More than 2.1 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the U.S. as of mid-June as the death toll approaches 120,000, by far the most cases and deaths of any country. Within the United States, the extent of the spread varies considerably from state to state, and even from county to county. As the number of daily new cases are declining in some parts of the U.S., they are spiking alarmingly in others. 

Using COVID-19 data from state and local health departments, and population data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths for the seven days through June 15 in over 3,000 U.S. county and county equivalents. We identified the county or county equivalent in each state with the highest average number of new cases per day for that week for every 100,000 people. 

In the counties on this list, the current spread of the disease ranges from an average of zero new daily cases to an average of 435 new daily cases per 100,000 people. Data in every state is current as of June 15.

In states like New York and New Jersey, which were hit the hardest by the outbreak initially, the number of daily new cases is declining. Meanwhile in other states, such as Arizona, Arkansas, and North Carolina, which had fewer total diagnosed cases per capita in the earlier period of the pandemic, the number of average daily new cases has increased substantially in the past week. Each of those states is home to counties where the virus is growing the fastest nationwide. 

Generally, the counties on this list where the virus is spreading the fastest — not just in their state but also nationwide — are in states where the virus is also spreading the fastest, and vice versa. But there are some notable exceptions, in states like Washington, Oregon, and Delaware, where the average number of daily new cases is far higher in the county compared to the state’s relatively low number of new cases per capita. These are the states with the most and fewest COVID-19 cases. 

Click here to see the counties in every state where COVID-19 is growing the fastest right now