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.[1]

Resident population of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in 2022 according to the U.S. Census Bureau[needs update]
Average annual population growth rate in each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico between 2020 and 2022 according to the U.S. Census Bureau[needs update]

As of April 1, 2010, the date of the 2010 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.[2] Civilian and military federal employees serving abroad and their dependents are counted in their home state.[3]

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.[4]

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 United States 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.[5]

The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution additionally grants the District of Columbia (D.C.), which is not part of any 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 (currently, 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).[5] Territories of the United States such as Puerto Rico are not included in the Electoral College: people in those territories cannot vote directly for the President of the United States,[6] although they may participate in the partisan nominating primaries and caucuses.[7]

State and territory rankings

State or territoryCensus population[8][a]Change,
2010–2020[8][a]
Pop.
per
elec. vote
(2020)[c]
Pop.
per
seat
(2020)
[a]
% US
(2020)
% EC
(2020)
July 1, 2023 (est.)April 1, 2020%Abs.Seats%
 California38,965,19339,538,2236.13%2,284,2675211.95%732,189760,35011.800%10.04%
 Texas30,503,30129,145,50515.91%3,999,944388.74%728,638766,9878.698%7.43%
 Florida22,610,72621,538,18714.56%2,736,877286.44%717,940769,2216.428%5.58%
 New York19,571,21620,201,2494.25%823,147265.98%721,473776,9716.029%5.20%
 Pennsylvania12,961,68313,002,7002.36%300,321173.91%684,353764,8653.881%3.53%
 Illinois12,549,68912,812,508−0.14%−18,124173.91%674,343753,6773.824%3.53%
 Ohio11,785,93511,799,4482.28%262,944153.45%694,085786,6303.521%3.16%
 Georgia11,029,22710,711,90810.57%1,024,255143.22%669,494765,1363.197%2.97%
 North Carolina10,835,49110,439,3889.48%903,905143.22%652,462745,6713.116%2.97%
 Michigan10,037,26110,077,3311.96%193,691132.99%671,822775,1793.008%2.79%
 New Jersey9,290,8419,288,9945.65%497,100122.76%663,500774,0832.772%2.60%
 Virginia8,715,6988,631,3937.88%630,369112.53%663,953784,6722.576%2.42%
 Washington7,812,8807,705,28114.58%980,741102.30%642,107770,5282.300%2.23%
 Arizona7,431,3447,151,50211.88%759,48592.07%650,137794,6112.134%2.04%
 Tennessee7,126,4896,910,8408.90%564,73592.07%628,258767,8712.062%2.04%
 Massachusetts7,001,3997,029,9177.37%482,28892.07%639,083781,1022.098%2.04%
 Indiana6,862,1996,785,5284.65%301,72692.07%616,866753,9482.025%2.04%
 Missouri6,196,1566,154,9132.77%165,98681.84%615,491769,3641.837%1.86%
 Maryland6,180,2536,177,2246.99%403,67281.84%617,722772,1531.844%1.86%
