COVID-19 has spread so rapidly that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) chief, Dr. Robert Redfield, said, “I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.” He was referring to December, January and February.
The number of coronavirus deaths in America is staggering at 276,576, as the daily increase reached a record of 2,664. A huge number of these fatal cases are concentrated in relatively small areas as measured by square miles. In fact, the top 50 counties, based on deaths per county, have 37% of the national total. America’s has 3,143 counties.
The 50 counties with the most deaths point to the pattern of the spread of the disease. While Los Angeles County leads the list at 7,655 fatal cases, it is the largest county in the country by far, as measured by population, at 10,098,052. But many of the other counties at the top of the list are in New York, Illinois and Michigan, where the disease hit hard and early in the cycle from March through early May.
The second hardest-hit county based on fatal count is Cook County, Illinois, with a total of 6,695. It is home to Chicago. It does have the second largest population in the United States at 5,223,719, but most of the deaths came early.
Wayne County, Michigan, home to Detroit was also savaged by the disease, with 3,237 deaths. With a population of 1,761,382, it is smaller based on that measure than most other counties with the highest death tolls.
New York City has three of the top seven counties based on fatal cases. The city was devastated in the spring. Kings County, which contains the borough of Brooklyn, had 5,205, which puts it third on the list of counties by fatal case count. It is followed by Queens County at 5,182. Bronx county has had 3,436. New York County, home to Manhattan has had 2,148.
The early concentration of the disease in New York was not limited to the city. Nearby Nassau County on Long Island has had 2,260 deaths. Essex County, New Jersey, across the Hudson River from New York City, has had 2,238. Nearby Bergen County, New Jersey, has had 2,139 fatal cases. Suffolk County, also on Long Island, has had 2,065 deaths.
As the disease moved South, many large counties in the region took the brunt of the pandemic. Maricopa County, Arizona, home to Phoenix, America’s fastest-growing large city, has posted 4,010 fatal cases. Miami-Dade has had 3,839. Harris County, Texas, home to Houston, has had 3,009.
Almost all these counties share one thing in common. Each has one of America’s large cities, with dense populations. That means they will not be spared from America’s rapidly rising death toll in the future.
These are the 50 counties where the most Americans have died from COVID-19.
| County | State | Population | Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | California | 10,098,052 | 7,655 |
| Cook | Illinois | 5,223,719 | 6,695 |
| Kings | New York | 2,600,747 | 5,205 |
| Queens | New York | 2,298,513 | 5,182 |
| Maricopa | Arizona | 4,253,913 | 4,010 |
| Miami-Dade | Florida | 2,715,516 | 3,839 |
| Bronx | New York | 1,437,872 | 3,436 |
| Wayne | Michigan | 1,761,382 | 3,237 |
| Harris | Texas | 4,602,523 | 3,009 |
| Middlesex | Massachusetts | 1,595,192 | 2,430 |
| Nassau | New York | 1,356,564 | 2,260 |
| Essex | New Jersey | 793,555 | 2,238 |
| New York | New York | 1,632,480 | 2,148 |
| Bergen | New Jersey | 929,999 | 2,139 |
| Suffolk | New York | 1,487,901 | 2,056 |
| Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 1,575,522 | 2,042 |
| Hidalgo | Texas | 849,389 | 1,817 |
| Clark | Nevada | 2,141,574 | 1,782 |
| Palm Beach | Florida | 1,446,277 | 1,697 |
| Broward | Florida | 1,909,151 | 1,664 |
| Hartford | Connecticut | 894,730 | 1,609 |
| Hudson | New Jersey | 668,631 | 1,582 |
| Orange | California | 3,164,182 | 1,577 |
| Dallas | Texas | 2,586,552 | 1,539 |
| Westchester | New York | 968,815 | 1,517 |
| Fairfield | Connecticut | 944,348 | 1,516 |
| Bexar | Texas | 1,925,865 | 1,498 |
| Middlesex | New Jersey | 826,698 | 1,496 |
| Essex | Massachusetts | 781,024 | 1,460 |
| Riverside | California | 2,383,286 | 1,442 |
| Union | New Jersey | 553,066 | 1,437 |
| Oakland | Michigan | 1,250,843 | 1,367 |
| Passaic | New Jersey | 504,041 | 1,320 |
| Macomb | Michigan | 868,704 | 1,291 |
| Worcester | Massachusetts | 822,280 | 1,280 |
| New Haven | Connecticut | 859,339 | 1,259 |
| Suffolk | Massachusetts | 791,766 | 1,250 |
| Norfolk | Massachusetts | 698,249 | 1,184 |
| Ocean | New Jersey | 591,939 | 1,130 |
| San Bernardino | California | 2,135,413 | 1,129 |
| Hennepin | Minnesota | 1,235,478 | 1,121 |
| El Paso | Texas | 837,654 | 1,078 |
| Tarrant | Texas | 2,019,977 | 1,026 |
| Cameron | Texas | 421,750 | 1,013 |
| San Diego | California | 3,302,833 | 997 |
| St. Louis | Missouri | 998,684 | 975 |
| Montgomery | Maryland | 1,040,133 | 960 |
| Montgomery | Pennsylvania | 821,301 | 941 |
| Prince George’s | Maryland | 906,202 | 936 |
| Hillsborough | Florida | 1,378,883 | 933 |
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