List of U.S. states and territories by population

The states and territories included in the United States Census Bureau's statistics for the United States population, ethnicity, and most other categories include the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Separate statistics are maintained for the five permanently inhabited territories of the United States: Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

As of April 1, 2020, the date of the 2020 United States census, the nine most populous U.S. states contain slightly more than half of the total population. The 25 least populous states contain less than one-sixth of the total population. California, the most populous state, contains more people than the 21 least populous states combined, and Wyoming, the least populous state, has a population less than any of the 31 most populous U.S. cities.

Method

The United States Census counts the persons residing in the United States including citizens, non-citizen permanent residents and non-citizen long-term visitors. Civilian and military federal employees serving abroad and their dependents are counted in their home state.

Electoral apportionment

Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau is charged with making an actual count of all residents by state and territory. The accuracy of this count is then tested after the fact, and sometimes statistically significant undercounts or overcounts occur. For example, for the 2020 decennial census, 14 states had significant miscounts ranging from 1.5% to 6.6%. While these adjustments may be reflected in government programs over the following decade, the 10-year representative apportionments discussed below are not changed to reflect the miscount.

House of Representatives

Based on this decennial census, each state is allocated a portion of the 435 fixed seats in the United States House of Representatives (until the early 20th century, the apportionment process generally increased the size of the House based on the results of the census until the size of the House was capped by the Reapportionment Act of 1929), with each state guaranteed at least one Representative. The allocation is based on each state's proportion of the combined population of the fifty states (not including the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands).

Electoral College

The Electoral College, every four years, elects the President and Vice President of the United States based on the popular vote in each state and the District of Columbia. Each state's number of votes in the Electoral College is equal to its number of members in the Senate plus members in the House of Representatives.

The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution additionally grants the District of Columbia (D.C.), which is not a state, as many Electoral College votes as it would have if it were a state, while having no more votes than the least populous state (Wyoming). Since the U.S. Constitution guarantees every state at least one member of the U.S. House of Representatives and two members of the U.S. Senate, every state has at least three Electoral College votes. Thus, the Electoral College has 538 members (100 senators, plus 435 representatives due to the limit imposed by the Reapportionment Act of 1929, plus 3 members for the District of Columbia). Territories of the United States are not included in the Electoral College: people in those territories cannot vote directly for the President of the United States, although they may participate in the partisan nominating primaries and caucuses.

