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.

This map shows how many people lived in each U.S. state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico in 2022.

This map shows how fast the population grew in each U.S. state, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico between 2020 and 2022.

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.

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		House seats		Pop. per elec. vote (2020)	Pop. per seat (2020)	% US (2020)	% EC (2020)
	July 1, 2023 (est.)	April 1, 2020	%	Abs.	Seats	%
California	38,965,193	39,538,223	6.13%	2,284,267	&&&&&&&&&&&&&052.&&&&&052	11.95%	732,189	760,350	11.800%	10.04%
Texas	30,503,301	29,145,505	15.91%	3,999,944	&&&&&&&&&&&&&038.&&&&&038	8.74%	728,638	766,987	8.698%	7.43%
Florida	22,610,726	21,538,187	14.56%	2,736,877	&&&&&&&&&&&&&028.&&&&&028	6.44%	717,940	769,221	6.428%	5.58%
New York	19,571,216	20,201,249	4.25%	823,147	&&&&&&&&&&&&&026.&&&&&026	5.98%	721,473	776,971	6.029%	5.20%
Pennsylvania	12,961,683	13,002,700	2.36%	300,321	&&&&&&&&&&&&&017.&&&&&017	3.91%	684,353	764,865	3.881%	3.53%
Illinois	12,549,689	12,812,508	−0.14%	−18,124	&&&&&&&&&&&&&017.&&&&&017	3.91%	674,343	753,677	3.824%	3.53%
Ohio	11,785,935	11,799,448	2.28%	262,944	&&&&&&&&&&&&&015.&&&&&015	3.45%	694,085	786,630	3.521%	3.16%
Georgia	11,029,227	10,711,908	10.57%	1,024,255	&&&&&&&&&&&&&014.&&&&&014	3.22%	669,494	765,136	3.197%	2.97%
North Carolina	10,835,491	10,439,388	9.48%	903,905	&&&&&&&&&&&&&014.&&&&&014	3.22%	652,462	745,671	3.116%	2.97%
Michigan	10,037,261	10,077,331	1.96%	193,691	&&&&&&&&&&&&&013.&&&&&013	2.99%	671,822	775,179	3.008%	2.79%
New Jersey	9,290,841	9,288,994	5.65%	497,100	&&&&&&&&&&&&&012.&&&&&012	2.76%	663,500	774,083	2.772%	2.60%
Virginia	8,715,698	8,631,393	7.88%	630,369	&&&&&&&&&&&&&011.&&&&&011	2.53%	663,953	784,672	2.576%	2.42%
Washington	7,812,880	7,705,281	14.58%	980,741	&&&&&&&&&&&&&010.&&&&&010	2.30%	642,107	770,528	2.300%	2.23%
Arizona	7,431,344	7,151,502	11.88%	759,485	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&09.&&&&&09	2.07%	650,137	794,611	2.134%	2.04%
Tennessee	7,126,489	6,910,840	8.90%	564,735	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&09.&&&&&09	2.07%	628,258	767,871	2.062%	2.04%
Massachusetts	7,001,399	7,029,917	7.37%	482,288	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&09.&&&&&09	2.07%	639,083	781,102	2.098%	2.04%
Indiana	6,862,199	6,785,528	4.65%	301,726	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&09.&&&&&09	2.07%	616,866	753,948	2.025%	2.04%
Missouri	6,196,156	6,154,913	2.77%	165,986	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&08.&&&&&08	1.84%	615,491	769,364	1.837%	1.86%
Maryland	6,180,253	6,177,224	6.99%	403,672	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&08.&&&&&08	1.84%	617,722	772,153	1.844%	1.86%
Wisconsin	5,910,955	5,893,718	3.64%	206,732	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&08.&&&&&08	1.84%	589,372	736,715	1.759%	1.86%
Colorado	5,877,610	5,773,714	14.8%	744,518	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&08.&&&&&08	1.84%	577,371	721,714	1.723%	1.86%
Minnesota	5,737,915	5,706,494	7.59%	402,569	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&08.&&&&&08	1.84%	570,649	713,312	1.703%	1.86%
South Carolina	5,373,555	5,118,425	10.66%	493,061	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&07.&&&&&07	1.61%	568,714	731,204	1.528%	1.67%
Alabama	5,108,468	5,024,279	5.12%	244,543	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&07.&&&&&07	1.61%	558,253	717,754	1.499%	1.67%
Louisiana	4,573,749	4,657,757	2.74%	124,385	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&06.&&&&&06	1.38%	582,220	776,293	1.390%	1.49%
