English Counties by Population and Area 2024
This article ranks the 48 English ceremonial counties by their population and size.
Where a county’s name is hyperlinked, you can click to read a more detailed article about that county. Population data is from the Office of National Statistics, 2021 census.
| Ceremonial County | 2021 Population | Area (mi2) |
|---|---|---|
| Greater London | 8,788,010 | 606 |
| West Midlands | 2,916,132 | 348 |
| Greater Manchester | 2,868,387 | 493 |
| West Yorkshire | 2,349,987 | 783 |
| Essex | 1,862,848 | 1,420 |
| Hampshire | 1,860,283 | 1,455 |
| Kent | 1,858,346 | 1,443 |
| Lancashire | 1,531,911 | 1,187 |
| Merseyside | 1,423,145 | 250 |
| South Yorkshire | 1,374,182 | 599 |
| Devon | 1,218,613 | 2,590 |
| Surrey | 1,205,616 | 642 |
| Hertfordshire | 1,200,620 | 634 |
| North Yorkshire* | 1,157,971 | 3,341 |
| Nottinghamshire | 1,145,823 | 834 |
| Staffordshire | 1,135,893 | 1,048 |
| Tyne and Wear | 1,125,695 | 2210 |
| Cheshire | 1,098,031 | 905 |
| Lincolnshire | 1,096,611 | 2,693 |
| Leicestershire | 1,078,590 | 832 |
| Derbyshire | 1,057,983 | 1,014 |
| Somerset | 982,941 | 1,610 |
| Berkshire | 950,588 | 487 |
| Gloucestershire | 937,363 | 1,220 |
| Norfolk | 918,369 | 2,080 |
| Cambridgeshire | 896,756 | 1,310 |
| West Sussex | 885,055 | 769 |
| Durham* | 862,067 | 1,033 |
| Buckinghamshire | 843,458 | 724 |
| East Sussex | 823,258 | 692 |
| Northamptonshire | 786,843 | 913 |
| Dorset | 781,401 | 1,024 |
| Suffolk | 763,375 | 1,468 |
| Wiltshire | 747,124 | 1,346 |
| Oxfordshire | 726,530 | 1,006 |
| Bedfordshire | 706,128 | 477 |
| East Riding of Yorkshire | 609,606 | 956 |
| Worcestershire | 604,947 | 672 |
| Warwickshire | 599,153 | 763 |
| Cornwall | 574,281 | 1,375 |
| Shropshire | 510,558 | 1,347 |
| Cumbria | 500,821 | 2,613 |
| Bristol | 471,117 | 42 |
| Northumberland | 321,558 | 1,936 |
| Herefordshire | 187,557 | 840 |
| Isle of Wight | 140,889 | 150 |
| Rutland | 41,381 | 147 |
| City of London | 8,618 | 1.12 |
* Note: data for Durham and North Yorkshire is estimated, based on population of Stockton-on-Tees, which is split across both counties.
The largest County in England
North Yorkshire is the largest county in England by area. It covers 3,341 square miles or 8,654 km² in total. As well as being the biggest county North Yorkshire is the fourth biggest by population in England. Lincolnshire, Cumbria and Devon are the other three counties with an area of more than 2,500 square miles.
The largest ceremonial county in the UK by population is Greater London, followed by the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire. The largest historic county in England is Yorkshire.
The most densely populated county in the United Kingdom is also Greater London (14,690 people per sq m), followed by Bristol and the West Midlands.
The least densely populated county is Northumberland, with just 170 people per square mile.
The smallest county in England
Now this is more contentious. The smallest ceremonial county in England by area is the City of London, which covers just 1.12 square miles (2.90km²). As its name implies, the City of London is not just a county, but is also one of the smallest cities in England. Bristol (24 square miles) is the next smallest ceremonial county, followed by the Isle of Wight (150 square miles).
However, if we look at historical counties, which people are more familiar with, then Rutland (147 square miles) is the smallest county.
Difference between a ceremonial county and a historic county
A ceremonial county is a geographical area that a Lord Lieutenant has been appointed to. Because of the changes in local government boundaries in England over many years, ceremonial counties are the closest approximation we have today to the old geographical counties of England. As a result, they do not necessarily match the boundaries of today’s metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties.