State and territory rankings

U.S. states and territories by population
State or territory Census population Largest cities
Pop. per
elec. vote
(2020)
Pop. per
seat
(2020)
% US
(2020)
% EC
(2020)
July 1, 2024 (est.) April 1, 2020 City Name City Population Seats %
California 39,431,263 39,538,223 Los Angeles 3,871,526 52 11.95% 732,189 760,350 11.800% 10.04%
Texas 31,290,831 29,145,505 Houston 2,126,482 38 8.74% 728,638 766,987 8.698% 7.43%
Florida 23,372,215 21,538,187 Jacksonville 1,001,580 28 6.44% 717,940 769,221 6.428% 5.58%
New York 19,867,248 20,201,249 New York City 8,478,072 26 5.98% 721,473 776,971 6.029% 5.20%
Pennsylvania 13,078,751 13,002,700 Philadelphia 1,628,422 17 3.91% 684,353 764,865 3.881% 3.53%
Illinois 12,710,158 12,812,508 Chicago 2,541,738 17 3.91% 674,343 753,677 3.824% 3.53%
Ohio 11,883,304 11,799,448 Columbus 842,711 15 3.45% 694,085 786,630 3.521% 3.16%
Georgia 11,180,878 10,711,908 Atlanta 547,360 14 3.22% 669,494 765,136 3.197% 2.97%
North Carolina 11,046,024 10,439,388 Charlotte 854,615 14 3.22% 652,462 745,671 3.116% 2.97%
Michigan 10,140,459 10,077,331 Detroit 641,821 13 2.99% 671,822 775,179 3.008% 2.79%
New Jersey 9,500,851 9,288,994 Newark 311,751 12 2.76% 663,500 774,083 2.772% 2.60%
Virginia 8,868,896 8,631,393 Virginia Beach 445,739 11 2.53% 663,953 784,672 2.576% 2.42%
Washington 7,958,180 7,705,281 Seattle 758,428 10 2.30% 642,107 770,528 2.300% 2.23%
Arizona 7,582,384 7,151,502 Phoenix 1,735,358 9 2.07% 650,137 794,611 2.134% 2.04%
Tennessee 7,227,750 6,910,840 Nashville 731,518 9 2.07% 628,258 767,871 2.062% 2.04%
Massachusetts 7,136,171 7,029,917 Boston 665,715 9 2.07% 639,083 781,102 2.098% 2.04%
Indiana 6,924,275 6,785,528 Indianapolis 835,271 9 2.07% 616,866 753,948 2.025% 2.04%
Maryland 6,263,220 6,177,224 Baltimore 638,726 8 1.84% 617,722 772,153 1.844% 1.86%
Missouri 6,245,466 6,154,913 Kansas City 532,751 8 1.84% 615,491 769,364 1.837% 1.86%
Wisconsin 5,960,975 5,893,718 Milwaukee 588,155 8 1.84% 589,372 736,715 1.759% 1.86%
Colorado 5,957,493 5,773,714 Denver 744,518 8 1.84% 577,371 721,714 1.723% 1.86%
Minnesota 5,793,151 5,706,494 Minneapolis 425,760 8 1.84% 570,649 713,312 1.703% 1.86%
South Carolina 5,478,831 5,118,425 Columbia 183,715 7 1.61% 568,714 731,204 1.528% 1.67%
Alabama 5,157,699 5,024,279 Huntsville 208,389 7 1.61% 558,253 717,754 1.499% 1.67%
Louisiana 4,597,740 4,657,757 New Orleans 362,710 6 1.38% 582,220 776,293 1.390% 1.49%
Kentucky 4,588,372 4,505,836 Louisville 653,218 6 1.38% 563,230 750,973 1.345% 1.49%
Oregon 4,272,371 4,237,256 Portland 647,288 6 1.38% 529,657 706,209 1.265% 1.49%
Oklahoma 4,095,393 3,959,353 Oklahoma City 738,249 5 1.15% 565,622 791,871 1.182% 1.30%
Connecticut 3,675,069 3,605,944 Bridgeport 118,626 5 1.15% 515,135 721,189 1.076% 1.30%
Utah 3,503,613 3,271,616 Salt Lake City 214,524 4 0.92% 545,269 817,904 0.976% 1.12%
Nevada 3,267,467 3,104,614 Las Vegas 678,922 4 0.92% 517,436 776,154 0.927% 1.12%
Iowa 3,241,488 3,190,369 Des Moines 144,014 4 0.92% 531,728 797,592 0.952% 1.12%
Puerto Rico 3,203,295 3,285,874 San Juan 2,217,592 1* 0.981%
Arkansas 3,088,354 3,011,524 Little Rock 199,527 4 0.92% 501,921 752,881 0.899% 1.12%
Kansas 2,970,606 2,937,880 Wichita 387,415 4 0.92% 489,647 734,470 0.877% 1.12%
Mississippi 2,943,045 2,961,279 Jackson 153,273 4 0.92% 493,547 740,320 0.884% 1.12%
New Mexico 2,130,256 2,117,522 Albuquerque 623,846 3 0.69% 423,504 705,841 0.632% 0.93%
Nebraska 2,005,465 1,961,504 Omaha 493,625 3 0.69% 392,301 653,835 0.585% 0.93%
Idaho 2,001,619 1,839,106 Boise 271,524 2 0.46% 459,777 919,553 0.549% 0.74%
West Virginia 1,712,278 1,793,716 Charleston 65,317 2 0.46% 448,429 896,858 0.535% 0.74%
Hawaii 1,446,146 1,455,271 Honolulu 353,217 2 0.46% 363,818 727,636 0.434% 0.74%
New Hampshire 1,409,032 1,377,529 Manchester 115,644 2 0.46% 344,382 688,765 0.411% 0.74%
Maine 1,405,012 1,362,359 Portland 125,683 2 0.46% 340,590 681,180 0.407% 0.74%
Montana 1,137,233 1,084,225 Billings 112,651 2 0.46% 271,056 542,113 0.324% 0.74%
Rhode Island 1,112,308 1,097,379 Providence 88,471 2 0.46% 274,345 548,690 0.328% 0.74%
Delaware 1,051,917 989,948 Wilmington 104,888 1 0.23% 329,983 989,948 0.295% 0.56%
South Dakota 924,669 886,667 Sioux Falls 203,817 1 0.23% 295,556 886,667 0.265% 0.56%
North Dakota 796,568 779,094 Fargo 174,722 1 0.23% 259,698 779,094 0.233% 0.56%
Alaska 740,133 733,391 Anchorage 251,663 1 0.23% 244,464 733,391 0.219% 0.56%
District of Columbia 702,250 689,545 Washington D.C. 653,178 1* 229,848 0.206% 0.56%
Vermont 648,493 643,077 Burlington 41,268 1 0.23% 214,359 643,077 0.192% 0.56%
Wyoming 587,618 576,851 Cheyenne 61,392 1 0.23% 192,284 576,851 0.172% 0.56%
Guam N/A 153,836 unnamed 1* 0.046%
U.S. Virgin Islands N/A 87,146 unnamed 1* 0.026%
American Samoa N/A 49,710 unnamed 1* 0.015%
Northern Mariana Islands N/A 47,329 unnamed 1* 0.014%
Contiguous United States 337,924,709 329,260,619 unnamed 432
(+1*)
99.31% 623,600 756,921 98.265% 98.70%
The 50 states 339,408,738 330,759,736 unnamed 435 100% 618,242 760,367 98.713% 99.44%
The 50 states and D.C. 340,110,988 331,449,281 unnamed 435
(+1*)
100% 616,077 98.918% 100%
Total US and territories N/A 335,073,176 unnamed 435
(+6*)
100% 100%