Kentucky	4,526,154	4,505,836	3.84%	166,469	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&06.&&&&&06	1.38%	563,230	750,973	1.345%	1.49%
Oregon	4,233,358	4,237,256	10.60%	406,182	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&06.&&&&&06	1.38%	529,657	706,209	1.265%	1.49%
Oklahoma	4,053,824	3,959,353	5.54%	208,002	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&05.&&&&&05	1.15%	565,622	791,871	1.182%	1.30%
Connecticut	3,617,176	3,605,944	0.89%	31,847	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&05.&&&&&05	1.15%	515,135	721,189	1.076%	1.30%
Utah	3,417,734	3,271,616	18.37%	507,731	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	0.92%	545,269	817,904	0.976%	1.12%
Iowa	3,207,004	3,190,369	4.73%	144,014	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	0.92%	531,728	797,592	0.952%	1.12%
Puerto Rico	3,205,691	3,285,874	−11.81%	−439,915	1*	—	—	—	0.981%	—
Nevada	3,194,176	3,104,614	14.96%	404,063	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	0.92%	517,436	776,154	0.927%	1.12%
Arkansas	3,067,732	3,011,524	3.28%	95,606	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	0.92%	501,921	752,881	0.899%	1.12%
Kansas	2,940,546	2,937,880	2.97%	84,762	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	0.92%	489,647	734,470	0.877%	1.12%
Mississippi	2,939,690	2,961,279	−0.20%	−6,018	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	0.92%	493,547	740,320	0.884%	1.12%
New Mexico	2,114,371	2,117,522	2.83%	58,343	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&03.&&&&&03	0.69%	423,504	705,841	0.632%	0.93%
Nebraska	1,978,379	1,961,504	7.40%	135,163	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&03.&&&&&03	0.69%	392,301	653,835	0.585%	0.93%
Idaho	1,964,726	1,839,106	17.32%	271,524	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	0.46%	459,777	919,553	0.549%	0.74%
West Virginia	1,770,071	1,793,716	−3.20%	−59,278	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	0.46%	448,429	896,858	0.535%	0.74%
Hawaii	1,435,138	1,455,271	6.98%	94,970	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	0.46%	363,818	727,636	0.434%	0.74%
New Hampshire	1,402,054	1,377,529	4.66%	61,059	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	0.46%	344,382	688,765	0.411%	0.74%
Maine	1,395,722	1,362,359	2.56%	33,998	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	0.46%	340,590	681,180	0.407%	0.74%
Montana	1,132,812	1,084,225	9.58%	94,810	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	0.46%	271,056	542,113	0.324%	0.74%
Rhode Island	1,095,962	1,097,379	4.26%	44,812	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&02.&&&&&02	0.46%	274,345	548,690	0.328%	0.74%
Delaware	1,031,890	989,948	10.25%	92,014	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	0.23%	329,983	989,948	0.295%	0.56%
South Dakota	919,318	886,667	8.90%	72,487	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	0.23%	295,556	886,667	0.265%	0.56%
North Dakota	783,926	779,094	15.83%	106,503	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	0.23%	259,698	779,094	0.233%	0.56%
Alaska	733,406	733,391	3.26%	23,160	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	0.23%	244,464	733,391	0.219%	0.56%
District of Columbia	678,972	689,545	14.60%	87,822	1*	—	229,848	—	0.206%	0.56%
Vermont	647,464	643,077	2.77%	17,336	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	0.23%	214,359	643,077	0.192%	0.56%
Wyoming	584,057	576,851	2.35%	13,225	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	0.23%	192,284	576,851	0.172%	0.56%
Guam	N/A	153,836	−3.47%	−5,522	1*	—	—	—	0.046%	—
U.S. Virgin Islands	N/A	87,146	−18.10%	−19,259	1*	—	—	—	0.026%	—
American Samoa	N/A	49,710	−10.46%	−5,809	1*	—	—	—	0.015%	—
Northern Mariana Islands	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.

