List of U.S. states by population

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List of U.S. states by population

This is a list of U.S. state
U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 state of the United States that share sovereignty with the federal government of the United States . Because of this shared sovereignty, an United States is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of Domicile ....
s by population (with inhabited non-state jurisdictions included for comparison) as of July 1, 2008, according to the 2008 estimates of the United States Census Bureau

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data....
. The total population

Population

File:Population density.pngIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings....
of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
was 281,421,906 at the 2000 Census. As of July 1, 2008, the estimated population of the 50 states, the District of Columbia

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a Autonomy Territories of the United States of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands....
and the other insular area

Insular area

An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. state nor the Washington, D.C., the federal district of the United States....
s of the United States was 305,986,357. The top nine states in population contain slightly more than half of the total population.

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Encyclopedia

United States Census Bureau

The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data....
. The total population

Population

File:Population density.pngIn biology, a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular species; in sociology, a collection of human beings....
of the United States

United States

Washington, D.C.

Puerto Rico

Insular area

Methodology

The United States Census counts most persons present on the territory of the United States other than short-term visitors, including citizens, non-citizen permanent residents, non-citizen long-term visitors, and illegal aliens

Illegal immigration

Illegal immigration refers to immigration across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. In politics, the term may imply a larger set of social issues and time constraints with disputed consequences in areas such as economy, social welfare, education, health care, slavery, prostitution, legal p...
. In addition, those serving abroad in the United States Armed Forces

Military of the United States

The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified armed forces of the United States. The United States military was first formed by the second Second Continental Congress to defend the new nation against the British Empire in the American Revolutionary War....
and their dependents are counted in their home state.

Electoral apportionment

Based on data from the decennial census, each state is allocated a proportion of the 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House", is one of the bicameralism of the United States Congress; the other is the United States Senate....
, although each state is guaranteed a minimum of one seat, regardless of population. The Electoral College

United States Electoral College

The Electoral College consists of the popularly elected representatives who formally elect the President of the United States and Vice President of the United States....
is the body that, every four years, elects the president

President of the United States

The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition....
and vice president of the United States

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office in the United States of America created by the Constitution of the United States....
. Each state's representation in the Electoral College is equal to that state's total number of members in both houses of the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the Bicameralism legislature of the Federal government of the United States of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives....
. The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution

Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution

Amendment XXIII was the twenty-third List of amendments to the United States Constitution to the United States Constitution which permits the Washington, D.C....
grants the District of Columbia, which lies outside of the jurisdiction of any state, as many votes in the Electoral College as it would have if it were a state, but no more than is given the state with the lowest representation in that body, which has always been three. Thus, the total representation in the College is 538 members (equal to 100 senators

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism United States Congress, the lower house being the United States House of Representatives....
plus 435 representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House", is one of the bicameralism of the United States Congress; the other is the United States Senate....
, plus 3 members for the District of Columbia). The 11 most populous states, representing 56% of the population, have a majority of the Electoral College votes, enough to elect the president.

