | 398 | county web map |
| 6 | Jefferson County | Hillsboro | 231,230 | 656 | ArcGIS Experience Builder |
| 7 | Boone County | Columbia | 189,463 | 686 | county web map |
| 8 | Jasper County | Carthage | 125,056 | 639 | Beacon (Schneider Geospatial) |
| 9 | Platte County | Platte City | 111,940 | 420 | Beacon (Schneider Geospatial) |
| 10 | Cass County | Harrisonville | 111,732 | 697 | CAMAvision Maps |
These 10 hold about 56% of Missouri's residents in the 2023 estimates.
The 5 smallest Missouri counties by land area
| County | Seat | Land (sq mi) | 2023 pop. | Parcel viewer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worth County | Grant City | 267 | 1,907 | IntegrityGIS |
| Schuyler County | Lancaster | 307 | 4,053 | no verified public viewer listed yet |
| Cole County | Jefferson City | 392 | 77,278 | county web map |
| Clay County | Liberty | 398 | 259,772 | county web map |
| Hickory County | Hermitage | 399 | 8,718 | BreezeMaps |
Missouri's independent city
City of St. Louis is not part of any county. It covers about 62 square miles of land and had about 281,754 residents in the 2023 estimate, about 4,564 people per square mile. Its official parcel map: ArcGIS Map Viewer. Its Platbookmapper page: City of St. Louis.
Most and least crowded
- Most people per square mile: St. Louis County, about 1,944 (then Jackson County, 1,189, and St. Charles County, 743)
- Fewest people per square mile: Worth County, about 7.2 (then Shannon County, 7.2, and Reynolds County, 7.4)
Counties with the most water
The Census Bureau reports water separately from land. It counts lakes, reservoirs, rivers and, along a coast or a Great Lake, the water inside the boundary.
- Camden County: about 53 sq mi of water, 7% of its total area
- Benton County: about 48 sq mi of water, 6% of its total area
- Stone County: about 47 sq mi of water, 9% of its total area
Using these numbers in a land search
- Land area is not parcel count. A large rural county can hold fewer parcels than a small suburban one, so size alone says little about how busy its parcel map is.
- Search, don't scroll. In a big county, type an address, owner name or parcel number into the viewer's search box, where it has one, instead of panning across the map.
- Records follow the county line. Deeds, plats and tax bills are kept by the county where the parcel sits (or the independent city), so a tract that crosses a county line usually has a parcel number on each side.
- Rounded figures. Land and water areas are rounded to whole square miles (one decimal for very small places). People per square mile is the 2023 estimate divided by land area.
Related guides
- Missouri county GIS websites by viewer
- Missouri landowner maps for hunting
- Arkansas–Missouri border counties
- Illinois–Missouri border counties
- Iowa–Missouri border counties
- Kansas–Missouri border counties
- Largest county in each state
- Largest counties in the US by land area
More: All Missouri counties on Platbookmapper
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer files, 2020 county land and water area.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, county totals, Vintage 2023 (July 1, 2023 estimates)
- Platbookmapper county GIS directory (live data file behind our county pages, pulled October 22, 2026) for each official parcel viewer.
- County seats: Wikidata (county seat property), cross-checked against Census place names.