List of counties in Massachusetts
| Counties of Massachusetts | |
|---|---|
| Location | Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
| Number | 14 |
| Populations | 14,670 (Nantucket) – 1,668,956 (Middlesex) |
| Areas | 48 square miles (120 km2) (Nantucket) – 1,513 square miles (3,920 km2) (Worcester) |
| Government | |
| Subdivisions |
|
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has 14 counties, though eight of these fourteen county governments were abolished between 1997 and 2000. The counties in the southeastern portion of the state retain county-level local government (Barnstable, Bristol, Dukes, Norfolk, Plymouth) or, in one case, (Nantucket County) consolidated city-county government. Vestigial judicial and law enforcement districts still follow county boundaries even in the counties whose county-level government has been disestablished, and the counties are still generally recognized as geographic entities if not political ones. Three counties (Hampshire, Barnstable, and Franklin) have formed new county regional compacts to serve as a form of regional governance.