List of U.S. states and territories by population facts for kids
The United States is a big country with many people! To keep track of everyone, the United States Census Bureau counts how many people live in each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C.. They also count people in five places called territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
In 2010, just nine states had more than half of all the people in the U.S. The 25 states with the fewest people had less than one-sixth of the total population. For example, California, the state with the most people, had more residents than the 21 smallest states put together! And Wyoming, the state with the fewest people, had less population than many large cities.
Contents
How the U.S. Counts Its People
The United States Census is a big count of everyone living in the United States. This includes citizens, people who live here permanently but are not citizens, and long-term visitors. U.S. government workers and military members serving in other countries are counted as living in their home state.
Why Population Counts Matter for Voting
Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau counts everyone in each state and territory. This count is very important because it helps decide how many representatives each state gets in the U.S. government.
How States Get Representatives in Congress
The U.S. House of Representatives has 435 seats. After each 10-year census, these seats are divided among the 50 states based on their population. States with more people get more representatives. But every state is guaranteed at least one representative, no matter how small its population is. This count only includes the 50 states, not places like Washington, D.C., or the territories.
How the President is Elected: The Electoral College
Every four years, Americans vote for the President and Vice President of the United States. This election uses something called the Electoral College. Each state gets a certain number of votes in the Electoral College. This number is equal to how many members it has in the United States Senate (always two) plus how many members it has in the United States House of Representatives.
Washington, D.C., even though it's not a state, also gets Electoral College votes. It gets as many votes as the state with the fewest people (which is currently Wyoming). This means every state has at least three Electoral College votes (two senators + one representative). In total, the Electoral College has 538 members. People in U.S. territories like Puerto Rico cannot vote directly for the President.
Population of States and Territories
Here is a table showing the population of U.S. states and territories. It also shows how their populations have changed over time.
State or territory | Census population | Change, 2010–2020 |
Pop.
per elec. vote (2020) |
Pop.
per seat (2020) |
% US
(2020) |
% EC
(2020) |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
July 1, 2023 (est.) | April 1, 2020 | % | Abs. | Seats | % | |||||
![]() |
38,965,193 | 39,538,223 | 6.13% | 2,284,267 | 52 | 11.95% | 732,189 | 760,350 | 11.800% | 10.04% |
![]() |
30,503,301 | 29,145,505 | 15.91% | 3,999,944 | 38 | 8.74% | 728,638 | 766,987 | 8.698% | 7.43% |
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22,610,726 | 21,538,187 | 14.56% | 2,736,877 | 28 | 6.44% | 717,940 | 769,221 | 6.428% | 5.58% |
![]() |
19,571,216 | 20,201,249 | 4.25% | 823,147 | 26 | 5.98% | 721,473 | 776,971 | 6.029% | 5.20% |
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12,961,683 | 13,002,700 | 2.36% | 300,321 | 17 | 3.91% | 684,353 | 764,865 | 3.881% | 3.53% |