* — non-voting member of the House of Representatives.

  1. Resident population only; does not include overseas population. In 2022, the Census Bureau announced the following undercounts (missed residents) in the 2020 census: Arkansas (−5.04%), Florida (−3.48%), Illinois (−1.97%), Mississippi (−4.11%), Tennessee (−4.78%) and Texas (−1.92%). These were the overcounts: Delaware (+5.45%), Hawaii (+6.79%), Massachusetts (+2.24%), Minnesota (+3.84%), New York (+3.44%), Ohio (+1.49%), Rhode Island (+5.05%) and Utah (+2.59%).
  2. Effective from 2022 onward.
  3. Effective from the 2022 elections onward. Each state has a number of votes in the Electoral College equal to its number of senators (two) and representatives in the Congress, while D.C. is granted three electoral votes. The Electoral College is used to elect the President and Vice President of the United States.

Summary of population by region

Legend
Division totals – 9 divisions for 50 states and District of Columbia
Region totals – 4 regions (2 or 3 divisions each)
Individual territories
Total U.S. territories
50 states + District of Columbia
Divisions & regions as defined by U.S. Census Bureau
Last col. shows larger region which contains entity in col. 1

Column header abbreviations: # = Rank, Geo. = Geographic

Population of states, territories, divisions and region
State/federal district/territory/
division/region
# 2020 pop. # 2010 pop. # 2000 pop. # 2010–
2020
change
Geo.
sort
Massachusetts 15 7,029,917 14 6,547,629 13 6,349,097 21 7.4% NEng
Connecticut 29 3,605,944 29 3,574,097 29 3,405,565 47 0.9% NEng
New Hampshire 41 1,377,529 42 1,316,470 41 1,235,786 30 4.6% NEng
Maine 42 1,362,359 41 1,328,361 40 1,274,923 42 2.6% NEng
Rhode Island 43 1,097,379 43 1,052,567 43 1,048,319 31 4.3% NEng
Vermont 49 643,077 49 625,741 49 608,827 40 2.8% NEng
       New England 9 15,116,205 9 14,444,865 9 13,922,517 7 4.6% NEast
New York 4 20,201,249 3 19,378,102 3 18,976,457 32 4.2% MAtl
Pennsylvania 5 13,002,700 6 12,702,379 6 12,281,054 43 2.4% MAtl
New Jersey 11 9,288,994 11 8,791,894 9 8,414,350 25 5.7% MAtl
       Mid-Atlantic 4 42,492,943 4 40,872,375 4 39,671,861 8 4.0% NEast
       Northeast 4 57,609,148 4 55,317,240 4 53,594,378 3 4.1% USA
Florida 3 21,538,187 4 18,801,310 4 15,982,378 8 14.6% SAtl
Georgia 8 10,711,908 9 9,687,653 10 8,186,453 12 10.6% SAtl
North Carolina 9 10,439,388 10 9,535,483 11 8,049,313 15 9.5% SAtl
Virginia 12 8,631,393 12 8,001,024 12 7,078,515 18 7.9% SAtl
Maryland 18 6,177,224 19 5,773,552 19 5,296,486 22 7.0% SAtl
South Carolina 23 5,118,425 24 4,625,364 26 4,012,012 10 10.7% SAtl
West Virginia 39 1,793,716 37 1,852,994 37 1,808,344 50 −3.2% SAtl
Delaware 45 989,948 45 897,934 45 783,600 13 10.2% SAtl
District of Columbia 689,545 601,723 572,059 14.6% SAtl
       South Atlantic 1 66,089,734 1 59,777,037 1 51,769,160 3 10.6% South
Tennessee 16 6,910,840 17 6,346,105 16 5,689,283 17 8.9% ESC
Alabama 24 5,024,279 23 4,779,736 23 4,447,100 27 5.1% ESC
Kentucky 26 4,505,836 26 4,339,367 25 4,041,769 33 3.8% ESC