States and territories

Rank Among States	Rank Among All Territories	State	Population (2008 est.)	House seats United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as "the House", is one of the bicameralism of the United States Congress; the other is the United States Senate....	Elec. College votes	Cum. Electoral Votes	Pop. per House seat	Pop. per electoral vote	Percent of total pop.	Cumulative percentage
01	01	California California California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....							11.95%	11.95%
02	02	Texas Texas Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....							7.81%	19.76%
03	03	New York New York The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....							6.31%	26.07%
04	04	Florida Florida Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....							5.97%	32.04%
05	05	Illinois Illinois The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....							4.20%	36.24%
06	06	Pennsylvania Pennsylvania The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania , often colloquially referred to as PA by natives and Northeasterners, is a U.S. state located in the Northeastern United States and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States....							4.06%	40.30%
07	07	Ohio Ohio Ohio is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region , Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads in North America....							3.75%	44.05%
08	08	Michigan Michigan Michigan is a Midwestern United States U.S. state of the United States of America. It was named after Lake Michigan, whose name is a French adaptation of the Anishinaabe language term mishigama, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....							3.29%	47.34%
09	09	Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia is a U.S. state in the United States and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies that revolted against United Kingdom rule in the American Revolution....							3.12%	50.46%
10	10	North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north....							3.08%	53.42%
11	11	New Jersey New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....							2.84%	56.26%
12	12	Virginia Virginia The Commonwealth of Virginia is an United States U.S. state on the East Coast of the United States of the Southern United States. The state is known as the "Old Dominion" and sometimes as "Mother of Presidents", because it is the birthplace of Lists of United States Presidents by place of birth#By state....							2.52%	58.78%
13	13	Washington Washington Washington is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute....							2.11%	60.89%
14	14	Arizona Arizona The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....							2.07%	67.14%
15	15	Massachusetts Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. It borders Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north....							2.11%	63.00%
16	16	Indiana Indiana The State of Indiana was the 19th U.S. state admitted into the union. It is located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America....							2.07%	65.07%
17	17	Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....							2.01%	69.15%
18	18	Missouri Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska....							1.92%	71.07%
19	19	Maryland Maryland Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic States of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia and the Washington, D.C. to the south and west, Pennsylvania to the north, and Delaware to the east....							1.84%	72.91%
20	20	Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. state in the United States of America, located in the north central part of the United States. It borders two of the five Great Lakes and four U.S....							1.83%	74.74%
21	21	Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with just over five million residents....							1.70%	76.44%
22	22	Colorado Colorado The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....							1.59%	78.03%
23	23	Alabama Alabama Alabama is a state located in the Southern United States of the United States of America. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west....							1.51%	79.54%
24	24	South Carolina South Carolina South Carolina is a U.S. state in the Southern United States of the United States. It borders Georgia to the south and North Carolina to the north....							1.44%	80.98%
25	25	Louisiana Louisiana The State of Louisiana is a U.S. state located in the U.S. Southern States of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans....							1.40%	82.38%
26	26	Kentucky Kentucky The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a U.S. state located in the East Central United States of America. Kentucky is normally included in the group of Southern United States , but it is uncommonly included, geographically and culturally, in the Midwestern United States....							1.39%	83.77%
A	27	Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a Autonomy Territories of the United States of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands....		(1)	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	1.29%	85.06%
27	28	Oregon Oregon Oregon is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The area was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before the arrival of traders, explorers and settlers....							1.23%	86.29%
28	29	Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma is a U.S. state and a sovereignty located in the South Central United States and Southern United States of the United States of America ....							1.18%	87.47%
29	30	Connecticut Connecticut Connecticut is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the northeastern United States. The state borders New York to the west and south , Massachusetts to the north, and Rhode Island to the east....							1.15%	88.62%
30	31	Iowa Iowa The State of Iowa is a U.S. state in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It is bordered by Minnesota to the north, Wisconsin and Illinois to the east, Nebraska and South Dakota to the west, and Missouri to the south....							0.98%	89.60%
31	32	Mississippi Mississippi Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson, Mississippi is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Anishinaabe language word misi-ziibi ....							0.95%	90.55%
32	33	Arkansas Arkansas Arkansas is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States of the United States. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River....							0.93%	91.48%
33	34	Kansas Kansas The State of Kansas is a Midwestern U.S. state in the Central United States of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the United States "Heartland"....							0.91%	92.39%
34	35	Utah Utah The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896....							0.87%	93.26%
35	36	Nevada Nevada Nevada is a U.S. state located in the Western United States of the United States of America. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas, Nevada....							0.84%	94.10%
36	37	New Mexico New Mexico New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....							0.64%	94.74%
37	38	West Virginia West Virginia West Virginia is a U.S. state in the Appalachian, Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic States regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia on the southeast, Kentucky on the southwest, Ohio on the northwest, and Pennsylvania and Maryland on the northeast....							0.59%	95.33%
38	39	Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska is a U.S. state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States and Western United States.Nebraska probably gets its name from the archaic Chiwere language words ?? Br?sge or the Omaha-Ponca language N? Bth?ska meaning "flat water," after the Platte River that flows through the state....							0.58%	95.91%
39	40	Idaho Idaho The State of Idaho is a U.S. state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and Capital is Boise, Idaho....							0.49%	96.40%
40	41	Maine Maine The State of Maine is a U.S. state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast....							0.43%	96.83%
41	42	New Hampshire New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States of America. The state was named after the southern English Counties of England of Hampshire....							0.43%	97.26%
42	43	Hawaii Hawaii File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....							0.42%	97.68%
43	44	Rhode Island Rhode Island Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a U.S. state in the New England region of the United States....							0.35%	98.03%
44	45	Montana Montana Montana is a U.S. state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains....							0.31%	98.34%
45	46	Delaware Delaware Delaware is a U.S. state located on the East Coast of the United States in the Mid-Atlantic States region of the United States. The state takes its name from Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, a British nobleman and Virginia's first colonial governor, after whom Cape Henlopen was originally named....							0.28%	98.62%
46	47	South Dakota South Dakota South Dakota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States of the United States of America. It is named after the Lakota people and Sioux Sioux Native Americans in the United States tribes....							0.26%	98.88%
47	48	Alaska Alaska Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....							0.22%	99.10%
48	49	North Dakota North Dakota North Dakota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States and Western United States regions of the United States of America. North Dakota is the 19th largest state by area in the US; it is the 48th most populous, with just over 640,000 residents as of 2006....							0.21%	99.31%
49	50	Vermont Vermont Vermont is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. The state ranks 43rd by land area, , and 45th by total area....							0.20%	99.51%
B	51	District of Columbia Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....		(1)			n/a		0.19%	99.70%
50	52	Wyoming Wyoming The State of Wyoming is a sparsely populated U.S. state in the Northwestern United States of the United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the easternmost section of the state is a high altitude prairie region known as the High Plains ....							0.17%	99.87%
C	53	Guam Guam Guam , officially the Territory of Guam, is an island in the western Pacific Ocean and is an organized, unincorporated insular area of the United States....		(1)	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.06%	99.93%
D	54	US Virgin Islands		(1)	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.04%	99.96%
E	55	Northern Mariana Islands Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands , officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean....		(1)	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.03%	99.99%
F	56	American Samoa American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa....		(1)	0	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.02%	100.00%

List of U.S. states by population

Methodology

Electoral apportionment

States and territories

See also