This is a list of states of the United States by population (with inhabited non-state jurisdictions included for comparison) as of July 1, 2006, according to the 2006 estimates of the United States Census Bureau. The total population of the United States was 281,421,906 at the 2000 Census, and is estimated to be 299,398,484 in July 2006. As of July 1, 2007, the estimated population of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the other insular areas of the United States was 303,746,137. Notably, the top nine states in population contain slightly more than half of the total population. The twenty-five lowest-population states contain less than one-sixth of the total population.
The United States Census counts all persons present on the territory of the United States other than short-term visitors, including citizens, non-citizen permanent residents, non-citizen long-term visitors, and illegal aliens. In addition, those serving abroad in the United States Armed Forces and their dependents are also counted in their home state.
Based on data from the decennial census, each state is allocated a proportion of the 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives, though regardless of population, each state is guaranteed a minimum of one seat. The Electoral College is the body that, every four years, elects the President and Vice President of the United States. Each state's representation in the Electoral College is equal to that state's total number of members in both houses of the United States Congress. By the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, the District of Columbia, which lies outside of the jurisdiction of any state, is granted as many votes in the Electoral College as is given the state with the lowest representation in that body. Thus the total representation of the College is 538 members (equal to 100 senators plus 435 representatives, plus 3 members for the District of Columbia). The 11 most populous states have a majority of the electoral college votes, enough to elect the President.
States
State Rank |
Territory Rank |
State | Population | House seats | Elec. College votes | Pop. per House seat |
Pop. per electoral vote |
Percent of total pop. |
Cumulative percent (descending) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
01 | 01 | California | 36,457,549 | 53 | 55 | 687,878 | 662,865 | 12.00% | 12.00% |
02 | 02 | Texas | 23,507,783 | 32 | 34 | 734,618 | 691,405 | 7.74% | 19.74% |
03 | 03 | New York | 19,306,183 | 29 | 31 | 665,730 | 622,780 | 6.36% | 26.10% |
04 | 04 | Florida | 18,089,888 | 25 | 27 | 723,596 | 669,996 | 5.96% | 32.06% |
05 | 05 | Illinois | 12,831,970 | 19 | 21 | 675,367 | 611,046 | 4.22% | 36.28% |
06 | 06 | Pennsylvania | 12,440,621 | 19 | 21 | 654,770 | 592,411 | 4.10% | 40.39% |
07 | 07 | Ohio | 11,478,006 | 18 | 20 | 637,667 | 573,900 | 3.78% | 44.17% |
08 | 08 | Michigan | 10,095,643 | 15 | 17 | 673,043 | 593,861 | 3.32% | 47.49% |
09 | 09 | Georgia | 9,363,941 | 13 | 15 | 720,303 | 624,263 | 3.08% | 50.57% |
10 | 10 | North Carolina | 8,856,505 | 13 | 15 | 681,270 | 590,434 | 2.92% | 53.49% |
11 | 11 | New Jersey | 8,724,560 | 13 | 15 | 671,120 | 581,637 | 2.87% | 56.36% |
12 | 12 | Virginia | 7,642,884 | 11 | 13 | 694,808 | 587,914 | 2.52% | 58.88% |
13 | 13 | Massachusetts | 6,437,193 | 10 | 12 | 643,719 | 536,443 | 2.12% | 61.00% |
14 | 14 | Washington | 6,395,798 | 9 | 11 | 710,644 | 581,436 | 2.11% | 63.11% |
15 | 15 | Indiana | 6,313,520 | 9 | 11 | 701,502 | 573,956 | 2.08% | 65.19% |
16 | 16 | Arizona | 6,166,318 | 8 | 10 | 770,790 | 616,632 | 2.03% | 67.22% |
17 | 17 | Tennessee | 6,038,803 | 9 | 11 | 670,978 | 548,982 | 1.99% | 69.21% |
18 | 18 | Missouri | 5,842,713 | 9 | 11 | 649,190 | 531,156 | 1.92% | 71.13% |
19 | 19 | Maryland | 5,615,727 | 8 | 10 | 701,966 | 561,573 | 1.85% | 72.98% |
