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CT · 8 counties · no county governments since 1960 · Eastern Time
Connecticut county map
Connecticut has eight counties, but none of them has a government. County lines survive on maps, in court districts and in the Census, while the state and its 169 towns provide all local services.
Counties without governments
Connecticut abolished county government on 1 October 1960. Until then each county had a sheriff, a jail and a small board of commissioners, but almost every function — schools, roads, police, welfare, zoning — had always belonged to the towns. Today the eight counties are geographic labels: they still define the boundaries of the state’s judicial districts and appear on every Census table, and the former county seats listed in the table are simply the towns where the old courthouses stood. The sheriffs themselves were replaced by state marshals in 2000.
Because the counties are only lines, the Census Bureau agreed in 2022 to treat Connecticut’s nine regional councils of governments (COGs) as its county-equivalents for statistics from the 2022 releases onward: Capitol Region, Greater Bridgeport, Lower Connecticut River Valley, Naugatuck Valley, Northeastern Connecticut, Northwest Hills, South Central Connecticut, Southeastern Connecticut and Western Connecticut. The 2020 Census figures used on this site still refer to the eight counties.
The four original counties — Fairfield, Hartford, New Haven and New London — were created together in 1666, making them among the oldest in the United States. Windham (1726), Litchfield (1751), Middlesex and Tolland (both 1785) were split from them.
All 8 counties of Connecticut
| County | Former county seat |
|---|---|
| Fairfield | Bridgeport |
| Hartford | Hartford |
| Litchfield | Litchfield |
| Middlesex | Middletown |
| New Haven | New Haven |
| New London | New London |
| Tolland | Rockville (Vernon) |
| Windham | Willimantic (Windham) |
Five county facts
- Largest by area: Litchfield County in the north-west hills, about 945 square miles, the least urban part of the state.
- Smallest by area: Middlesex County on the lower Connecticut River, about 440 square miles of land.
- Most populous: Fairfield County, about 957,000 people in 2020, containing Bridgeport, Stamford, Norwalk and Danbury and the New York commuter belt. Hartford and New Haven counties each have about 860,000–900,000.
- Least populous: Windham County in the north-east “Quiet Corner”, about 116,000 people. Tolland County is next smallest.
- Oldest and newest: Fairfield, Hartford, New Haven and New London (1666) are the oldest; Middlesex and Tolland (1785) the newest. Connecticut has no independent cities and, since 1960, no county governments at all; every one of its 169 towns and cities answers directly to the state.
Reading the map
Press Streets and zoom in to see the county lines, which mostly follow town boundaries rather than rivers. Hartford County straddles the Connecticut River in the centre of the state; Middlesex and New London share the river’s mouth on Long Island Sound; Fairfield and New Haven make up the Sound’s western shore. Litchfield in the north-west and Windham and Tolland in the north-east are the hill counties. Bridgeport, the largest city, is in Fairfield County; the capital Hartford is in Hartford County. The whole state is on Eastern Time.
Related maps
- Connecticut map — cities, borders and geography.
- Blank Connecticut map and printable Connecticut map.
- Hartford, the state capital.
- Neighbouring county maps: Massachusetts, Rhode Island (also without county governments), New York.
- New England · the Northeast · Eastern Time Zone.
- Geography: Appalachian Mountains, US coastlines, major rivers.
- All US county maps.