A content addressable memory (CAM) device includes a plurality of entries each having an associated counter. When a CAM entry matches a search word stored in the comparand register of the CAM device, the matching entry's counter may be incremented. Alternatively, if there are multiple matching entries, in some instances only one matching entry has its counter incremented. The counter value can be written or read as part of either the least significant or most significant bits of the CAM entry.