list of U.S. states by population
As of 2023, the United States was the world’s third most-populated country, with more than 335,000,000 people. The U.S. state with the largest population is California, which has some 39,000,000 residents. Second is Texas, with more than 30,000,000. Several states have less than 1,000,000 people, and Wyoming holds the title of the least-populated state, with fewer than 600,000. How do the other states rank? Find out in the table below, which lists the 50 U.S. states by the latest population estimate.
| U.S. state | population: estimate | population: census |
|---|---|---|
| 1. California | (2024 est.) 39,431,263 | (2020) 39,538,223 |
| 2. Texas | (2024 est.) 31,290,831 | (2020) 29,145,505 |
| 3. Florida | (2024 est.) 23,372,215 | (2020) 21,538,187 |
| 4. New York | (2024 est.) 19,867,248 | (2020) 20,201,249 |
| 5. Pennsylvania | (2024 est.) 13,078,751 | (2020) 13,002,700 |
| 6. Illinois | (2024 est.) 12,710,158 | (2020) 12,812,508 |
| 7. Ohio | (2024 est.) 11,883,304 | (2020) 11,799,448 |
| 8. Georgia | (2024 est.) 11,180,878 | (2020) 10,711,908 |
| 9. North Carolina | (2024 est.) 11,046,024 | (2020) 10,439,388 |
| 10. Michigan | (2024 est.) 10,140,459 | (2020) 10,077,331 |
| 11. New Jersey | (2024 est.) 9,500,851 | (2020) 9,288,994 |
| 12. Virginia | (2024 est.) 8,811,195 | (2020) 8,631,393 |
| 13. Washington | (2024 est.) 7,958,180 | (2020) 7,705,281 |
| 14. Arizona | (2024 est.) 7,582,384 | (2020) 7,151,502 |
| 15. Tennessee | (2024 est.) 7,227,750 | (2020) 6,910,840 |
| 16. Massachusetts | (2024 est.) 7,136,171 | (2020) 7,029,917 |
| 17. Indiana | (2024 est.) 6,924,275 | (2020) 6,785,528 |
| 18. Missouri | (2024 est.) 6,245,466 | (2020) 6,154,913 |
| 19. Maryland | (2024 est.) 6,263,220 | (2020) 6,177,224 |
| 20. Wisconsin | (2024 est.) 5,960,975 | (2020) 5,893,718 |
| 21. Colorado | (2024 est.) 5,957,493 | (2020) 5,773,714 |
| 22. Minnesota | (2024 est.) 5,793,151 | (2020) 5,706,494 |
| 23. South Carolina | (2024 est.) 5,478,831 | (2020) 5,118,425 |
| 24. Alabama | (2024 est.) 5,157,699 | (2020) 5,024,279 |
| 25. Louisiana | (2024 est.) 4,597,740 | (2020) 4,657,757 |
| 26. Kentucky | (2024 est.) 4,588,372 | (2020) 4,505,836 |
| 27. Oregon | (2024 est.) 4,272,371 | (2020) 4,237,256 |
| 28. Oklahoma | (2024 est.) 4,095,393 | (2020) 3,959,353 |
| 29. Connecticut | (2024 est.) 3,675,069 | (2020) 3,605,944 |
| 30. Utah | (2024 est.) 3,503,613 | (2020) 3,271,616 |
| 31. Iowa | (2024 est.) 3,241,488 | (2020) 3,190,369 |
| 32. Nevada | (2024 est.) 3,267,467 | (2020) 3,104,614 |
| 33. Arkansas | (2024 est.) 3,088,354 | (2020) 3,011,524 |
| 34. Kansas | (2024 est.) 2,970,606 | (2020) 2,937,880 |
| 35. Mississippi | (2024 est.) 2,943,045 | (2020) 2,961,279 |
| 36. New Mexico | (2024 est.) 2,130,256 | (2020) 2,117,522 |
| 37. Nebraska | (2024 est.) 2,005,465 | (2020) 1,961,504 |
| 38. Idaho | (2024 est.) 2,001,619 | (2020) 1,839,106 |
| 39. West Virginia | (2024 est.) 1,769,979 | (2020) 1,793,716 |
| 40. Hawaii | (2024 est.) 1,446,146 | (2020) 1,455,271 |
| 41. New Hampshire | (2024 est.) 1,409,032 | (2020) 1,377,529 |
| 42. Maine | (2024 est.) 1,405,012 | (2020) 1,362,359 |
| 43. Montana | (2024 est.) 1,137,233 | (2020) 1,084,225 |
| 44. Rhode Island | (2024 est.) 1,112,308 | (2020) 1,097,379 |
| 45. Delaware | (2024 est.) 1,051,917 | (2020) 989,948 |
| 46. South Dakota | (2024 est.) 924,669 | (2020) 886,667 |
| 47. North Dakota | (2024 est.) 796,568 | (2020) 779,094 |
| 48. Alaska | (2024 est.) 740,133 | (2020) 733,391 |
| 49. Vermont | (2024 est.) 648,493 | (2020) 643,077 |
| 50. Wyoming | (2024 est.) 587,618 | (2020) 576,851 |
Citation Information
Article Title:
list of U.S. states by population
Website Name:
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published:
17 January 2024
Access Date:
April 21, 2025