The spread and intensity of COVID-19 in the U.S. population is measured in several ways. Among them are raw counts of cases and deaths. Another is cases and deaths per 100,000. Then are so-called hotspots, which measure the daily increase in confirmed cases using the most recent seven-day average per 100,000 people, compared to the previous seven days. Usually, these figures are reported at the county level.

Across the 50 states, the county in each that is the worst hotspot varies substantially by population, as well as the rate of growth. The largest is Honolulu County, Hawaii, which has a population of 987,638. It is followed by Fairfield County, Connecticut, with a population of 944,348. Third in population, Prince George’s County, Virginia, has a population of 906,202.

At the far end of the population scale, Issaquena County, Mississippi, has a population of 1,328. Statisticians might argue that its numbers are too small to be included. There are several other very small counties by population. Eddy County, North Dakota, has only 2,313 residents. Menominee County, Wisconsin, has only 4,579.

Suffice it to say that hotspot counties have no direct relationship to population.

The core measurement of new cases per day based on the seven-day average also varies widely when chosen by the worst county in each state.

The worst county in the nation by far is Crowley County, Colorado, with a figure of 648.86. It is followed by Lee County, Kentucky, at 422.31.

At the far end of the spectrum of worst hotspot counties by state, Honolulu County’s figure is 7.93. But Hawaii has only five counties, so there is not much competition for the position. The next lowest is Franklin County, Washington, at 19.90.

Measurements and measurement methods have started to blur into one another as the spread of COVID-19 quickens at an astonishing pace, which will only accelerate into December. The United States has 13,617,362 confirmed cases, and the figure has started to rise by almost 200,000 a day. Deaths stand at 271,296, up daily by as much as 2,000 in recent days. Experts worry that the number could double in the coming weeks. It is very hard to make an argument against that.

These are the COVID-19 hotspot counties by state:

State	County	Population	Cases per 100k	New Cases per Day
Alabama	Franklin County	31,542	8,059.10	50.53
Alaska	Bethel Census Area	18,040	8,442.35	230.44
Arizona	Yuma County	207,829	8,598.90	91.88
Arkansas	Lincoln County	13,695	17,991.97	84.34
California	Imperial County	180,216	8,888.78	91.13
Colorado	Crowley County	5,630	17,957.37	648.86
Connecticut	Fairfield County	944,348	3,925.57	53.35
Delaware	Sussex County	219,540	4,726.70	44.43
Florida	Lafayette County	8,744	15,118.94	28.71
Georgia	Chattahoochee County	10,767	18,333.80	51.93
Hawaii	Honolulu County	987,638	1,545.51	7.93
Idaho	Madison County	38,705	10,722.13	146.95
Illinois	Clinton County	37,628	8,791.33	148.17
Indiana	Elkhart County	203,604	8,813.68	133.83
Iowa	Buena Vista County	20,260	15,044.42	117.15
Kansas	Norton County	5,486	18,939.12	108.25
Kentucky	Lee County	6,751	13,672.05	422.31
Louisiana	East Feliciana Parish	19,499	10,877.48	50.66
Maine	Androscoggin County	107,444	1,391.42	21.52
Maryland	Prince George’s County	906,202	4,531.77	38.68
Massachusetts	Suffolk County	791,766	4,652.38	35.06
Michigan	Delta County	36,190	6,733.90	69.59
Minnesota	Nobles County	21,839	14,135.26	92.61
Mississippi	Issaquena County	1,328	8,810.24	58.40
Missouri	Sullivan County	6,317	8,928.29	81.74
Montana	Big Horn County	13,376	13,292.46	57.37
Nebraska	Dakota County	20,317	15,445.19	103.76
Nevada	Washoe County	450,486	5,430.36	109.78
New Hampshire	Hillsborough County	411,087	2,050.42	33.74
New Jersey	Passaic County	504,041	5,921.94	73.96
New Mexico	McKinley County	72,849	9,667.94	196.91
New York	Rockland County	323,686	6,642.86	37.02
North Carolina	Sampson County	63,561	5,780.27	52.18
North Dakota	Eddy County	2,313	15,564.20	157.94
Ohio	Marion County	65,344	7,627.33	106.56
Oklahoma	Texas County	21,121	11,263.67	111.80
Oregon	Malheur County	30,431	7,817.69	52.98
Pennsylvania	Centre County	161,443	3,937.61	56.73
Rhode Island	Providence County	634,533	5,670.31	95.68
South Carolina	Newberry County	38,068	5,534.83	29.16
South Dakota	Bon Homme County	6,969	19,529.34	147.30
Tennessee	Trousdale County	9,573	19,931.06	28.99
Texas	Hale County	34,113	11,878.17	166.67
Utah	Utah County	590,440	8,215.74	111.39
Vermont	Washington County	58,477	1,099.58	34.31
Virginia	Galax city	6,638	8,556.79	72.25
Washington	Franklin County	90,660	6,411.87	19.90
West Virginia	Mineral County	27,278	4,600.78	176.56
Wisconsin	Menominee County	4,579	12,142.39	82.90
Wyoming	Albany County	38,102	7,763.37	83.56

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