A historic county is an area of England that has a long history and cultural identity, but may not match the current administrative divisions.
Middlesex is an example of a historic county that no longer exists as an individual ceremonial county – but most of its territory is now part of Greater London, which is a ceremonial county.
You can read more about historic counties at the Historic Counties Trust.
List of County Towns
The list of county towns below is based on historic counties of the United Kingdom (not just England) rather than its ceremonial counties.
There is no formal definition of a county town, but it is generally the place regarded as the most important town or city in a county, and usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county.
Some counties have more than one county town, or have their county functions (usually the council) located elsewhere. For example, Surrey has three county towns: Guildford, Newington, and Southwark. And although Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, the county council’s head office is based in Preston.
| County | County town |
|---|---|
| Aberdeenshire | Aberdeen |
| Anglesey | Beaumaris |
| Angus | Forfar |
| County Antrim | Antrim or Belfast |
| Argyllshire | Inveraray |
| County Armagh | Armagh |
| Ayrshire | Ayr |
| Banffshire | Banff |
| Bedfordshire | Bedford |
| Berkshire | Abingdon |
| Berwickshire | Duns |
| Brecknockshire | Brecon |
| Buckinghamshire | Aylesbury |
| Buteshire | Rothesay |
| Caernarfonshire | Caernarfon |
| Caithness | Wick |
| Cambridgeshire | Cambridge |
| Cardiganshire | Cardigan |
| Carmarthenshire | Carmarthen |
| Cheshire | Chester |
| Clackmannanshire | Alloa |
| Cornwall | Truro |
| Cromartyshire | Cromarty |
| Cumberland | Carlisle |
| Denbighshire | Ruthin |
| Derbyshire | Derby |
| Devon | Exeter |
| Dorset | Dorchester |
| County Down | Downpatrick |
| Dumfriesshire | Dumfries |
| Dunbartonshire | Dumbarton |
| County Durham | Durham |
| East Lothian | Haddington |
| Essex | Chelmsford |
| Fermanagh | Enniskillen |
| Fife | Cupar |
| Flintshire | Mold |
| Glamorgan | Cardiff |
| Gloucestershire | Gloucester |
| Hampshire | Winchester |
| Herefordshire | Hereford |
| Hertfordshire | Hertford |
| Huntingdonshire | Huntingdon |
| Inverness-shire | Inverness |
| Kent | Maidstone |
| Kincardineshire | Stonehaven |
| Kinross-shire | Kinross |
| Kirkcudbrightshire | Kirkcudbright |
| Lanarkshire | Lanark |
| Lancashire | Lancaster |
| Leicestershire | Leicester |
| Lincolnshire | Lincoln |
| County Londonderry | Londonderry |
| Merionethshire | Dolgellau |
| Middlesex | Brentford |
| Midlothian | Edinburgh |
| Montgomeryshire | Montgomery |
| Monmouthshire | Monmouth |
| Morayshire | Elgin |
| Nairnshire | Nairn |
| Norfolk | Norwich |
| Northamptonshire | Northampton |
| Northumberland | Alnwick |
| Nottinghamshire | Nottingham |
| Orkney | Kirkwall |
| Oxfordshire | Oxford |
| Peeblesshire | Peebles |
| Pembrokeshire | Haverfordwest |
| Perthshire | Perth |
| Radnorshire | Presteigne |
| Renfrewshire | Renfrew |
| Ross-shire | Dingwall |
| Roxburghshire | Jedburgh |
| Rutland | Oakham |
| Selkirkshire | Selkirk |
| Shetland | Lerwick |
| Shropshire | Shrewsbury |
| Somerset | Taunton |
| Staffordshire | Stafford |
| Stirlingshire | Stirling |
| Suffolk | Ipswich |
| Surrey | Guildford, Newington, Southwark |
| Sussex | Chichester |
| Sutherland | Dornoch |
| Tyrone | Omagh |
| Warwickshire | Warwick |
| West Lothian | Linlithgow |
| Westmorland | Appleby |
| Wigtownshire | Wigtown |
| Wiltshire | Trowbridge |
| Worcestershire | Worcester |
| Yorkshire | York |
Further reading
Check out our articles on the population of the United Kingdom as a whole and the population of England.
Also our article about the population of the ceremonial county of Yorkshire.
We have also published an article with information about each county in Ireland.