List of counties in Kansas


Kansas has 105 counties, the fifth-highest total of any state. The first counties were established while Kansas was a Territory from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when Kansas became a state. Many of the counties in the eastern part of the state are named after prominent Americans from the late 18th and early-to-mid-19th centuries, while those in the central and western part of the state are named for figures in the American Civil War. Several counties throughout the state bear names of Native American origin.
Wyandotte County and the city of Kansas City, and Greeley County and the city of Tribune, operate as unified governments.
Every license plate issued by the state contains the same two-letter abbreviation for the county in which its vehicle is registered. The FIPS state code for Kansas is 20.

Counties

Former counties

CountyDatesNotesSource
Washington1855–57One of 36 Original Counties.
Seward1861–67Formerly part of Godfrey. Dissolved into Greenwood and Howard Counties.
Godfrey1855–61One of the Original 36 Counties. Name changed to Seward around 1861.
Hunter1855–64One of the Original 36 Counties. Dissolved into Butler County.
Irving1860–64Formed from Hunter County. Dissolved into Butler County.
Otoe1860–64Formed from Unorganized Area and dissolved into Butler County.
Shirley1860–67Formed from Unorganized Area and renamed Cloud County.
Peketon1860–65Formed from Unorganized Area and dissolved back into Unorganized Area.
Madison1855–61One of the Original 36 Counties. Dissolved into Breckenridge and Greenwood.
Howard1867–75Formed from Seward and Butler Counties. Dissolved into Chautauqua and Elk Counties.
Arapahoe1873–83Formed from Unorganized Area. Dissolved into Finney County.
Buffalo1873–81Formed from Unorganized Area. Dissolved into Gray County.
Foote1873–81Dissolved into Ford and Finney Counties.
Kansas1873–83Formed from Unorganized Area. Dissolved into Seward County.
Sequoyah1873–83Formed from Unorganized Area. Dissolved into Finney County.
Garfield1887–93Formed from Finney and Hodgeman Counties and merged into Finney County.
Billings1873–74Created from Norton County and returned to Norton County.
Davis1855–89One of 36 Original Counties, now part of Geary County.
Breckinridge1855–62Now Lyon County.

St. John County was established in 1881, and formed from the area to the east of range 38 in what was then part of Wallace County. In 1887, the name was changed to Logan County.
Kearney County was established on March 6, 1873, and was dissolved in 1883, with the land area being split between Hamilton and Finney counties. It was reestablished with its original borders in 1887, and organized on March 27, 1888. In 1889, the name was corrected to Kearny County to match the last name of Philip Kearny.