Election day, 2026

The freest counties of 2026

Elections pick who governs. Where you live decides how much of it you feel. We scored all 3,144 US counties on eleven factors: economic freedom, gun rights, sales and property taxes, how the county votes, air quality, flood risk, homicide, life expectancy, how many people work for local government, and how many children grow up with one parent. These are the counties that came out on top.

The 25 freest counties

  1. 1BeaverheadMontana
  2. 2MadisonMontana
  3. 3HaakonSouth Dakota
  4. 4CarterMontana
  5. 5DenaliAlaska
  6. 6GlasscockTexas
  7. 7GarfieldMontana
  8. 8PowellMontana
  9. 9FallonMontana
  10. 10BroadwaterMontana
  11. 11PhillipsMontana
  12. 12DeuelSouth Dakota
  13. 13Sweet GrassMontana
  14. 14CampbellSouth Dakota
  15. 15HardingSouth Dakota
  16. 16RavalliMontana
  17. 17LoganNebraska
  18. 18McConeMontana
  19. 19SheridanMontana
  20. 20Jeff DavisTexas
  21. 21WibauxMontana
  22. 22GraniteMontana
  23. 23CamasIdaho
  24. 24KidderNorth Dakota
  25. 25Powder RiverMontana

The freest county in every state

StateCountyNational rank
AlabamaElmore#401
AlaskaDenali#5
ArizonaGreenlee#650
ArkansasSearcy#225
CaliforniaMono#2,496
ColoradoCheyenne#344
ConnecticutWestern Connecticut Planning Region#2,603
DelawareSussex#2,252
District of ColumbiaDistrict of Columbia#3,140
FloridaSt. Johns#612
GeorgiaUnion#195
HawaiiKalawao#1,807
IdahoCamas#23
IllinoisBrown#2,222
IndianaLaGrange#234
IowaSioux#200
KansasGrant#133
KentuckyOwen#333
LouisianaCameron#293
MainePiscataquis#1,462
MarylandGarrett#2,307
MassachusettsNantucket#2,268
MichiganLuce#1,109
MinnesotaRock#1,103
MississippiPrentiss#919
MissouriScotland#120
MontanaBeaverhead#1
NebraskaLogan#17
NevadaStorey#1,281
New HampshireCarroll#198
New JerseyOcean#2,735
New MexicoHarding#1,710
New YorkLewis#2,815
North CarolinaClay#189
North DakotaKidder#24
OhioHolmes#420
OklahomaAlfalfa#165
OregonGrant#577
PennsylvaniaJuniata#581
Rhode IslandNewport#2,499
South CarolinaPickens#1,013
South DakotaHaakon#3
TennesseeMoore#138
TexasGlasscock#6
UtahPiute#32
VermontAddison#2,455
VirginiaBland#336
WashingtonGarfield#1,728
West VirginiaRitchie#497
WisconsinBuffalo#437
WyomingCrook#48

Find yours

Every county has its own page with the eleven scores and a plain-language description.Find your county, weigh the factors your own way, or readhow the ranking works. v4 — beta, 30 October 2026, sourced values.