About Counties

Nationwide, there are just over 3,000 counties in the fifty states. The number and size of counties varies considerably from state to state. Georgia has 159 counties, second only to Texas, which has 254. Every part of Georgia - even the barrier islands along the Atlantic Ocean - falls within a county. This means that no matter where you live in Georgia, you reside in a county.

In the United States, counties serve as the principal political subdivision of a state. Each state has divided itself into specific political areas known as counties (or as “parishes” in Louisiana and “boroughs” in Alaska). In each county, local officials act as arms of state government, performing many state-related functions, such as administering elections, marriage licenses, and vehicle registration. In addition to serving as important subdivisions of the state, counties have a second role. In Georgia, they are the largest general-purpose form of local government. This means that apart from helping administer state government functions, counties can provide a variety of local services to their citizens. In this role, some large urban counties resemble cities in the types of local government services they provide.

Georgia County Information