 Wisconsin5,910,9555,893,7183.64%206,73281.84%589,372736,7151.759%1.86%
 Colorado5,877,6105,773,71414.8%744,51881.84%577,371721,7141.723%1.86%
 Minnesota5,737,9155,706,4947.59%402,56981.84%570,649713,3121.703%1.86%
 South Carolina5,373,5555,118,42510.66%493,06171.61%568,714731,2041.528%1.67%
 Alabama5,108,4685,024,2795.12%244,54371.61%558,253717,7541.499%1.67%
 Louisiana4,573,7494,657,7572.74%124,38561.38%582,220776,2931.390%1.49%
 Kentucky4,526,1544,505,8363.84%166,46961.38%563,230750,9731.345%1.49%
 Oregon4,233,3584,237,25610.60%406,18261.38%529,657706,2091.265%1.49%
 Oklahoma4,053,8243,959,3535.54%208,00251.15%565,622791,8711.182%1.30%
 Connecticut3,617,1763,605,9440.89%31,84751.15%515,135721,1891.076%1.30%
 Utah3,417,7343,271,61618.37%507,73140.92%545,269817,9040.976%1.12%
 Iowa3,207,0043,190,3694.73%144,01440.92%531,728797,5920.952%1.12%
 Puerto Rico3,205,6913,285,874−11.81%−439,9151*0.981%
 Nevada3,194,1763,104,61414.96%404,06340.92%517,436776,1540.927%1.12%
 Arkansas3,067,7323,011,5243.28%95,60640.92%501,921752,8810.899%1.12%
 Kansas2,940,5462,937,8802.97%84,76240.92%489,647734,4700.877%1.12%
 Mississippi2,939,6902,961,279−0.20%−6,01840.92%493,547740,3200.884%1.12%
 New Mexico2,114,3712,117,5222.83%58,34330.69%423,504705,8410.632%0.93%
 Nebraska1,978,3791,961,5047.40%135,16330.69%392,301653,8350.585%0.93%
 Idaho1,964,7261,839,10617.32%271,52420.46%459,777919,5530.549%0.74%
 West Virginia1,770,0711,793,716−3.20%−59,27820.46%448,429896,8580.535%0.74%
 Hawaii1,435,1381,455,2716.98%94,97020.46%363,818727,6360.434%0.74%
 New Hampshire1,402,0541,377,5294.66%61,05920.46%344,382688,7650.411%0.74%
 Maine1,395,7221,362,3592.56%33,99820.46%340,590681,1800.407%0.74%
 Montana1,132,8121,084,2259.58%94,81020.46%271,056542,1130.324%0.74%
 Rhode Island1,095,9621,097,3794.26%44,81220.46%274,345548,6900.328%0.74%
 Delaware1,031,890989,94810.25%92,01410.23%329,983989,9480.295%0.56%
 South Dakota919,318886,6678.90%72,48710.23%295,556886,6670.265%0.56%
 North Dakota783,926779,09415.83%106,50310.23%259,698779,0940.233%0.56%
 Alaska733,406733,3913.26%23,16010.23%244,464733,3910.219%0.56%
 District of Columbia678,972689,54514.60%87,8221*229,8480.206%0.56%
 Vermont647,464643,0772.77%17,33610.23%214,359643,0770.192%0.56%
 Wyoming584,057576,8512.35%13,22510.23%192,284576,8510.172%0.56%
 Guam[10]N/A153,836−3.47%−5,5221*0.046%
 U.S. Virgin Islands[11]N/A87,146−18.10%−19,2591*0.026%
 American Samoa[12]N/A49,710−10.46%−5,8091*0.015%
 Northern Mariana Islands[13]N/A47,329−12.16%−6,5541*0.014%
Contiguous United States332,746,351329,260,6197.36%22,585,613432
(+1*)
99.31%623,600756,92198.265%98.70%
The 50 states334,235,923330,759,7367.34%22,615,921435100%618,242760,36798.713%99.44%
The 50 states and D.C.334,914,895331,449,2817.35%22,703,743435
(+1*)
100%616,07798.918%100%
Total US and territoriesN/A335,073,1767.10%22,226,684435
(+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

