State ranking

Population density by state

People per square mile of land for the 50 states and DC.

Short answer

District of Columbia has the highest density at 11,488 people per square mile, followed by New Jersey and Rhode Island. Alaska is the sparsest at 1.30. The US figure is 96.3.
#1 District of Columbia
11,487.8
  1. 01District of Columbia11,487.8
  2. 02New Jersey1,291.8
  3. 03Rhode Island1,075.8
  4. 04Massachusetts914.8
  5. 05Connecticut758.9
  6. 06Maryland645.0
  7. 07Delaware539.8
  8. 08Florida435.6
  9. 09New York421.6
  10. 10Pennsylvania292.3
  11. 11Ohio290.8
  12. 12California253.0
  13. 13Illinois229.0
  14. 14North Carolina227.2
  15. 15Hawaii225.2
  16. 16Virginia223.2
  17. 17Georgia193.7
  18. 18Indiana193.3
  19. 19South Carolina182.2
  20. 20Michigan179.1
  21. 21Tennessee175.3
  22. 22New Hampshire157.4
  23. 23Texas119.8
  24. 24Washington119.8
  25. 25Kentucky116.2
  26. 26Wisconsin110.0
  27. 27Louisiana106.4
  28. 28Alabama101.8
  29. 29Missouri90.8
  30. 30West Virginia73.6
  31. 31Minnesota72.7
  32. 32Vermont70.4
  33. 33Arizona66.7
  34. 34Mississippi62.7
  35. 35Oklahoma59.7
  36. 36Arkansas59.4
  37. 37Iowa58.0
  38. 38Colorado57.5
  39. 39Maine45.6
  40. 40Oregon44.5
  41. 41Utah42.4
  42. 42Kansas36.3
  43. 43Nevada29.7
  44. 44Nebraska26.1
  45. 45Idaho24.2
  46. 46New Mexico17.6
  47. 47South Dakota12.2
  48. 48North Dakota11.5
  49. 49Montana7.8
  50. 50Wyoming6.1
  51. 51Alaska1.3
People per sq mi. Log scale. Rank 1 at the top.
GeorgiaIndianaMaineMinnesotaNorth DakotaColoradoAlaskaArkansasIllinoisIowaMississippiNew YorkTennesseeTexasVirginiaKansasAlabamaNorth CarolinaMichiganMissouriNebraskaOhioSouth CarolinaVermontWisconsinCaliforniaKentuckySouth DakotaNevadaFloridaMarylandPennsylvaniaArizonaRhode IslandIdahoOregonMontanaWashingtonWest VirginiaNew MexicoNew HampshireOklahomaUtahWyomingHawaiiLouisianaMassachusettsConnecticutNew JerseyDelawareDistrict of Columbia

Darker states rank higher. Alaska and Hawaii are insets.

How density is calculated

Density is the Vintage 2024 population divided by land area in square miles, both summed from the state's counties. Using land rather than total area keeps states with large lakes or bays from looking emptier than they are.

What a state average hides

A state figure blends cities with empty land. The table below shows each state's densest and sparsest county, which is often a wider spread than the gap between whole states.

StateDensest countyPer sq miSparsest countyPer sq mi
AlabamaJefferson County598Perry County10.7
AlaskaAnchorage170Yukon-Koyukuk0.0
ArizonaMaricopa County508La Paz County3.8
ArkansasPulaski County529Calhoun County7.5
CaliforniaSan Francisco County17,724Alpine County1.5
ColoradoDenver County4,763Hinsdale County0.7
ConnecticutGreater Bridgeport Planning Region2,395Northwest Hills Planning Region145.0
DelawareNew Castle County1,379Sussex County289.6
FloridaPinellas County3,528Liberty County9.5
GeorgiaDeKalb County2,878Baker County8.0
HawaiiHonolulu County1,662Kalawao County6.8
IdahoAda County509Clark County0.5
IllinoisCook County5,485Pope County10.0
IndianaMarion County2,479Benton County21.8
IowaPolk County901Adams County8.5
KansasJohnson County1,335Greeley County1.5
KentuckyJefferson County2,085Hickman County18.1
LouisianaOrleans Parish2,140Cameron Parish3.6
MaineCumberland County375Piscataquis County4.4
MarylandBaltimore city7,020Garrett County43.7
MassachusettsSuffolk County13,614Franklin County101.4
MichiganWayne County2,895Keweenaw County4.0
MinnesotaRamsey County3,560Lake of the Woods County2.9
MississippiDeSoto County411Issaquena County3.1
MissouriSt. Louis city4,532Worth County7.0
MontanaYellowstone County65Garfield County0.3
NebraskaDouglas County1,841McPherson County0.4
NevadaCarson City402Esmeralda County0.2
New HampshireHillsborough County491Coos County17.3
New JerseyHudson County15,938Salem County198.5
New MexicoBernalillo County578Harding County0.3
New YorkNew York County73,286Hamilton County3.0
North CarolinaMecklenburg County2,304Hyde County7.5
North DakotaCass County114Slope County0.5
OhioCuyahoga County2,713Monroe County28.6
OklahomaTulsa County1,216Cimarron County1.2
OregonMultnomah County1,847Harney County0.7
PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia County11,718Cameron County11.0
Rhode IslandBristol County2,078Washington County395.8
South CarolinaGreenville County726Allendale County18.5
South DakotaMinnehaha County259Harding County0.5
TennesseeDavidson County1,449Perry County21.7
TexasDallas County3,042Loving County0.1
UtahSalt Lake County1,616Garfield County1.0
VermontChittenden County318Essex County9.1
VirginiaAlexandria city10,649Highland County5.7
WashingtonKing County1,106Garfield County3.4
West VirginiaBerkeley County424Pocahontas County8.1
WisconsinMilwaukee County3,830Iron County8.2
WyomingLaramie County38Niobrara County0.9

Questions people ask

What is the most densely populated state?

District of Columbia at 11,488 people per square mile. Among the 50 states it is New Jersey.

What is the least densely populated state?

Alaska, at 1.30 people per square mile of land.

What is the population density of the United States?

96.3 people per square mile of land for the 50 states and DC, from 2024 estimates and 2024 Gazetteer land area.

Suggested citation

Online Map Tools. "Population density by state." Published 2026-09-30. https://onlinemaptools.com/rankings/population-density-by-state. Data: Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates; Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties.

Journalists, students and researchers may quote these figures and reuse the table. Please credit Online Map Tools and link to this page. The underlying government data is in the public domain.

Download the data (CSV)

Sources and data as of

Data as of: Census Vintage 2024 population estimates, 2024 Gazetteer land area and internal points, SAIPE 2023 median household income.

  1. 01Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates
  2. 02Census 2024 Gazetteer, counties

How every number is computed: methodology. Spotted a wrong figure? Report an error.

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