Illinois Has 102 Counties–Here’s The Smallest One

There's just something about a woman making the "small" sign by holding two fingers slightly apart that brings out the inner George Costanza in guys. You just want to shout "I was in the pool!"

However, in this case, when we're talking about small things, we mean Illinois counties, not other things that just may start with the same consonant.

I see what you did there. (Getty Images)

Before Getting To Illinois' Smallest County (In Population), Just Know That Our Smallest County Is Far Larger Than The Country's Smallest County

The smallest, or least populated county in the entire country is down in Texas. Loving County (which is such a welcoming name that you wonder why so few live there) Texas has a population of...just 94 people, according to the most recent census. It might be safe to assume that there are a lot more hooves than boots in that area.

Looks like we got us a traffic snarl-up. (Getty Images)

In Illinois, The Biggest County By Population Is Sitting Next To A Rather Large Lake

It doesn't take much mental energy to figure out that Illinois' most population-dense county is Cook County, with a county-wide population of 5,180,493 people, and nothing even comes remotely close to that. DuPage County is next with 928,529, followed by Lake County with 700,832, Will County with 692,310, then Kane County with 534,216.

Winnebago County is the 7th largest county in Illinois by population, with 283,366 residents, Boone County is 25th, with 53,304 people. Ogle County is 28th with 51,446 residents.

As for the smallest Illinois county, it would be this one:

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Hardin County Is Illinois' Smallest County In Terms Of Population, And The 2nd Smallest In Area

With a county-wide population of 3,515 people (give or take), Hardin is our least-populated county, and their total area of 69 square miles is just a bit bigger than our smallest county by area, Putnam County, and their total of 62 square miles.

To give you some size perspective, Winnebago County's total area is 198 square miles, while Cook County's total area is 365 square miles. (figures courtesy of WorldPopulationReview.com)