List of counties in Idaho

The Idaho Territory was organized in March 1863, and Owyhee County was the first county in the territory to be organized, in December of that year. Oneida County was organized in January 1864, while Missoula County was adopted the same month, before becoming part of the new Montana Territory in May. Shoshone, Nez Perce, Idaho and Boise Counties were recognized in February 1864; Alturas County was organized the same month. In December 1864, Kootenai and Ada Counties were created; Lah-Toh County was also created at this time but was abolished in 1867.

Counties of Idaho
LocationState of Idaho
Number44
Populations982 (Clark) – 392,365 (Ada)
Areas408 square miles (1,060 km2) (Payette) – 8,485 square miles (21,980 km2) (Idaho)
GovernmentCounty government
Subdivisionscities, towns, townships, unincorporated communities, Indian reservations, census designated place

There are 44 counties in the U.S. state of Idaho.

Idaho's present-day boundaries were established in 1868, and Lemhi County was created the following year. By the time Idaho was admitted to the Union as the 43rd state in 1890, a further eight counties had been created, bringing the total to 18. After Canyon, Fremont and Bannock Counties had been created, Alturas and Logan Counties were merged to form Blaine County in March 1895; Lincoln County was formed out of Blaine County later the same month. Bonner and Twin Falls Counties were created in 1907, before a further 21 counties were created between 1911 and 1919, bringing the total to the present-day 44.

Since 1945, each county has used a code on its license plates that features the first letter of the county's name. Where the names of two or more counties start with the same letter, in each of these counties the letter is preceded by a number indicating that county's order in the alphabetical list. For instance, the four counties beginning with 'L' in alphabetical order are Latah, Lemhi, Lewis and Lincoln; the codes for these counties are thus 1L, 2L, 3L and 4L respectively. Elmore, Idaho, Kootenai, Nez Perce, Shoshone, Valley, and Washington Counties are the only ones in the state with their respective first letters; in these counties, the letter alone serves as the code.