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12,549,689 | 12,812,508 | −0.14% | −18,124 | 17 | 3.91% | 674,343 | 753,677 | 3.824% | 3.53% |
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11,785,935 | 11,799,448 | 2.28% | 262,944 | 15 | 3.45% | 694,085 | 786,630 | 3.521% | 3.16% |
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11,029,227 | 10,711,908 | 10.57% | 1,024,255 | 14 | 3.22% | 669,494 | 765,136 | 3.197% | 2.97% |
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10,835,491 | 10,439,388 | 9.48% | 903,905 | 14 | 3.22% | 652,462 | 745,671 | 3.116% | 2.97% |
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10,037,261 | 10,077,331 | 1.96% | 193,691 | 13 | 2.99% | 671,822 | 775,179 | 3.008% | 2.79% |
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9,290,841 | 9,288,994 | 5.65% | 497,100 | 12 | 2.76% | 663,500 | 774,083 | 2.772% | 2.60% |
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8,715,698 | 8,631,393 | 7.88% | 630,369 | 11 | 2.53% | 663,953 | 784,672 | 2.576% | 2.42% |
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7,812,880 | 7,705,281 | 14.58% | 980,741 | 10 | 2.30% | 642,107 | 770,528 | 2.300% | 2.23% |
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7,431,344 | 7,151,502 | 11.88% | 759,485 | 9 | 2.07% | 650,137 | 794,611 | 2.134% | 2.04% |
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7,126,489 | 6,910,840 | 8.90% | 564,735 | 9 | 2.07% | 628,258 | 767,871 | 2.062% | 2.04% |
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7,001,399 | 7,029,917 | 7.37% | 482,288 | 9 | 2.07% | 639,083 | 781,102 | 2.098% | 2.04% |
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6,862,199 | 6,785,528 | 4.65% | 301,726 | 9 | 2.07% | 616,866 | 753,948 | 2.025% | 2.04% |
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6,196,156 | 6,154,913 | 2.77% | 165,986 | 8 | 1.84% | 615,491 | 769,364 | 1.837% | 1.86% |
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6,180,253 | 6,177,224 | 6.99% | 403,672 | 8 | 1.84% | 617,722 | 772,153 | 1.844% | 1.86% |
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5,910,955 | 5,893,718 | 3.64% | 206,732 | 8 | 1.84% | 589,372 | 736,715 | 1.759% | 1.86% |
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5,877,610 | 5,773,714 | 14.8% | 744,518 | 8 | 1.84% | 577,371 | 721,714 | 1.723% | 1.86% |
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5,737,915 | 5,706,494 | 7.59% | 402,569 | 8 | 1.84% | 570,649 | 713,312 | 1.703% | 1.86% |
![]() |
5,373,555 | 5,118,425 | 10.66% | 493,061 | 7 | 1.61% | 568,714 | 731,204 | 1.528% | 1.67% |
![]() |
5,108,468 | 5,024,279 | 5.12% | 244,543 | 7 | 1.61% | 558,253 | 717,754 | 1.499% | 1.67% |
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4,573,749 | 4,657,757 | 2.74% | 124,385 | 6 | 1.38% | 582,220 | 776,293 | 1.390% | 1.49% |
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4,526,154 | 4,505,836 | 3.84% | 166,469 | 6 | 1.38% | 563,230 | 750,973 | 1.345% | 1.49% |
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4,233,358 | 4,237,256 | 10.60% | 406,182 | 6 | 1.38% | 529,657 | 706,209 | 1.265% | 1.49% |
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4,053,824 | 3,959,353 | 5.54% | 208,002 | 5 | 1.15% | 565,622 | 791,871 | 1.182% | 1.30% |
![]() |
3,617,176 | 3,605,944 | 0.89% | 31,847 | 5 | 1.15% | 515,135 | 721,189 | 1.076% | 1.30% |
![]() |
3,417,734 | 3,271,616 | 18.37% | 507,731 | 4 | 0.92% | 545,269 | 817,904 | 0.976% | 1.12% |
![]() |
3,207,004 | 3,190,369 | 4.73% | 144,014 | 4 | 0.92% | 531,728 | 797,592 | 0.952% | 1.12% |
