List of counties in Maryland

Independent city and counties of Maryland
Location	State of Maryland
Number	23 counties and 1 Independent city
Populations	(Counties only): 19,303 (Kent) – 1,058,474 (Montgomery)
Areas	(Counties only): 254 square miles (660 km2) (Howard) – 983 square miles (2,550 km2) (Dorchester)
Government	County government
Subdivisions	(Counties): cities, towns, unincorporated communities, census designated place (Independent city): Neighborhoods

There are 23 counties and one independent city in the U.S. state of Maryland. Though formally an independent city rather than a county, the City of Baltimore is considered the equal of a county for most purposes and is functionally a county-equivalent in most respects. Many of the counties in Maryland were named for relatives of the Barons Baltimore, who were the proprietors of the Maryland colony from its founding in 1634 through 1771. The Barons Baltimore were Catholic, and George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, originally intended that the colony be a haven for English Catholics, though for most of its history Maryland has had a majority of Protestants.^[1]