US States Ranked by Population

The United States has a population of 332,387,540, but it is spread very unevenly. California alone holds 39,242,785 people — roughly 68 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

39.2M

29.6M

21.9M

19.9M

13M

12.7M

11.8M

10.8M

10.6M

10.1M

Population is heavily concentrated at the top of the list: the five largest states — led by California and Texas — hold 37.2% 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	39,242,785	$96,334	37.6 years	12.0%
2	Texas	29,640,343	$76,292	35.5 years	13.8%
3	Florida	21,928,881	$71,711	42.6 years	12.6%
4	New York	19,872,319	$84,578	39.6 years	13.7%
5	Pennsylvania	12,986,518	$76,081	40.9 years	11.8%
6	Illinois	12,692,653	$81,702	38.9 years	11.7%
7	Ohio	11,780,046	$69,680	39.6 years	13.2%
8	Georgia	10,822,590	$74,664	37.4 years	13.5%
9	North Carolina	10,584,340	$69,904	39.1 years	13.2%
10	Michigan	10,051,595	$71,149	40.1 years	13.1%
11	New Jersey	9,267,014	$101,050	40.1 years	9.8%
12	Virginia	8,657,499	$90,974	38.8 years	9.9%
13	Washington	7,740,984	$94,952	38.2 years	9.9%
14	Arizona	7,268,175	$76,872	38.8 years	12.8%
15	Massachusetts	6,992,395	$101,341	40.0 years	10.0%
16	Tennessee	6,986,082	$67,097	38.9 years	13.8%
17	Indiana	6,811,752	$70,051	38.0 years	12.2%
18	Maryland	6,170,738	$101,652	39.3 years	9.3%
19	Missouri	6,168,181	$68,920	38.9 years	12.6%
20	Wisconsin	5,892,023	$75,670	40.1 years	10.6%
21	Colorado	5,810,774	$92,470	37.5 years	9.4%
22	Minnesota	5,713,716	$87,556	38.6 years	9.2%
23	South Carolina	5,212,774	$66,818	40.1 years	14.2%
24	Alabama	5,054,253	$62,027	39.3 years	15.6%
25	Louisiana	4,621,025	$60,023	37.8 years	18.9%
26	Kentucky	4,510,725	$62,417	39.1 years	16.1%
27	Oregon	4,238,714	$80,426	40.1 years	11.9%
28	Oklahoma	3,995,260	$63,603	36.9 years	15.3%
29	Connecticut	3,598,348	$93,760	41.2 years	10.0%
30	Utah	3,331,187	$91,750	31.7 years	8.6%
31	Iowa	3,195,937	$73,147	38.6 years	11.0%
32	Nevada	3,141,000	$75,561	38.9 years	12.6%
33	Arkansas	3,032,651	$58,773	38.4 years	16.0%
34	Mississippi	2,951,438	$54,915	38.4 years	19.1%
35	Kansas	2,937,569	$72,639	37.2 years	11.5%
36	New Mexico	2,114,768	$62,125	39.2 years	18.1%
37	Nebraska	1,965,926	$74,985	37.1 years	10.3%
38	Idaho	1,893,296	$74,636	37.1 years	10.6%
39	West Virginia	1,784,462	$57,917	42.7 years	16.6%
40	Hawaii	1,445,635	$98,317	40.6 years	10.0%
41	New Hampshire	1,387,834	$95,628	43.2 years	7.2%
42	Maine	1,377,400	$71,773	44.8 years	10.8%
43	Montana	1,105,072	$69,922	40.2 years	12.0%
44	Rhode Island	1,095,371	$86,372	40.5 years	10.9%
45	Delaware	1,005,872	$82,855	41.5 years	10.7%
46	South Dakota	899,194	$72,421	37.7 years	12.0%
47	North Dakota	779,361	$75,949	35.7 years	10.6%
48	Alaska	733,971	$89,336	35.6 years	10.2%
49	District of Columbia	672,079	$106,287	34.9 years	14.5%
50	Vermont	645,254	$78,024	43.0 years	10.3%
51	Wyoming	579,761	$74,815	38.8 years	10.7%

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 39,242,785 residents, followed by Texas with 29,640,343.

What is the least populated state?

Wyoming is the least populous state with 579,761 residents — about 68 times fewer people than California.

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

The five most populous states hold 37.2% of the country's 332,387,540 residents.