US States Ranked by Population

The United States has a population of 334,922,499, but it is spread very unevenly. California alone holds 39,287,377 people — roughly 67 times the population of Wyoming, the smallest state. This page ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia by total population.

Top 10 States by Population

39.3M

30.2M

22.4M

19.9M

13M

12.7M

11.8M

10.9M

10.7M

10.1M

Population is heavily concentrated at the top of the list: the five largest states — led by California and Texas — hold 37.3% of all Americans. At the other end, the ten smallest states combined hold fewer people than California alone. This concentration shapes everything from Congressional apportionment to why national statistics often look different from the "typical state."

Size and prosperity do not move together in any simple way — the ranking mixes high-income coastal states with lower-income Southern states at every population tier. To see how the states compare on living standards rather than headcount, see the richest states by income and the states with the lowest poverty rates. For the local view, browse the 100 largest cities in the US.

Full Rankings

#	State	Population	Median Income	Median Age	Poverty
1	California	39,287,377	$99,122	37.9 years	12.0%
2	Texas	30,188,424	$78,476	35.6 years	13.8%
3	Florida	22,416,077	$74,568	42.6 years	12.6%
4	New York	19,852,366	$85,974	39.8 years	14.0%
5	Pennsylvania	13,018,639	$77,971	40.9 years	11.7%
6	Illinois	12,694,798	$83,390	39.0 years	11.8%
7	Ohio	11,810,293	$71,389	39.7 years	13.3%
8	Georgia	10,940,407	$77,353	37.6 years	13.4%
9	North Carolina	10,730,404	$72,388	39.1 years	13.0%
10	Michigan	10,077,761	$72,875	40.2 years	13.2%
11	New Jersey	9,343,809	$103,556	40.1 years	9.7%
12	Virginia	8,705,170	$93,170	39.0 years	9.9%
13	Washington	7,816,116	$98,141	38.3 years	9.9%
14	Arizona	7,378,838	$79,964	39.0 years	12.5%
15	Tennessee	7,066,383	$69,595	38.9 years	13.8%
16	Massachusetts	7,044,056	$103,960	40.0 years	10.0%
17	Indiana	6,851,073	$71,957	38.1 years	12.3%
18	Maryland	6,206,011	$103,678	39.4 years	9.4%
19	Missouri	6,191,814	$70,702	39.0 years	12.6%
20	Wisconsin	5,914,872	$77,485	40.2 years	10.5%
21	Colorado	5,862,189	$95,470	37.7 years	9.4%
22	Minnesota	5,739,445	$89,062	38.8 years	9.3%
23	South Carolina	5,296,225	$69,324	40.2 years	14.1%
24	Alabama	5,086,768	$63,999	39.3 years	15.6%
25	Louisiana	4,611,961	$60,756	38.0 years	18.9%
26	Kentucky	4,534,824	$63,726	39.1 years	16.1%
27	Oregon	4,254,293	$83,011	40.4 years	11.9%
28	Oklahoma	4,028,634	$65,039	37.0 years	15.3%
29	Connecticut	3,624,508	$95,781	41.1 years	10.0%
30	Utah	3,392,331	$95,166	32.0 years	8.5%
31	Iowa	3,210,507	$75,059	38.6 years	11.1%
32	Nevada	3,184,612	$78,260	39.1 years	12.4%
33	Arkansas	3,049,391	$60,773	38.5 years	16.0%
34	Kansas	2,947,197	$74,275	37.4 years	11.3%
35	Mississippi	2,946,779	$56,447	38.6 years	18.9%
36	New Mexico	2,120,246	$64,059	39.4 years	17.8%
37	Nebraska	1,978,707	$76,475	37.2 years	10.6%
38	Idaho	1,934,262	$77,800	37.3 years	10.6%
39	West Virginia	1,778,373	$59,608	42.7 years	16.7%
40	Hawaii	1,445,235	$100,389	40.9 years	10.0%
41	New Hampshire	1,394,868	$99,031	43.3 years	7.2%
42	Maine	1,387,817	$74,733	44.8 years	10.8%
43	Montana	1,116,875	$72,509	40.4 years	11.5%
44	Rhode Island	1,101,801	$87,796	40.6 years	11.2%
45	Delaware	1,021,191	$84,954	41.6 years	10.4%
46	South Dakota	907,428	$75,081	38.0 years	11.9%
47	North Dakota	784,841	$76,657	35.9 years	10.8%
48	Alaska	735,706	$92,788	35.8 years	10.1%
49	District of Columbia	681,294	$109,870	34.9 years	15.4%
50	Vermont	647,106	$81,203	43.1 years	10.1%
51	Wyoming	582,397	$76,176	39.1 years	10.5%

The District of Columbia is included for comparison, although it is not a state.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates.

About This Ranking

All figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, the Bureau's most reliable dataset for state and local statistics. Because estimates pool five years of survey responses, they describe a recent period rather than a single moment, and small differences between closely ranked entries may fall within the survey's margin of error. Learn more about the data on our methodology page or at data.census.gov.

More National Rankings

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most populated state in the US?

California is the most populous US state with 39,287,377 residents, followed by Texas with 30,188,424.

What is the least populated state?

Wyoming is the least populous state with 582,397 residents — about 67 times fewer people than California.

How much of the US population lives in the biggest states?

The five most populous states hold 37.3% of the country's 334,922,499 residents.