Abbreviation for County

Co. is the usual abbreviation for county

Co. takes the first two letters of the word and adds a period. In the United States it goes after the name: Orange Co., Kent Co., Marion Co. In Ireland and Northern Ireland the order is reversed and the abbreviation comes first, as in Co. Cork. American writers should stick with the after-the-name order.

Give county a capital C inside an official name (Dallas County) and use lowercase when it is general ("the county fair").

Cnty. and Cty. on forms and in data

Some government offices and software use longer short forms to avoid any mix-up with company. You may see:

• Cnty. on property tax bills, court dockets and spreadsheets.
• Cty. in some state agency records and older maps.
• CNTY in all caps with no period in database fields and mailing systems.

All three mean county. Use whichever form a form or agency already uses, so your entry matches its records.

Places that are not called counties

Most states divide land into counties, but a few use other names. A form that asks for "county" still wants the local equivalent:

Altogether the country has more than 3,000 counties and county equivalents. Some states, such as Connecticut, also have smaller units like towns that handle many local jobs; our township abbreviation page covers another of these.

County roads and other county terms

Rural addresses and road signs use their own short forms built on county:

• CR or Co. Rd. for county road, as in "CR 410" on a green sign.
• Co. Hwy. for county highway in some Midwest states. See also the highway abbreviation.
• Co. Clerk for the county clerk's office on legal notices.

For mail, follow the postal format: the street line holds the road, and the county is usually not needed at all, since the ZIP code covers it.

County vs company: keep them apart

Co. is also the standard short form for company, as in "Smith & Co." The position usually tells you which word is meant. After a place name ("Erie Co."), it is a county. After a person's name or with an ampersand ("Ward & Co."), it is a company.

When the meaning could be unclear, write the full word. That rule also applies to headlines and the first mention in an article. Place words, job titles and units are gathered in the common abbreviations hub or read how to abbreviate.

Quick rules for writing county

1. In running text, spell it out: "She works for Wayne County."
2. In tables, labels and tight forms, use Co.
3. Use Cos. for more than one county.
4. Match the form your agency uses, such as Cnty. on a tax bill.
5. Do not abbreviate county in a formal letter's body or a legal name.