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3,205,691 | 3,285,874 | −11.81% | −439,915 | 1* | — | — | — | 0.981% | — |
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3,194,176 | 3,104,614 | 14.96% | 404,063 | 4 | 0.92% | 517,436 | 776,154 | 0.927% | 1.12% |
![]() |
3,067,732 | 3,011,524 | 3.28% | 95,606 | 4 | 0.92% | 501,921 | 752,881 | 0.899% | 1.12% |
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2,940,546 | 2,937,880 | 2.97% | 84,762 | 4 | 0.92% | 489,647 | 734,470 | 0.877% | 1.12% |
![]() |
2,939,690 | 2,961,279 | −0.20% | −6,018 | 4 | 0.92% | 493,547 | 740,320 | 0.884% | 1.12% |
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2,114,371 | 2,117,522 | 2.83% | 58,343 | 3 | 0.69% | 423,504 | 705,841 | 0.632% | 0.93% |
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1,978,379 | 1,961,504 | 7.40% | 135,163 | 3 | 0.69% | 392,301 | 653,835 | 0.585% | 0.93% |
![]() |
1,964,726 | 1,839,106 | 17.32% | 271,524 | 2 | 0.46% | 459,777 | 919,553 | 0.549% | 0.74% |
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1,770,071 | 1,793,716 | −3.20% | −59,278 | 2 | 0.46% | 448,429 | 896,858 | 0.535% | 0.74% |
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1,435,138 | 1,455,271 | 6.98% | 94,970 | 2 | 0.46% | 363,818 | 727,636 | 0.434% | 0.74% |
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1,402,054 | 1,377,529 | 4.66% | 61,059 | 2 | 0.46% | 344,382 | 688,765 | 0.411% | 0.74% |
![]() |
1,395,722 | 1,362,359 | 2.56% | 33,998 | 2 | 0.46% | 340,590 | 681,180 | 0.407% | 0.74% |
![]() |
1,132,812 | 1,084,225 | 9.58% | 94,810 | 2 | 0.46% | 271,056 | 542,113 | 0.324% | 0.74% |
![]() |
1,095,962 | 1,097,379 | 4.26% | 44,812 | 2 | 0.46% | 274,345 | 548,690 | 0.328% | 0.74% |
![]() |
1,031,890 | 989,948 | 10.25% | 92,014 | 1 | 0.23% | 329,983 | 989,948 | 0.295% | 0.56% |
![]() |
919,318 | 886,667 | 8.90% | 72,487 | 1 | 0.23% | 295,556 | 886,667 | 0.265% | 0.56% |
![]() |
783,926 | 779,094 | 15.83% | 106,503 | 1 | 0.23% | 259,698 | 779,094 | 0.233% | 0.56% |
![]() |
733,406 | 733,391 | 3.26% | 23,160 | 1 | 0.23% | 244,464 | 733,391 | 0.219% | 0.56% |
![]() |
678,972 | 689,545 | 14.60% | 87,822 | 1* | — | 229,848 | — | 0.206% | 0.56% |
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647,464 | 643,077 | 2.77% | 17,336 | 1 | 0.23% | 214,359 | 643,077 | 0.192% | 0.56% |
![]() |
584,057 | 576,851 | 2.35% | 13,225 | 1 | 0.23% | 192,284 | 576,851 | 0.172% | 0.56% |
![]() |
N/A | 153,836 | −3.47% | −5,522 | 1* | — | — | — | 0.046% | — |
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N/A | 87,146 | −18.10% | −19,259 | 1* | — | — | — | 0.026% | — |
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N/A | 49,710 | −10.46% | −5,809 | 1* | — | — | — | 0.015% | — |
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N/A | 47,329 | −12.16% | −6,554 | 1* | — | — | — | 0.014% | — |
Contiguous United States | 332,746,351 | 329,260,619 | 7.36% | 22,585,613 | 432 (+1*) |
99.31% | 623,600 | 756,921 | 98.265% | 98.70% |
The 50 states | 334,235,923 | 330,759,736 | 7.34% | 22,615,921 | 435 | 100% | 618,242 | 760,367 | 98.713% | 99.44% |
The 50 states and D.C. | 334,914,895 | 331,449,281 | 7.35% | 22,703,743 | 435 (+1*) |
100% | 616,077 | — | 98.918% | 100% |
Total US and territories | N/A | 335,073,176 | 7.10% | 22,226,684 | 435 (+6*) |
100% | — | — | 100% | — |
* — This means a place has a representative in the House of Representatives who cannot vote on laws.
Population by U.S. Region
The U.S. Census Bureau groups states into different regions and divisions. This helps them organize and understand population data better.
