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Land area by state

Alaska has the highest estimate (571,409 sq mi); Rhode Island has the lowest (1,034 sq mi). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Gazetteer files, 2026, 2026.

Data year: 2026 boundariesSource released Sept. 8, 2026Last updated Oct. 23, 20262026_Gaz_state_national ALAND

50 ranked states; DC and Puerto Rico appear as reference rows where the source supplies them. Highest does not mean best.

Lowest state estimate 1,034 sq mi Rhode Island
Highest state estimate 571,409 sq mi Alaska
Alaska: 571,409 sq mi Texas: 261,259 sq mi California: 155,860 sq mi Montana: 145,550 sq mi New Mexico: 121,313 sq mi Arizona: 113,656 sq mi Nevada: 109,860 sq mi Colorado: 103,637 sq mi Wyoming: 97,089 sq mi Oregon: 95,997 sq mi Idaho: 82,645 sq mi Utah: 82,596 sq mi Kansas: 81,759 sq mi Minnesota: 79,632 sq mi Nebraska: 76,815 sq mi South Dakota: 75,809 sq mi North Dakota: 68,994 sq mi Missouri: 68,747 sq mi Oklahoma: 68,597 sq mi Washington: 66,457 sq mi Georgia: 57,718 sq mi Michigan: 56,613 sq mi Iowa: 55,854 sq mi Illinois: 55,514 sq mi Wisconsin: 54,168 sq mi Florida: 53,658 sq mi Arkansas: 51,992 sq mi Alabama: 50,652 sq mi North Carolina: 48,624 sq mi New York: 47,123 sq mi Mississippi: 46,925 sq mi Pennsylvania: 44,742 sq mi Louisiana: 43,221 sq mi Tennessee: 41,225 sq mi Ohio: 40,859 sq mi Kentucky: 39,486 sq mi Virginia: 39,481 sq mi Indiana: 35,825 sq mi Maine: 30,845 sq mi South Carolina: 30,064 sq mi West Virginia: 24,041 sq mi Maryland: 9,711 sq mi Vermont: 9,217 sq mi New Hampshire: 8,954 sq mi Massachusetts: 7,801 sq mi New Jersey: 7,355 sq mi Hawaii: 6,423 sq mi Connecticut: 4,843 sq mi Delaware: 1,949 sq mi Rhode Island: 1,034 sq mi
Each dot is a state. The scale runs from the lowest to highest estimate; intervals are not shown here. Read about uncertainty.

State distribution and comparisons

The middle of the 50-state distribution is 53,913 sq mi: the average of the 25th and 26th ordered state estimates. This treats each state equally, so it answers a different question from a population-weighted national estimate.

How much does water change the order?

These states’ ranks change the most between land area and total area. These comparisons identify different questions worth investigating; a rank gap does not measure a causal effect or a statistical difference between unlike units.

StateLand areaTotal area
Michigan56,613 sq mi · #2296,713 sq mi · #11
Florida53,658 sq mi · #2671,404 sq mi · #18
Missouri68,747 sq mi · #1869,707 sq mi · #22

Inspect these states, definitions and pairwise differences.

The state-by-state view

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Ranked among 50 states; District of Columbia and Puerto Rico shown for reference. Rank 1 = highest value.

Land area · 2026 boundaries · Square miles
RankState / jurisdictionValue90% margin of errorDifference from previous rank
1Alaska571,409 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
2Texas261,259 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
3California155,860 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
4Montana145,550 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
5New Mexico121,313 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
6Arizona113,656 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
7Nevada109,860 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
8Colorado103,637 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
9Wyoming97,089 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
10Oregon95,997 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
11Idaho82,645 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
12Utah82,596 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
13Kansas81,759 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
14Minnesota79,632 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
15Nebraska76,815 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
16South Dakota75,809 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
17North Dakota68,994 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
18Missouri68,747 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
19Oklahoma68,597 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
20Washington66,457 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
21Georgia57,718 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
22Michigan56,613 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
23Iowa55,854 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
24Illinois55,514 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
25Wisconsin54,168 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
26Florida53,658 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
27Arkansas51,992 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
28Alabama50,652 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
29North Carolina48,624 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
30New York47,123 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
31Mississippi46,925 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
32Pennsylvania44,742 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
33Louisiana43,221 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
34Tennessee41,225 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
35Ohio40,859 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
36Kentucky39,486 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
37Virginia39,481 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
38Indiana35,825 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
39Maine30,845 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
40South Carolina30,064 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
41West Virginia24,041 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
42Maryland9,711 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
43Vermont9,217 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
44New Hampshire8,954 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
45Massachusetts7,801 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
46New Jersey7,355 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
47Hawaii6,423 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
48Connecticut4,843 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
49Delaware1,949 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
50Rhode Island1,034 sq miNot publishedNot a survey test
Ref.District of ColumbiaNot ranked among states61 sq miNot publishedReference jurisdiction
Ref.Puerto RicoNot ranked among states3,424 sq miNot publishedReference jurisdiction

50 states plus 2 reference rows.

What this ranking measures

Land area in square miles, excluding inland, coastal, Great Lakes and territorial water.

Boundaries and shorelines are generalized for statistical use; small changes between Gazetteer years usually reflect mapping updates, not real change.

The size of the gap

The difference between the highest and lowest state estimates is 570,375 sq mi. The 50 states cover 3,533,598 square miles of land.

How much should you read into a rank?

Areas are calculated from the Census Bureau’s boundary files; no margin of error applies. “Not published” means uncertainty is not quantified here, not that the estimates are exact.

Ranks use the full precision of the source file, so only truly equal values share a rank (1, 2, 2, 4).

Keep exploring

Read the ranking methodology.

Explore the same states in a side-by-side comparison, or combine this measure with others in the custom ranking tool.

Source and method

Producer
U.S. Census Bureau
Product / file
Gazetteer files, 2026 · 2026_Gaz_state_national ALAND
Period
2026 boundaries
Unit
Square miles
Calculation
ALAND (square meters) / 2,589,988.110336. Rank = 1 + number of eligible jurisdictions with a higher value.
Coverage
The 50 states are ranked. Washington, D.C., can be added with the toggle above the table; Puerto Rico is shown for reference only, where the source covers it.
Cadence
Annual. 2027 Gazetteer files, usually published in the second half of the year.
Independence
Rank the States is independent. The agencies that produce the source data do not endorse these rankings.

Download, cite, or embed

Download the default full table (CSV) or use the download above for the table’s current filter and order. Data dictionary and source metadata

Updates and corrections

Last updated Oct. 23, 2026. Earlier editions stay available on the data page, and every change is listed in the update log. If a number or definition looks wrong, report an error with the state, value, and source you checked.

Related rankings

State distributions: each mark is one state, from lowest to highest. Each row uses its own scale.

01

Largest states by area

2026 boundaries · Census Gazetteer

665,725 sq mi Alaska · highest estimate 02

Population density

July 1, 2025 · Census PEP + Gazetteer

1,298.2/sq mi New Jersey · highest estimate

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