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List of U.S. states and territories by population

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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

State or territoryCensus populationJuly 1, 2025 (est.)April 1, 2020Seats%CaliforniaTexasFloridaNew YorkPennsylvaniaIllinoisOhioGeorgia (U.S. state)North CarolinaMichiganNew JerseyVirginiaWashingtonArizonaTennesseeMassachusettsIndianaMissouriMarylandColoradoWisconsinMinnesotaSouth CarolinaAlabamaLouisianaKentuckyOregonOklahomaConnecticutUtahNevadaIowaPuerto RicoArkansasKansasMississippiNew MexicoIdahoNebraskaWest VirginiaHawaiiNew HampshireMaineMontanaRhode IslandDelawareSouth DakotaNorth DakotaAlaskaDistrict of ColumbiaVermontWyomingGuamU.S. Virgin IslandsAmerican SamoaNorthern Mariana Islands
39,355,30939,538,22311.95%732,189760,35011.800%10.04%
31,709,82129,145,5058.74%728,638766,9878.698%7.43%
23,462,51821,538,1876.44%717,940769,2216.428%5.58%
20,002,42720,201,2495.98%721,473776,9716.029%5.20%
13,059,43213,002,7003.91%684,353764,8653.881%3.53%
12,719,14112,812,5083.91%674,343753,6773.824%3.53%
11,900,51011,799,4483.45%694,085786,6303.521%3.16%
11,302,74810,711,9083.22%669,494765,1363.197%2.97%
11,197,96810,439,3883.22%652,462745,6713.116%2.97%
10,127,88410,077,3312.99%671,822775,1793.008%2.79%
9,548,2159,288,9942.76%663,500774,0832.772%2.60%
8,880,1078,631,3932.53%663,953784,6722.576%2.42%
8,001,0207,705,2812.30%642,107770,5282.300%2.23%
7,623,8187,151,5022.07%650,137794,6112.134%2.04%
7,315,0766,910,8402.07%628,258767,8712.062%2.04%
7,154,0847,029,9172.07%639,083781,1022.098%2.04%
6,973,3336,785,5282.07%616,866753,9482.025%2.04%
6,270,5416,154,9131.84%615,491769,3641.837%1.86%
6,265,3476,177,2241.84%617,722772,1531.844%1.86%
6,012,5615,773,7141.84%577,371721,7141.723%1.86%
5,972,7875,893,7181.84%589,372736,7151.759%1.86%
5,830,4055,706,4941.84%570,649713,3121.703%1.86%
5,570,2745,118,4251.61%568,714731,2041.528%1.67%
5,193,0885,024,2791.61%558,253717,7541.499%1.67%
4,618,1894,657,7571.38%582,220776,2931.390%1.49%
4,606,8644,505,8361.38%563,230750,9731.345%1.49%
4,273,5864,237,2561.38%529,657706,2091.265%1.49%
4,123,2883,959,3531.15%565,622791,8711.182%1.30%
3,688,4963,605,9441.15%515,135721,1891.076%1.30%
3,538,9043,271,6160.92%545,269817,9040.976%1.12%
3,282,1883,104,6140.92%517,436776,1540.927%1.12%
3,238,3873,190,3690.92%531,728797,5920.952%1.12%
3,184,8353,285,8741*———0.981%—
3,114,7913,011,5240.92%501,921752,8810.899%1.12%
2,977,2202,937,8800.92%489,647734,4700.877%1.12%
2,954,1602,961,2790.92%493,547740,3200.884%1.12%
2,125,4982,117,5220.69%423,504705,8410.632%0.93%
2,029,7331,839,1060.46%459,777919,5530.549%0.74%
2,018,0061,961,5040.69%392,301653,8350.585%0.93%
1,766,1471,793,7160.46%448,429896,8580.535%0.74%
1,432,8201,455,2710.46%363,818727,6360.434%0.74%
1,415,3421,377,5290.46%344,382688,7650.411%0.74%
1,414,8741,362,3590.46%340,590681,1800.407%0.74%
1,144,6941,084,2250.46%271,056542,1130.324%0.74%
1,114,5211,097,3790.46%274,345548,6900.328%0.74%
1,059,952989,9480.23%329,983989,9480.295%0.56%
935,094886,6670.23%295,556886,6670.265%0.56%
799,358779,0940.23%259,698779,0940.233%0.56%
737,270733,3910.23%244,464733,3910.219%0.56%
693,645689,5451*—229,848—0.206%0.56%
644,663643,0770.23%214,359643,0770.192%0.56%
588,753576,8510.23%192,284576,8510.172%0.56%
N/A153,8361*———0.046%—
N/A87,1461*———0.026%—
N/A49,7101*———0.015%—
N/A47,3291*———0.014%—
*Contiguous United States*339,614,767329,260,619432
(+1*)99.31%623,600756,92198.265%98.70%
*The 50 states*341,091,212330,759,736435100%618,242760,36798.713%99.44%
*The 50 states and D.C.*341,784,857331,449,281435
(+1*)100%616,077—98.918%100%
**Total US and territories**N/A335,073,176435
(+6*)100%——100%—
  • — non-voting member of the House of Representatives.

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

State/federal district/territory/
division/region#2020 pop.#2010 pop.#2000 pop.#2010–
2020
changeGeo.
sortState/federal district/territory/
division/region#2020 pop.#2010 pop.#2000 pop.#2010–
2020
changeGeo.
sort

Notes

References

; General

  • Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1995, U.S. Census Bureau, Section 29: Outlying Areas, Table No. 1347. Land Area and Population Characteristics, by [Outlying] Area: 1990 (page 828). Retrieved May 28, 2011 ; Specific

References

  1. "Geographic Terms and Concepts - Island Areas of the United States". U.S. Census Bureau.
  2. (December 2017). "FAQ: Does the Census Bureau collect data on the number of unauthorized migrants?". U. S. Census Bureau.
  3. (December 2017). "FAQ: Will 2010 Census apportionment population counts also include any Americans overseas". U. S Census Bureau.
  4. Wang, Hansi Lo. (2022-05-19). "These 14 states had significant miscounts in the 2020 census". NPR.
  5. Office of the Federal Register. "A Procedural Guide to the Electoral College". National Archives and Records Administration.
  6. (November 1997). "U.S. Insular Areas: Application of the U.S. Constitution". U.S. General Accounting Office.
  7. Curry, Tom. (May 28, 2008). "Nominating, but not voting for president". NBC News.
  8. "Annual and cumulative estimates of residential population change for the United States, regions, states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico".
  9. "US Census Quickfacts, Population Estimates, July 2025". United States Census Bureau.
  10. "U.S. Census Bureau Releases 2020 Undercount and Overcount Rates by State and the District of Columbia".
  11. (October 28, 2021). "2020 Island Areas Censuses: Guam, Population and Housing Unit Counts, Table 1. Population of Guam: 2010 and 2020".
  12. (October 28, 2021). "2020 Island Areas Censuses: U.S. Virgin Islands, Population and Housing Unit Counts, Table 1. Population of the United States Virgin Islands: 2010 and 2020".
  13. (October 28, 2021). "2020 Island Areas Censuses: American Samoa, Population and Housing Unit Counts, Table 1. Population of American Samoa: 2010 and 2020".
  14. (October 28, 2021). "2020 Island Areas Censuses: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Population and Housing Unit Counts, Table 1. Population of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: 2010 and 2020".
  15. "U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States".
  16. Not enumerated in 2020.
  17. Not enumerated in 2010.
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