Mississippi 34 2,961,279 31 2,967,297 31 2,844,658 49 −0.2% ESC
       East South Central 8 19,402,234 8 18,432,505 8 17,022,810 6 5.3% South
Texas 2 29,145,505 2 25,145,561 2 20,851,820 3 15.9% WSC
Louisiana 25 4,657,757 25 4,533,372 22 4,468,976 41 2.7% WSC
Oklahoma 28 3,959,353 28 3,751,351 27 3,450,654 26 5.5% WSC
Arkansas 33 3,011,524 32 2,915,918 33 2,673,400 35 3.3% WSC
       West South Central 5 40,774,139 5 36,346,202 5 31,444,850 2 12.2% South
       South 1 126,266,107 1 114,555,744 1 100,236,820 1 10.2% USA
Illinois 6 12,812,508 5 12,830,632 5 12,419,293 48 −0.1% ENC
Ohio 7 11,799,448 7 11,536,504 7 11,353,140 45 2.3% ENC
Michigan 10 10,077,331 8 9,883,640 8 9,938,444 46 2.0% ENC
Indiana 17 6,785,528 15 6,483,802 14 6,080,485 29 4.7% ENC
Wisconsin 20 5,893,718 20 5,686,986 18 5,363,675 34 3.6% ENC
       East North Central 3 47,368,533 3 46,421,564 2 45,155,037 9 2.0% MWest
Missouri 19 6,154,913 18 5,988,927 17 5,595,211 39 2.8% WNC
Minnesota 22 5,706,494 21 5,303,925 21 4,919,479 19 7.6% WNC
Iowa 31 3,190,369 30 3,046,355 30 2,926,324 28 4.7% WNC
Kansas 35 2,937,880 33 2,853,118 32 2,688,418 37 3.0% WNC
Nebraska 37 1,961,504 38 1,826,341 38 1,711,263 20 7.4% WNC
South Dakota 46 886,667 46 814,180 46 754,844 16 8.9% WNC
North Dakota 47 779,094 48 672,591 47 642,200 4 15.8% WNC
       West North Central 7 21,616,921 7 20,505,437 6 19,237,739 5 5.4% MWest
       Midwest 3 68,985,454 3 66,927,001 2 64,392,776 4 3.1% USA
Arizona 14 7,151,502 16 6,392,017 20 5,130,632 9 11.9% Mtn
Colorado 21 5,773,714 22 5,029,196 24 4,301,261 6 14.8% Mtn
Utah 30 3,271,616 34 2,763,885 34 2,233,169 1 18.4% Mtn
Nevada 32 3,104,614 35 2,700,551 35 1,998,257 5 15.0% Mtn
New Mexico 36 2,117,522 36 2,059,179 36 1,819,046 38 2.8% Mtn
Idaho 38 1,839,106 39 1,567,582 39 1,293,953 2 17.3% Mtn
Montana 44 1,084,225 44 989,415 44 902,195 14 9.6% Mtn
Wyoming 50 576,851 50 563,626 50 493,782 44 2.3% Mtn
       Mountain 6 24,919,150 6 22,065,451 7 18,172,295 1 12.9% West
California 1 39,538,223 1 37,253,956 1 33,871,648 24 6.1% Pac
Washington 13 7,705,281 13 6,724,540 15 5,894,121 7 14.6% Pac
Oregon 27 4,237,256 27 3,831,074 28 3,421,399 11 10.6% Pac
Hawaii 40 1,455,271 40 1,360,301 42 1,211,537 23 7.0% Pac
Alaska 48 733,391 47 710,231 48 626,932 36 3.3% Pac
       Pacific 2 53,669,422 2 49,880,102 3 45,025,637 4 7.6% West
       West 2 78,588,572 2 71,945,553 3 63,197,932 2 9.2% USA
50 states and District of Columbia 331,449,281 308,745,538 281,421,906 7.4% NAmer
Puerto Rico 1 3,285,874 1 3,725,789 1 3,808,610 3 −11.8% I.A.
Guam 2 153,836 2 159,358 2 154,805 1 −3.5% I.A.
U.S. Virgin Islands 3 87,146 3 106,405 3 108,612 2 −18.1% I.A.
American Samoa 4 49,710 4 55,519 5 57,291 4 −7.7% I.A.
Northern Mariana Islands 5 47,329 5 53,883 4 69,221 5 −14.8% I.A.
U.S. Minor Outlying Islands 6 6 6 316 6 I.A.
       Island Areas (Territories) 3,623,895 4,100,954 4,198,855 −11.6% USA
State/federal district/territory/
division/region
# 2020 pop. # 2010 pop. # 2000 pop. # 2010–
2020
change
Geo.
sort

See also

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