Alphabetical list
County
 FIPS code[1] County seat[2] Est.[2] Origin[3] License Plate Designator[4]Etymology
[5]		 Population[2][6] Area[2] Map
Ada County 001 Boise1864Boise County1AAda Riggs, daughter of H. C. Riggs, a member of the Idaho Territorial Legislature. 392,365 1,055 sq mi
(2,732 km2)
Adams County 003 Council1911Washington County2AJohn Adams (1735-1826), second President of the United States (1797-1801). 3,976 1,365 sq mi
(3,535 km2)
Bannock County 005 Pocatello1893Bingham County1BBannock Native American tribe. 82,839 1,113 sq mi
(2,883 km2)
Bear Lake County 007 Paris1875Oneida County2BBear Lake on the Utah/Idaho border. 5,986 971 sq mi
(2,515 km2)
Benewah County 009 St. Maries1915Kootenai County3BBen'wah, chief of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe 9,285 776 sq mi
(2,010 km2)
Bingham County 011 Blackfoot1885Oneida County4BHenry H. Bingham (1841-1912), a general in the American Civil War and a U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania. 45,607 2,095 sq mi
(5,426 km2)
Blaine County 013 Hailey1895Alturas and Logan Counties5BJames G. Blaine (1830-1893), United States Secretary of State (1881, 1889-1892). 21,376 2,645 sq mi
(6,851 km2)
Boise County 015 Idaho City1864original county6BBoise River 7,028 1,902 sq mi
(4,926 km2)
Bonner County 017 Sandpoint1907Kootenai County7BEdwin L. Bonner, originator of an 1864 ferry service on the Kootenai River. 40,877 1,738 sq mi
(4,501 km2)
Bonneville County 019 Idaho Falls1911Bingham County8BBenjamin Bonneville (1796-1878), a French-born explorer of the West. 104,234 1,869 sq mi
(4,841 km2)
Boundary County 021 Bonners Ferry1915Bonner County9BBorders Canada on the north. 10,972 1,269 sq mi
(3,287 km2)
Butte County 023 Arco1917Bingham, Blaine, and Jefferson Counties10BButtes rising from the Snake River Plain. 2,891 2,233 sq mi
(5,783 km2)
Camas County 025 Fairfield1917Blaine County1CCamassia, a plant species important as a food source among Native Americans and early settlers. 1,117 1,075 sq mi
(2,784 km2)
Canyon County 027 Caldwell1892Ada County2CDisputed, either a canyon of the Boise River near Caldwell or a canyon of the Snake River which forms part of the county's boundary. 188,923 590 sq mi
(1,528 km2)
Caribou County 029 Soda Springs1919Bannock County3CCaribou Mountains 6,963 1,766 sq mi
(4,574 km2)
Cassia County 031 Burley1879Owyhee County4CDisputed, either Cassia Creek or a member of the Mormon Battalion, James John Cazier. 22,952 2,567 sq mi
(6,648 km2)
Clark County 033 Dubois1919Fremont County5CSam K. Clark, early settler and a member of the Idaho Senate. 982 1,765 sq mi
(4,571 km2)
Clearwater County 035 Orofino1911Nez Perce County6CClearwater River 8,761 2,462 sq mi
(6,377 km2)
Custer County 037 Challis1881Alturas and Lemhi Counties7CGeneral Custer mine, named after George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876), United States Army general. 4,368 4,926 sq mi
(12,758 km2)
Elmore County 039 Mountain Home1889Alturas CountyEIda Elmore mines, locally noted for gold and silver production in the 1860s. 27,038 3,078 sq mi
(7,972 km2)
Franklin County 041 Preston1913Oneida County1FFranklin D. Richards (1821-1899), early LDS Church apostle. 12,786 666 sq mi
(1,725 km2)
Fremont County 043 Saint Anthony1893Bingham County2FJohn C. Frémont (1813-1890), an explorer of the West. 13,242 1,867 sq mi
(4,836 km2)
Gem County 045 Emmett1915Boise and Canyon Counties1GState nickname of "Gem State." 16,719 563 sq mi
(1,458 km2)
Gooding County 047 Gooding1913Lincoln County2GFrank R. Gooding (1859-1928), seventh Governor of Idaho (1905-1909), U.S. Senator (1921-1928). 15,464 731 sq mi
(1,893 km2)
Idaho County 049 Grangeville1864original countyIColumbia River steamship Idaho launched in 1860. Name predates both Idaho Territory and the State of Idaho. 16,267 8,485 sq mi
(21,976 km2)
Jefferson County 051 Rigby1913Fremont County1JThomas Jefferson (1743-1826), third President of the United States (1801-1809). 26,139 1,095 sq mi
(2,836 km2)
Jerome County 053 Jerome1919Gooding and Lincoln Counties2JDisputed, either North Side Irrigation Project developer Jerome Hill, his son-in-law Jerome Kuhn, or his grandson Jerome Kuhn, Jr. 22,374 600 sq mi
(1,554 km2)
Kootenai County 055 Coeur d'Alene1864Nez Perce CountyKKootenai Native American tribe. 138,494 1,245 sq mi
(3,225 km2)
Latah County 057 Moscow1888Nez Perce County1LLatah Creek, Nez Perce for "the place of pine trees and sestle." 37,244 1,077 sq mi
(2,789 km2)
Lemhi County 059 Salmon1869Idaho County2LLimhi, king of the Nephites according to the Book of Mormon. 7,936 4,564 sq mi
(11,821 km2)
Lewis County 061 Nezperce1911Nez Perce County3LMeriwether Lewis (1774-1809), a leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. 3,821 479 sq mi
(1,241 km2)
Lincoln County 063 Shoshone1895Blaine County4LAbraham Lincoln (1809-1865), sixteenth President of the United States (1861-1865). Idaho Territory was founded under Lincoln's administration. 5,208 1,206 sq mi
(3,124 km2)
Madison County 065 Rexburg1913Fremont County1MJames Madison (1751-1836), fourth President of the United States (1809-1817). 37,536 472 sq mi
(1,222 km2)
Minidoka County 067 Rupert1913Lincoln County2MDisputed Native American origin, either Lakota for "a fountain or spring of water" or Shoshoni for "broad expanse." 20,069 760 sq mi
(1,968 km2)
Nez Perce County 069 Lewiston1864original countyNThe Nez Perce, a Native American tribe. 39,265 849 sq mi
(2,199 km2)
Oneida County 071 Malad City1864original county1OOneida Lake in New York state, where many early settlers were from. 4,286 1,200 sq mi
(3,108 km2)
Owyhee County 073 Murphy1863original county2OAlternate spelling of Hawaii. Hawaiian fur trappers explored the area in 1819 and 1820. 11,526 7,678 sq mi
(19,886 km2)
Payette County 075 Payette1917Canyon County1PFrancois Payette (1793-1844?), Canadian-born fur trader and early settler. 22,623 408 sq mi
(1,057 km2)
Power County 077 American Falls1913Bingham, Blaine, and Oneida Counties2PThe American Falls Power Plant 7,817 1,406 sq mi
(3,642 km2)
Shoshone County 079 Wallace1864original countySShoshone Native American tribe. 12,765 2,634 sq mi
(6,822 km2)
Teton County 081 Driggs1915Bingham, Fremont, and Madison Counties1TTeton Range in Wyoming. 10,170 450 sq mi
(1,165 km2)
Twin Falls County 083 Twin Falls1907Cassia County2TTwin Falls waterfall on the Snake River. 77,230 1,925 sq mi
(4,986 km2)
Valley County 085 Cascade1917Boise and Idaho CountiesVLong Valley located in the county. 9,862 3,733 sq mi
(9,668 km2)
Washington County 087 Weiser1879Ada CountyWGeorge Washington (1732-1799), first President of the United States (1789-1797). 10,198 1,456 sq mi
(3,771 km2)

Extinct counties
  • Alturas County created February 4, 1864, and abolished March 5, 1895.
  • Logan County created February 7, 1889, and abolished March 5, 1895.

References
  1. "EPA County FIPS Code Listing". EPA.gov. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  2. National Association of Counties. "NACo - Find a county". Archived from the original on 2007-10-24. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  3. Hailey, John (1910). The History of Idaho. Press of Syms-York company. pp. 305–307. OCLC 5793481. Retrieved 2008-04-26.
  4. "County License Plate Designators List" (PDF). Idaho Transportation Department. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  5. "List of Idaho Counties - Idaho.gov". State of Idaho. Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  6. "Idaho QuickFacts". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2020-03-21. (2010 Census)
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