20 | 20 | Wisconsin | 5,556,506 | 8 | 10 | 694,563 | 555,651 | 1.83% | 74.81% |
21 | 21 | Minnesota | 5,167,101 | 8 | 10 | 645,888 | 516,710 | 1.70% | 76.51% |
22 | 22 | Colorado | 4,753,377 | 7 | 9 | 679,054 | 528,153 | 1.56% | 78.07% |
23 | 23 | Alabama | 4,599,030 | 7 | 9 | 657,004 | 511,003 | 1.51% | 79.58% |
24 | 24 | South Carolina | 4,321,249 | 6 | 8 | 720,208 | 540,156 | 1.42% | 81.00% |
25 | 25 | Louisiana | 4,287,768 | 7 | 9 | 612,538 | 476,419 | 1.41% | 82.41% |
26 | 26 | Kentucky | 4,206,074 | 6 | 8 | 701,012 | 525,759 | 1.38% | 83.79% |
A | 27 | Puerto Rico | 3,927,776 | [1] | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.29% | 85.08% |
27 | 28 | Oregon | 3,700,758 | 5 | 7 | 740,152 | 528,680 | 1.22% | 86.30% |
28 | 29 | Oklahoma | 3,579,212 | 5 | 7 | 715,842 | 511,316 | 1.18% | 87.48% |
29 | 30 | Connecticut | 3,504,809 | 5 | 7 | 700,962 | 500,687 | 1.15% | 88.63% |
30 | 31 | Iowa | 2,982,085 | 5 | 7 | 596,417 | 426,012 | 0.98% | 89.61% |
31 | 32 | Mississippi | 2,910,540 | 4 | 6 | 727,635 | 485,090 | 0.96% | 90.57% |
32 | 33 | Arkansas | 2,810,872 | 4 | 6 | 702,718 | 468,479 | 0.93% | 91.50% |
33 | 34 | Kansas | 2,764,075 | 4 | 6 | 691,019 | 460,679 | 0.91% | 92.41% |
34 | 35 | Utah | 2,550,063 | 3 | 5 | 850,021 | 510,013 | 0.84% | 93.25% |
35 | 36 | Nevada | 2,495,529 | 3 | 5 | 831,843 | 499,106 | 0.82% | 94.07% |
36 | 37 | New Mexico | 1,954,599 | 3 | 5 | 651,533 | 390,920 | 0.64% | 94.71% |
37 | 38 | West Virginia | 1,818,470 | 3 | 5 | 606,157 | 363,694 | 0.60% | 95.31% |
38 | 39 | Nebraska | 1,768,331 | 3 | 5 | 589,444 | 353,666 | 0.58% | 95.89% |
39 | 40 | Idaho | 1,466,465 | 2 | 4 | 733,233 | 366,616 | 0.48% | 96.37% |
40 | 41 | Maine | 1,321,574 | 2 | 4 | 660,787 | 330,394 | 0.44% | 96.81% |
41 | 42 | New Hampshire | 1,314,895 | 2 | 4 | 657,448 | 328,724 | 0.43% | 97.24% |
42 | 43 | Hawaii | 1,285,498 | 2 | 4 | 642,749 | 321,375 | 0.42% | 97.66% |
43 | 44 | Rhode Island | 1,067,610 | 2 | 4 | 533,805 | 266,903 | 0.35% | 98.01% |
44 | 45 | Montana | 944,632 | 1 | 3 | 944,632 | 314,877 | 0.31% | 98.32% |
45 | 46 | Delaware | 853,476 | 1 | 3 | 853,476 | 284,492 | 0.28% | 98.60% |
46 | 47 | South Dakota | 781,919 | 1 | 3 | 781,919 | 260,640 | 0.26% | 98.86% |
47 | 48 | Alaska | 670,053 | 1 | 3 | 670,053 | 223,351 | 0.22% | 99.08% |
48 | 49 | North Dakota | 635,867 | 1 | 3 | 635,867 | 211,956 | 0.21% | 99.29% |
49 | 50 | Vermont | 623,908 | 1 | 3 | 623,908 | 207,969 | 0.21% | 99.50% |
B | 51 | District of Columbia | 581,530 | [2] | 3 | n/a | 193,843 | 0.19% | 99.69% |
50 | 52 | Wyoming | 515,004 | 1 | 3 | 515,004 | 171,668 | 0.17% | 99.86% |
C | 53 | Guam | 171,019 | [3] | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0.06% | 99.92% |
D | 54 | US Virgin Islands | 108,605 | [3] | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0.04% | 99.96% |
E | 55 | Northern Mariana Islands | 82,459 | [3] | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0.03% | 99.99% |
F | 56 | American Samoa | 57,794 | [3] | n/a | n/a | n/a | 0.02% | 100.00% |
- ^ Puerto Rico elects a non-voting resident commissioner to the House.
- ^ The District of Columbia elects a non-voting delegate to the House.
- ^ a b c d American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are represented by one non-voting House delegate each. An act to add a delegate from the Northern Mariana Islands has been considered by Congress in 2005, but not yet passed.
- n.b. Excluding Washington DC, Wyoming comes 50th. Other territories do not have statehood.
- n.b.b. Total cumulative percentage actually sums to 100.01% due to rounding errors of the parts.
See also
- List of U.S. states by area
- List of United States cities by population
- List of U.S. states by population density
- United States Electoral College
- United States House of Representatives
- List of European Union states by population
References