State ranking

US states ranked by population

All 50 states and DC by Vintage 2024 population.

Short answer

California is the most populous state with 39,431,263 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimates, 11.6% of the US total of 340,110,988. Wyoming is the least populous at 587,618.
#1 California
39,431,263
  1. 01California39,431,263
  2. 02Texas31,290,831
  3. 03Florida23,372,215
  4. 04New York19,867,248
  5. 05Pennsylvania13,078,751
  6. 06Illinois12,710,158
  7. 07Ohio11,883,304
  8. 08Georgia11,180,878
  9. 09North Carolina11,046,024
  10. 10Michigan10,140,459
  11. 11New Jersey9,500,851
  12. 12Virginia8,811,195
  13. 13Washington7,958,180
  14. 14Arizona7,582,384
  15. 15Tennessee7,227,750
  16. 16Massachusetts7,136,171
  17. 17Indiana6,924,275
  18. 18Maryland6,263,220
  19. 19Missouri6,245,466
  20. 20Wisconsin5,960,975
  21. 21Colorado5,957,493
  22. 22Minnesota5,793,151
  23. 23South Carolina5,478,831
  24. 24Alabama5,157,699
  25. 25Louisiana4,597,740
  26. 26Kentucky4,588,372
  27. 27Oregon4,272,371
  28. 28Oklahoma4,095,393
  29. 29Connecticut3,675,069
  30. 30Utah3,503,613
  31. 31Nevada3,267,467
  32. 32Iowa3,241,488
  33. 33Arkansas3,088,354
  34. 34Kansas2,970,606
  35. 35Mississippi2,943,045
  36. 36New Mexico2,130,256
  37. 37Nebraska2,005,465
  38. 38Idaho2,001,619
  39. 39West Virginia1,769,979
  40. 40Hawaii1,446,146
  41. 41New Hampshire1,409,032
  42. 42Maine1,405,012
  43. 43Montana1,137,233
  44. 44Rhode Island1,112,308
  45. 45Delaware1,051,917
  46. 46South Dakota924,669
  47. 47North Dakota796,568
  48. 48Alaska740,133
  49. 49District of Columbia702,250
  50. 50Vermont648,493
  51. 51Wyoming587,618
Population 2024. 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 concentrated is the population?

Sorting states from largest to smallest and adding them up, the first 9 states reach half of the national total. The top 5 hold 37.4%, and the bottom 10 together hold 2.7%.

The median state, Kentucky, has 4,588,372 residents, far below the mean of 6,668,843, because a few large states pull the average up.

What a Vintage 2024 estimate is

Between censuses, the Census Bureau estimates population each year from births, deaths, and migration, starting from the last census count. Each release is called a vintage and revises the earlier years too, so the 2024 vintage is the latest set of numbers for July 1, 2024. State figures on this page are the sum of each state's county estimates in that vintage.

Questions people ask

What is the most populous US state?

California, with 39,431,263 residents in the Census Vintage 2024 estimates.

What is the least populous state?

Wyoming, with 587,618 residents. DC is included in the ranking as the 51st row.

What is the total US population in this data?

340,110,988, the sum of all county estimates for the 50 states and DC. Puerto Rico is not included.

Suggested citation

Online Map Tools. "US states ranked by population." Published 2026-09-30. https://onlinemaptools.com/rankings/states-by-population. Data: Census Vintage 2024 county population estimates.

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

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

Browse every state on the states page.