Column header abbreviations: # = Rank, Geo. = Geographic

Population of states, territories, divisions and region

State/federal district/territory/ division/region	#	2020 pop.	#	2010 pop.	#	2000 pop.	#	2010– 2020 change	Geo. sort
Massachusetts	15	7,029,917	14	6,547,629	13	6,349,097	21	7.4%	NEng
Connecticut	29	3,605,944	29	3,574,097	29	3,405,565	47	0.9%	NEng
New Hampshire	41	1,377,529	42	1,316,470	41	1,235,786	30	4.6%	NEng
Maine	42	1,362,359	41	1,328,361	40	1,274,923	42	2.6%	NEng
Rhode Island	43	1,097,379	43	1,052,567	43	1,048,319	31	4.3%	NEng
Vermont	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
New York	4	20,201,249	3	19,378,102	3	18,976,457	32	4.2%	MAtl
Pennsylvania	5	13,002,700	6	12,702,379	6	12,281,054	43	2.4%	MAtl
New Jersey	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
Florida	3	21,538,187	4	18,801,310	4	15,982,378	8	14.6%	SAtl
Georgia	8	10,711,908	9	9,687,653	10	8,186,453	12	10.6%	SAtl
North Carolina	9	10,439,388	10	9,535,483	11	8,049,313	15	9.5%	SAtl
Virginia	12	8,631,393	12	8,001,024	12	7,078,515	18	7.9%	SAtl
Maryland	18	6,177,224	19	5,773,552	19	5,296,486	22	7.0%	SAtl
South Carolina	23	5,118,425	24	4,625,364	26	4,012,012	10	10.7%	SAtl
West Virginia	39	1,793,716	37	1,852,994	37	1,808,344	50	−3.2%	SAtl
Delaware	45	989,948	45	897,934	45	783,600	13	10.2%	SAtl
District of Columbia	–	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
Tennessee	16	6,910,840	17	6,346,105	16	5,689,283	17	8.9%	ESC
Alabama	24	5,024,279	23	4,779,736	23	4,447,100	27	5.1%	ESC
Kentucky	26	4,505,836	26	4,339,367	25	4,041,769	33	3.8%	ESC
Mississippi	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
Texas	2	29,145,505	2	25,145,561	2	20,851,820	3	15.9%	WSC
Louisiana	25	4,657,757	25	4,533,372	22	4,468,976	41	2.7%	WSC
Oklahoma	28	3,959,353	28	3,751,351	27	3,450,654	26	5.5%	WSC
Arkansas	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
Illinois	6	12,812,508	5	12,830,632	5	12,419,293	48	−0.1%	ENC
Ohio	7	11,799,448	7	11,536,504	7	11,353,140	45	2.3%	ENC
Michigan	10	10,077,331	8	9,883,640	8	9,938,444	46	2.0%	ENC
Indiana	17	6,785,528	15	6,483,802	14	6,080,485	29	4.7%	ENC
Wisconsin	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
Missouri	19	6,154,913	18	5,988,927	17	5,595,211	39	2.8%	WNC
Minnesota	22	5,706,494	21	5,303,925	21	4,919,479	19	7.6%	WNC
Iowa	31	3,190,369	30	3,046,355	30	2,926,324	28	4.7%	WNC
Kansas	35	2,937,880	33	2,853,118	32	2,688,418	37	3.0%	WNC
Nebraska	37	1,961,504	38	1,826,341	38	1,711,263	20	7.4%	WNC
South Dakota	46	886,667	46	814,180	46	754,844	16	8.9%	WNC
North Dakota	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
Arizona	14	7,151,502	16	6,392,017	20	5,130,632	9	11.9%	Mtn
Colorado	21	5,773,714	22	5,029,196	24	4,301,261	6	14.8%	Mtn
Utah	30	3,271,616	34	2,763,885	34	2,233,169	1	18.4%	Mtn
Nevada	32	3,104,614	35	2,700,551	35	1,998,257	5	15.0%	Mtn
New Mexico	36	2,117,522	36	2,059,179	36	1,819,046	38	2.8%	Mtn
Idaho	38	1,839,106	39	1,567,582	39	1,293,953	2	17.3%	Mtn
Montana	44	1,084,225	44	989,415	44	902,195	14	9.6%	Mtn
Wyoming	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
California	1	39,538,223	1	37,253,956	1	33,871,648	24	6.1%	Pac
Washington	13	7,705,281	13	6,724,540	15	5,894,121	7	14.6%	Pac
Oregon	27	4,237,256	27	3,831,074	28	3,421,399	11	10.6%	Pac
Hawaii	40	1,455,271	40	1,360,301	42	1,211,537	23	7.0%	Pac
Alaska	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
50 states and District of Columbia	–	331,449,281	–	308,745,538	–	281,421,906	–	7.4%	NAmer
Puerto Rico	1	3,285,874	1	3,725,789	1	3,808,610	3	−11.8%	I.A.
Guam	2	153,836	2	159,358	2	154,805	1	−3.5%	I.A.
U.S. Virgin Islands	3	87,146	3	106,405	3	108,612	2	−18.1%	I.A.
American Samoa	4	49,710	4	55,519	5	57,291	4	−7.7%	I.A.
Northern Mariana Islands	5	47,329	5	53,883	4	69,221	5	−14.8%	I.A.
U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	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