List of U.S. states and territories by coastline facts for kids
This article lists the coastline lengths of U.S. states and territories. A coastline is where the land meets the sea or a very large lake. Did you know that 30 U.S. states have a coastline? Most of these states are on the Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean (which includes the Gulf of Mexico), or Pacific Ocean. Seven states have a coastline on the Great Lakes. New York is special because it has coastlines on both the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean!
The United States also has five main territories, and all of them have coastlines. Some are in the Pacific Ocean, and others are in the Atlantic Ocean (specifically the Caribbean Sea). Even the tiny U.S. Minor Outlying Islands have coastlines!
How Coastlines Are Measured
Measuring a coastline can be tricky because it depends on how closely you look at all the tiny curves and inlets. Imagine trying to measure the edge of a crumpled piece of paper – it's much longer if you measure every tiny wrinkle! Because of this, two main ways are used to measure coastlines:
Method 1: Main Ocean Coastlines
This method focuses on the main, larger parts of the coastline along the Arctic Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. It does not include smaller inlets or bays that go deep into the land. Think of it as measuring the general shape of the land along the ocean. This method also does not include the coastlines of U.S. territories.
Method 2: Detailed Coastlines and Great Lakes
This method gives a much longer measurement because it includes all the tiny curves, bays, and tidal inlets (where the ocean water flows into the land). For example, a place like the Great Bay in New Hampshire would be counted in this method, but not in Method 1. This method also includes the coastlines along the Great Lakes, which are huge freshwater lakes. Unlike Method 1, this method also counts the coastlines of the U.S. territories.
Where the Information Comes From
The numbers for Method 1 come from a report prepared for the U.S. Congress, using information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). These measurements were made using detailed maps called nautical charts.
The numbers for Method 2 are provided by NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. These measurements include all the detailed tidal areas and the Great Lakes coastlines. The data for the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands comes from the CIA World Factbook.
Contents
Coastline Lengths Table
This table shows the coastline lengths for U.S. states and territories using both measurement methods. You can see how much longer the coastline appears when all the tiny inlets and bays are included!
| State or territory | Method 1 (Main Ocean) | Method 2 (Detailed & Great Lakes) | Ratio (M2÷M1) |
Area (mi2) |
Coast/area ratio (ft/mi2) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastline | Rank | Coastline | Rank | Method 1 | Method 2 | |||
 Alaska |
6,640 mi (10,690 km) | 1 | 33,904 mi (54,563 km) | 1 | 5.11 | 665384 | 53 | 270 |
 Florida |
1,350 mi (2,170 km) | 2 | 8,436 mi (13,576 km) | 2 | 6.25 | 65758 | 110 | 680 |
 California |
840 mi (1,350 km) | 3 | 3,427 mi (5,515 km) | 5 | 4.08 | 163695 | 27 | 110 |
 Hawaii |
750 mi (1,210 km) | 4 | 1,052 mi (1,693 km) | 18 | 1.40 | 10932 | 360 | 510 |
 Louisiana |
397 mi (639 km) | 5 | 7,721 mi (12,426 km) | 3 | 19.4 | 52378 | 40 | 780 |
 Texas |
367 mi (591 km) | 6 | 3,359 mi (5,406 km) | 7 | 9.15 | 268596 | 7.2 | 66 |
 North Carolina |
301 mi (484 km) | 7 | 3,375 mi (5,432 km) | 6 | 11.2 | 53819 | 30 | 330 |
 Oregon |
296 mi (476 km) | 8 | 1,410 mi (2,270 km) | 17 | 4.76 | 98379 | 16 | 76 |
 Maine |
228 mi (367 km) | 9 | 3,478 mi (5,597 km) | 4 | 15.3 | 35380 | 34 | 520 |
 Massachusetts |
192 mi (309 km) | 10 | 1,519 mi (2,445 km) | 16 | 7.91 | 10554 | 96 | 760 |
 South Carolina |
187 mi (301 km) | 11 | 2,876 mi (4,628 km) | 12 | 15.4 | 32020 | 31 | 470 |
 Washington |
157 mi (253 km) | 12 | 3,026 mi (4,870 km) | 11 | 19.3 | 71298 | 12 | 220 |
 New Jersey |
130 mi (210 km) | 13 | 1,792 mi (2,884 km) | 15 | 13.8 | 8723 | 79 | 1,100 |
 New York |
127 mi (204 km) | 14 | 2,625 mi (4,225 km) | 13 | 20.7 | 54555 | 12 | 250 |
 Virginia |
112 mi (180 km) | 15 | 3,315 mi (5,335 km) | 8 | 29.6 | 42775 | 14 | 410 |
 Georgia |
100 mi (160 km) | 16 | 2,344 mi (3,772 km) | 14 | 23.4 | 59425 | 8.9 | 210 |
 Connecticut |
96 mi (154 km) | 17 | 618 mi (995 km) | 21 | 6.44 | 5543 | 91 | 590 |
 Alabama |
53 mi (85 km) | 18 | 607 mi (977 km) | 22 | 11.5 | 52420 | 5.3 | 61 |
 Mississippi |
44 mi (71 km) | 19 | 359 mi (578 km) | 25 | 8.16 | 48432 | 4.8 | 39 |
 Rhode Island |
40 mi (64 km) | 20 | 384 mi (618 km) | 23 | 9.60 | 1545 | 140 | 1,300 |
 Maryland |
31 mi (50 km) | 21 | 3,190 mi (5,130 km) | 10 | 103 | 12406 | 13 | 1,400 |
 Delaware |
28 mi (45 km) | 22 | 381 mi (613 km) | 24 | 13.6 | 2489 | 59 | 810 |
 New Hampshire |
13 mi (21 km) | 23 | 131 mi (211 km) | 31 | 10.1 | 9349 | 7.3 | 74 |
 Michigan |
– | – | 3,224 mi (5,189 km) | 9 | – | 96714 | – | 180 |
 Wisconsin |
– | – | 820 mi (1,320 km) | 19 | – | 65496 | – | 66 |
 Ohio |
– | – | 312 mi (502 km) | 26 | – | 44826 | – | 37 |
 Minnesota |
– | – | 189 mi (304 km) | 28 | – | 86936 | – | 11 |
 Pennsylvania |
– | – | 140 mi (230 km) | 30 | – | 46054 | – | 16 |
 Illinois |
– | – | 63 mi (101 km) | 35 | – | 57914 | – | 5.7 |
 Indiana |
– | – | 45 mi (72 km) | 36 | – | 36420 | – | 6.5 |
 American Samoa |
– | – | 126 mi (203 km) | 32 | – | – | – | – |
 Guam |
– | – | 110 mi (180 km) | 33 | – | – | – | – |
 Northern Mariana Islands |
– | – | 206 mi (332 km) | 27 | – | – | – | – |
 Puerto Rico |
– | – | 700 mi (1,100 km) | 20 | – | – | – | – |
 U.S. Virgin Islands |
– | – | 175 mi (282 km) | 29 | – | – | – | – |
 U.S. Minor Outlying Islands |
— | — | 70.21 mi (112.99 km) | 34 | — | — | — | — |
| Total | 12,479 mi (20,083 km) | 95,509 mi (153,707 km) | ||||||
