The U.S. has reported more than 32.0 million confirmed COVID-19 cases as of May 4, 2021. More than 570,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 — the highest death toll of any country.

The virus has spread throughout the country in a way that has been difficult to predict, surging in one region, then showing signs of improvement, and then reappearing in other regions. Though local outbreaks may ebb and flow, the current surge in cases has been felt nearly nationwide, leading to new travel restrictions and business closures around the country.

Nationwide, there were an average of 15.6 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 Americans in the week ending May 4, 2021. Cumulatively, the U.S. has reported 9,806.5 cases per 100,000 Americans, and 174.8 deaths per 100,000 Americans.

The extent of the spread of the novel coronavirus continues to vary considerably from state to state, and even from county to county. Even as the number of daily new cases is flattening or even declining in some parts of the country, new cases are surging at a growing rate in others.

The coronavirus has spread to different parts of the country in different stages throughout the pandemic. In the spring, the worst hit states were in the Northeast, as New York City became the epicenter of the nation’s crisis. The virus spread to states throughout the Sun Belt in the summer, and hit states in the Midwest and West during the fall. By November 2020, nearly every state was categorized as a COVID-19 hot spot, according to definitions based on new cases per capita from the nonprofit health organization Kaiser Family Foundation.

In Washington, there were an average of 18.4 daily new coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents in the week ending May 4, 2021. The Washington case growth rate ranks as the 17th highest of all 50 states.

While the nation’s largest counties were hit hardest in the early months of the pandemic, nearly every county has suffered from the coronavirus. Outbreaks can occur quickly in places where large numbers of people tend to congregate, leaving counties with colleges, correctional facilities, and nursing homes particularly at risk.

In Ferry County, there were an average of 66.5 new confirmed cases per day per 100,000 residents in the week ending May 4, 2021 — the highest rate of any county in Washington. Since the pandemic began, the county has reported 325 confirmed cases, or 4,289.9 cases per 100,000.

There have been 4 deaths, or 52.8 deaths per 100,000 residents.

To determine the county in each state with the highest rate of daily cases of the virus, 24/7 Wall St. compiled and reviewed data from state and local health departments. We ranked counties according to the average new number of cases per 100,000 residents per day during the week ending May 4, 2021. Population data used to adjust case and death totals came from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2018 American Community Survey and are five-year estimates.

These are all the counties in Washington where COVID-19 is slowing (and where it’s still getting worse).

No.	County	Population	New daily cases per 100,000	Total cases	Total deaths	Cases per 100,000	Deaths per 100,000
1	Ferry County	7,576	66.5	325	4	4,289.9	52.8
2	Lincoln County	10,435	46.2	471	8	4,513.7	76.7
3	Pierce County	859,840	29.2	49,296	649	5,733.2	75.5
4	Franklin County	90,660	26.8	12,207	110	13,464.6	121.3
5	Stevens County	44,214	24.1	2,061	28	4,661.4	63.3
6	Grant County	94,860	22.4	8,627	71	9,094.5	74.8
7	Skagit County	123,907	21.4	5,409	67	4,365.4	54.1
8	Clark County	465,384	21.0	22,635	260	4,863.7	55.9
9	Kittitas County	44,825	20.7	2,809	33	6,266.6	73.6
10	Cowlitz County	105,112	20.5	5,670	85	5,394.2	80.9
11	Spokane County	497,875	20.1	41,485	625	8,332.4	125.5
12	Yakima County	249,325	18.9	29,505	446	11,834.0	178.9
13	King County	2,163,257	18.7	102,349	1,515	4,731.2	70.0
14	Whitman County	48,593	17.4	4,155	48	8,550.6	98.8
15	Benton County	194,168	17.4	16,666	216	8,583.3	111.2
16	Snohomish County	786,620	17.2	36,094	567	4,588.5	72.1
17	Thurston County	274,684	17.0	8,975	94	3,267.4	34.2
18	Whatcom County	216,812	16.7	8,454	91	3,899.2	42.0
19	Kitsap County	262,475	16.6	7,627	105	2,905.8	40.0
20	Lewis County	76,947	16.4	4,336	64	5,635.0	83.2
21	Pend Oreille County	13,219	16.4	723	7	5,469.4	53.0
22	Asotin County	22,337	15.6	1,407	29	6,299.0	129.8
23	Skamania County	11,620	15.5	308	1	2,650.6	8.6
24	Adams County	19,452	15.1	2,092	22	10,754.7	113.1
25	Douglas County	41,371	14.8	3,543	22	8,564.0	53.2
26	Walla Walla County	60,236	13.9	5,000	64	8,300.7	106.2
27	Grays Harbor County	71,967	13.7	3,807	62	5,289.9	86.2
28	Okanogan County	41,638	12.8	2,445	38	5,872.0	91.3
29	Mason County	62,627	12.3	2,649	29	4,229.8	46.3
30	Chelan County	75,757	11.9	6,625	66	8,745.1	87.1
31	Pacific County	21,281	10.5	897	10	4,215.0	47.0
32	Island County	81,636	10.4	1,658	30	2,031.0	36.7
33	Clallam County	74,487	6.4	1,211	8	1,625.8	10.7
34	Klickitat County	21,396	5.2	716	9	3,346.4	42.1
35	Jefferson County	30,856	4.2	395	3	1,280.1	9.7
36	Columbia County	4,001	3.6	119	5	2,974.3	125.0
37	San Juan County	16,473	3.5	171	0	1,038.1	0.0
38	Garfield County	2,224	1.8	121	5	5,440.6	224.8
39	Wahkiakum County	4,189	1.0	108	0	2,578.2	0.0

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