Population of states, territories, divisions and region[14]
State/federal district/territory/
division/region
#2020 pop.#2010 pop.#2000 pop.#2010–
2020
change
Geo.
sort
 Massachusetts157,029,917146,547,629136,349,097217.4%NEng
 Connecticut293,605,944293,574,097293,405,565470.9%NEng
 New Hampshire411,377,529421,316,470411,235,786304.6%NEng
 Maine421,362,359411,328,361401,274,923422.6%NEng
 Rhode Island431,097,379431,052,567431,048,319314.3%NEng
 Vermont49643,07749625,74149608,827402.8%NEng
       New England915,116,205914,444,865913,922,51774.6%NEast
 New York420,201,249319,378,102318,976,457324.2%MAtl
 Pennsylvania513,002,700612,702,379612,281,054432.4%MAtl
 New Jersey119,288,994118,791,89498,414,350255.7%MAtl
       Mid-Atlantic442,492,943440,872,375439,671,86184.0%NEast
       Northeast457,609,148455,317,240453,594,37834.1%USA
 Florida321,538,187418,801,310415,982,378814.6%SAtl
 Georgia810,711,90899,687,653108,186,4531210.6%SAtl
 North Carolina910,439,388109,535,483118,049,313159.5%SAtl
 Virginia128,631,393128,001,024127,078,515187.9%SAtl
 Maryland186,177,224195,773,552195,296,486227.0%SAtl
 South Carolina235,118,425244,625,364264,012,0121010.7%SAtl
 West Virginia391,793,716371,852,994371,808,34450−3.2%SAtl
 Delaware45989,94845897,93445783,6001310.2%SAtl
 District of Columbia689,545601,723572,05914.6%SAtl
       South Atlantic166,089,734159,777,037151,769,160310.6%South
 Tennessee166,910,840176,346,105165,689,283178.9%ESC
 Alabama245,024,279234,779,736234,447,100275.1%ESC
 Kentucky264,505,836264,339,367254,041,769333.8%ESC
 Mississippi342,961,279312,967,297312,844,65849−0.2%ESC
       East South Central819,402,234818,432,505817,022,81065.3%South
 Texas229,145,505225,145,561220,851,820315.9%WSC
 Louisiana254,657,757254,533,372224,468,976412.7%WSC
 Oklahoma283,959,353283,751,351273,450,654265.5%WSC
 Arkansas333,011,524322,915,918332,673,400353.3%WSC
       West South Central540,774,139536,346,202531,444,850212.2%South
       South1126,266,1071114,555,7441100,236,820110.2%USA
 Illinois612,812,508512,830,632512,419,29348−0.1%ENC
 Ohio711,799,448711,536,504711,353,140452.3%ENC
 Michigan1010,077,33189,883,64089,938,444462.0%ENC
 Indiana176,785,528156,483,802146,080,485294.7%ENC
 Wisconsin205,893,718205,686,986185,363,675343.6%ENC
       East North Central347,368,533346,421,564245,155,03792.0%MWest
 Missouri196,154,913185,988,927175,595,211392.8%WNC
 Minnesota225,706,494215,303,925214,919,479197.6%WNC
 Iowa313,190,369303,046,355302,926,324284.7%WNC
 Kansas352,937,880332,853,118322,688,418373.0%WNC
 Nebraska371,961,504381,826,341381,711,263207.4%WNC
 South Dakota46886,66746814,18046754,844168.9%WNC
 North Dakota47779,09448672,59147642,200415.8%WNC
       West North Central721,616,921720,505,437619,237,73955.4%MWest
       Midwest368,985,454366,927,001264,392,77643.1%USA
 Arizona147,151,502166,392,017205,130,632911.9%Mtn
 Colorado215,773,714225,029,196244,301,261614.8%Mtn
 Utah303,271,616342,763,885342,233,169118.4%Mtn
 Nevada323,104,614352,700,551351,998,257515.0%Mtn
 New Mexico362,117,522362,059,179361,819,046382.8%Mtn
 Idaho381,839,106391,567,582391,293,953217.3%Mtn
 Montana441,084,22544989,41544902,195149.6%Mtn
 Wyoming50576,85150563,62650493,782442.3%Mtn
       Mountain624,919,150622,065,451718,172,295112.9%West
 California139,538,223137,253,956133,871,648246.1%Pac
 Washington137,705,281136,724,540155,894,121714.6%Pac
 Oregon274,237,256273,831,074283,421,3991110.6%Pac
 Hawaii401,455,271401,360,301421,211,537237.0%Pac
 Alaska48733,39147710,23148626,932363.3%Pac
       Pacific253,669,422249,880,102345,025,63747.6%West
       West278,588,572271,945,553363,197,93229.2%USA
 50 states and District of Columbia331,449,281308,745,538281,421,9067.4%NAmer
 Puerto Rico13,285,87413,725,78913,808,6103−11.8%I.A.
 Guam2153,8362159,3582154,8051−3.5%I.A.
 U.S. Virgin Islands387,1463106,4053108,6122−18.1%I.A.
 American Samoa449,710455,519557,2914−7.7%I.A.
 Northern Mariana Islands547,329553,883469,2215−14.8%I.A.
U.S. Minor Outlying Islands6[note 1]6[note 2]63166I.A.
       Island Areas (Territories)3,623,8954,100,9544,198,855−11.6%USA
State/federal district/territory/
division/region
#2020 pop.#2010 pop.#2000 pop.#2010–
2020
change
Geo.
sort

See also

Explanatory notes

References

General
  • "National Totals: Vintage 2015". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  • "2010 Census Tables". U. S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  • "Congressional Apportionment: 2010 Census Brief". U. S. Census Bureau. November 2011. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  • "2009 Census estimates". U. S. Census Bureau. Archived from the original on August 7, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
  • 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

External links