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
State/federal district/territory/ division/region |
# | 2020 pop. | # | 2010 pop. | # | 2000 pop. | # | 2010– 2020 change |
Geo. sort |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() |
15 | 7,029,917 | 14 | 6,547,629 | 13 | 6,349,097 | 21 | 7.4% | NEng |
![]() |
29 | 3,605,944 | 29 | 3,574,097 | 29 | 3,405,565 | 47 | 0.9% | NEng |
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41 | 1,377,529 | 42 | 1,316,470 | 41 | 1,235,786 | 30 | 4.6% | NEng |
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42 | 1,362,359 | 41 | 1,328,361 | 40 | 1,274,923 | 42 | 2.6% | NEng |
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43 | 1,097,379 | 43 | 1,052,567 | 43 | 1,048,319 | 31 | 4.3% | NEng |
![]() |
49 | 643,077 | 49 | 625,741 | 49 | 608,827 | 40 | 2.8% | NEng |
New England | 9 | 15,116,205 | 9 | 14,444,865 | 9 | 13,922,517 | 7 | 4.6% | NEast |
![]() |
4 | 20,201,249 | 3 | 19,378,102 | 3 | 18,976,457 | 32 | 4.2% | MAtl |
![]() |
5 | 13,002,700 | 6 | 12,702,379 | 6 | 12,281,054 | 43 | 2.4% | MAtl |
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11 | 9,288,994 | 11 | 8,791,894 | 9 | 8,414,350 | 25 | 5.7% | MAtl |
Mid-Atlantic | 4 | 42,492,943 | 4 | 40,872,375 | 4 | 39,671,861 | 8 | 4.0% | NEast |
Northeast | 4 | 57,609,148 | 4 | 55,317,240 | 4 | 53,594,378 | 3 | 4.1% | USA |
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3 | 21,538,187 | 4 | 18,801,310 | 4 | 15,982,378 | 8 | 14.6% | SAtl |
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8 | 10,711,908 | 9 | 9,687,653 | 10 | 8,186,453 | 12 | 10.6% | SAtl |
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9 | 10,439,388 | 10 | 9,535,483 | 11 | 8,049,313 | 15 | 9.5% | SAtl |
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12 | 8,631,393 | 12 | 8,001,024 | 12 | 7,078,515 | 18 | 7.9% | SAtl |
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18 | 6,177,224 | 19 | 5,773,552 | 19 | 5,296,486 | 22 | 7.0% | SAtl |
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23 | 5,118,425 | 24 | 4,625,364 | 26 | 4,012,012 | 10 | 10.7% | SAtl |
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39 | 1,793,716 | 37 | 1,852,994 | 37 | 1,808,344 | 50 | −3.2% | SAtl |
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45 | 989,948 | 45 | 897,934 | 45 | 783,600 | 13 | 10.2% | SAtl |
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– | 689,545 | – | 601,723 | – | 572,059 | – | 14.6% | SAtl |
South Atlantic | 1 | 66,089,734 | 1 | 59,777,037 | 1 | 51,769,160 | 3 | 10.6% | South |
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16 | 6,910,840 | 17 | 6,346,105 | 16 | 5,689,283 | 17 | 8.9% | ESC |
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24 | 5,024,279 | 23 | 4,779,736 | 23 | 4,447,100 | 27 | 5.1% | ESC |
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26 | 4,505,836 | 26 | 4,339,367 | 25 | 4,041,769 | 33 | 3.8% | ESC |
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34 | 2,961,279 | 31 | 2,967,297 | 31 | 2,844,658 | 49 | −0.2% | ESC |
East South Central | 8 | 19,402,234 | 8 | 18,432,505 | 8 | 17,022,810 | 6 | 5.3% | South |
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2 | 29,145,505 | 2 | 25,145,561 | 2 | 20,851,820 | 3 | 15.9% | WSC |
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25 | 4,657,757 | 25 | 4,533,372 | 22 | 4,468,976 | 41 | 2.7% | WSC |
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28 | 3,959,353 | 28 | 3,751,351 | 27 | 3,450,654 | 26 | 5.5% | WSC |
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33 | 3,011,524 | 32 | 2,915,918 | 33 | 2,673,400 | 35 | 3.3% | WSC |
West South Central | 5 | 40,774,139 | 5 | 36,346,202 | 5 | 31,444,850 | 2 | 12.2% | South |
South | 1 | 126,266,107 | 1 | 114,555,744 | 1 | 100,236,820 | 1 | 10.2% | USA |
