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inis turns out to be b,o»4 people. Is that a good minimum?
What do other states do? Surprisingly, 21 states have constitutions or state laws that specify in some detail what it takes to form a new county.
Ten states have settled on a minimum of about 400 square miles for a county.
Alabama and Arkansas stipulate that 600 square miles are needed, while Texas holds out for 700 square miles. On the low end, Arizona requires only 100 square miles of private land.
Minimum populations vary all over the place, from only 700 qualified voters in Tennessee to 15,000 people in Oklahoma.
Of 11 states with laws on population minimums for a new county to be formed, the average comes out to be about 6,000 people.
There are also a few legal oddities. Six states require that any new county line resulting from territory taken from an old county must be a certain distance, seven to twelve miles, from the county courthouse of the old county. This may be a throwback to an era when court sessions meant market days and accompanying socializing,
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