| Dates | 2 May – 7 September 1979 |
|---|---|
| Administrator | England and Wales Cricket Board |
| Cricket format | First-class cricket |
| Tournament format | League system |
| Champions | Essex (1st title) |
| Participants | 17 |
| Matches | 177 |
| Most runs | Glenn Turner, (Worcestershire) 1,669 |
| Most wickets | Derek Underwood, (Kent) 104 |
The 1979 Schweppes County Championship was the 80th officially organised running of the County Championship. Essex won their first Championship title.
Ten matches were abandoned without a ball being bowled and are not included in the table. The number of points awarded for a tie was increased from 5 to 6 points and the number of points awarded to a team batting last in a drawn match with the scores level also increased from 5 to 6 points. The Championship was sponsored by Schweppes for the second time.
| Team | P | W | L | D | Bat | Bowl | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Essex | 21 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 56 | 69 | 281 |
| 2 | Worcestershire | 21 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 58 | 62 | 204 |
| 3 | Surrey | 21 | 6 | 3 | 12 | 50 | 70 | 192 |
| 4 | Sussex | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 47 | 65 | 184 |
| 5 | Kent | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 49 | 60 | 181 |
| 6 | Leicestershire | 21 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 60 | 68 | 176 |
| 7 | Yorkshire | 21 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 52 | 63 | 175 |
| 8 | Somerset | 21 | 5 | 1 | 15 | 56 | 53 | 171 |
| 9 | Nottinghamshire | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 43 | 54 | 169 |
| 10 | Gloucestershire | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 53 | 54 | 167 |
| 11 | Northamptonshire | 21 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 59 | 58 | 153 |
| 12 | Hampshire | 21 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 39 | 66 | 141 |
| 13 | Lancashire | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 | 37 | 55 | 140 |
| 14 | Middlesex | 20 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 44 | 60 | 140 |
| 15 | Warwickshire | 21 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 46 | 51 | 133 |
| 16 | Derbyshire | 21 | 1 | 6 | 14 | 46 | 60 | 118 |
| 17 | Glamorgan | 21 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 35 | 58 | 93 |