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6 | 12,812,508 | 5 | 12,830,632 | 5 | 12,419,293 | 48 | −0.1% | ENC |
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7 | 11,799,448 | 7 | 11,536,504 | 7 | 11,353,140 | 45 | 2.3% | ENC |
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10 | 10,077,331 | 8 | 9,883,640 | 8 | 9,938,444 | 46 | 2.0% | ENC |
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17 | 6,785,528 | 15 | 6,483,802 | 14 | 6,080,485 | 29 | 4.7% | ENC |
![]() |
20 | 5,893,718 | 20 | 5,686,986 | 18 | 5,363,675 | 34 | 3.6% | ENC |
East North Central | 3 | 47,368,533 | 3 | 46,421,564 | 2 | 45,155,037 | 9 | 2.0% | MWest |
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19 | 6,154,913 | 18 | 5,988,927 | 17 | 5,595,211 | 39 | 2.8% | WNC |
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22 | 5,706,494 | 21 | 5,303,925 | 21 | 4,919,479 | 19 | 7.6% | WNC |
![]() |
31 | 3,190,369 | 30 | 3,046,355 | 30 | 2,926,324 | 28 | 4.7% | WNC |
![]() |
35 | 2,937,880 | 33 | 2,853,118 | 32 | 2,688,418 | 37 | 3.0% | WNC |
![]() |
37 | 1,961,504 | 38 | 1,826,341 | 38 | 1,711,263 | 20 | 7.4% | WNC |
![]() |
46 | 886,667 | 46 | 814,180 | 46 | 754,844 | 16 | 8.9% | WNC |
![]() |
47 | 779,094 | 48 | 672,591 | 47 | 642,200 | 4 | 15.8% | WNC |
West North Central | 7 | 21,616,921 | 7 | 20,505,437 | 6 | 19,237,739 | 5 | 5.4% | MWest |
Midwest | 3 | 68,985,454 | 3 | 66,927,001 | 2 | 64,392,776 | 4 | 3.1% | USA |
![]() |
14 | 7,151,502 | 16 | 6,392,017 | 20 | 5,130,632 | 9 | 11.9% | Mtn |
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21 | 5,773,714 | 22 | 5,029,196 | 24 | 4,301,261 | 6 | 14.8% | Mtn |
![]() |
30 | 3,271,616 | 34 | 2,763,885 | 34 | 2,233,169 | 1 | 18.4% | Mtn |
![]() |
32 | 3,104,614 | 35 | 2,700,551 | 35 | 1,998,257 | 5 | 15.0% | Mtn |
![]() |
36 | 2,117,522 | 36 | 2,059,179 | 36 | 1,819,046 | 38 | 2.8% | Mtn |
![]() |
38 | 1,839,106 | 39 | 1,567,582 | 39 | 1,293,953 | 2 | 17.3% | Mtn |
![]() |
44 | 1,084,225 | 44 | 989,415 | 44 | 902,195 | 14 | 9.6% | Mtn |
![]() |
50 | 576,851 | 50 | 563,626 | 50 | 493,782 | 44 | 2.3% | Mtn |
Mountain | 6 | 24,919,150 | 6 | 22,065,451 | 7 | 18,172,295 | 1 | 12.9% | West |
![]() |
1 | 39,538,223 | 1 | 37,253,956 | 1 | 33,871,648 | 24 | 6.1% | Pac |
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13 | 7,705,281 | 13 | 6,724,540 | 15 | 5,894,121 | 7 | 14.6% | Pac |
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27 | 4,237,256 | 27 | 3,831,074 | 28 | 3,421,399 | 11 | 10.6% | Pac |
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40 | 1,455,271 | 40 | 1,360,301 | 42 | 1,211,537 | 23 | 7.0% | Pac |
![]() |
48 | 733,391 | 47 | 710,231 | 48 | 626,932 | 36 | 3.3% | Pac |
Pacific | 2 | 53,669,422 | 2 | 49,880,102 | 3 | 45,025,637 | 4 | 7.6% | West |
West | 2 | 78,588,572 | 2 | 71,945,553 | 3 | 63,197,932 | 2 | 9.2% | USA |
![]() |
– | 331,449,281 | – | 308,745,538 | – | 281,421,906 | – | 7.4% | NAmer |
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1 | 3,285,874 | 1 | 3,725,789 | 1 | 3,808,610 | 3 | −11.8% | I.A. |
![]() |
2 | 153,836 | 2 | 159,358 | 2 | 154,805 | 1 | −3.5% | I.A. |
![]() |
3 | 87,146 | 3 | 106,405 | 3 | 108,612 | 2 | −18.1% | I.A. |
![]() |
4 | 49,710 | 4 | 55,519 | 5 | 57,291 | 4 | −7.7% | I.A. |
![]() |
5 | 47,329 | 5 | 53,883 | 4 | 69,221 | 5 | −14.8% | I.A. |
![]() |
6 | 6 | 6 | 316 | 6 | — | I.A. | ||
Island Areas (Territories) | – | 3,623,895 | – | 4,100,954 | – | 4,198,855 | – | −11.6% | USA |
State/federal district/territory/ division/region |
# | 2020 pop. | # | 2010 pop. | # | 2000 pop. | # | 2010– 2020 change |
Geo. sort |
See Also
In Spanish: Anexo:Estados de los Estados Unidos por población para niños
- How people are counted in the U.S.
- Size of U.S. states and territories
- Past populations of U.S. states
- Populations of U.S. cities