The United States is the fourth largest county in the world, based on square miles. At 3,618,783 square miles, it comes in behind Russia, Canada and China. About 96% of the U.S.’s total area is land, and the balance is water. In many analyses of the numbers, figures are then broken into states, provinces, and territories. The largest state in America is Alaska.
Not all states are as large. In some states, people can travel from one border to another in an hour or two. Rhode Island only covers 1,545 square miles, according to the Census Bureau. Most of the smallest states by square miles are in the Northeast, and they range from Vermont and New Hampshire as far south as Delaware. (Geographical size does not always matter when it comes to the size of the economy. These are America’s largest and smallest state economies.)
Throughout much of the nation’s history, the largest states and territories were Texas (268,596 sq. miles), California (163,695 sq. miles) and several Plains states that include Montana (147,040 sq. miles).
This ranking changed substantially when Alaska became a state on Jan. 3, 1959. It is the largest state, by a large margin, at 665,384 square miles. Of that, 570,641 sq. miles are land and 245,383 sq. miles are water.
Alaska also has the lowest population density at 1.3 people per sq. mile of land. It ranks 48th among all states by population at only 733,391, based on the 2020 census results. It is also one of the slowest growing. Alaska’s population rose by only 3.3% from 2010. By contrast, the population density of New Jersey is 1,252.4 per sq. mile. (By population, these are the 50 largest cities in America.)
Among the problems created by Alaska’s huge size is the maintenance of infrastructure. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ Report Card for America’s Infrastructure: “Many of Alaska’s remote communities are still in need of water and wastewater systems that are safe, efficient, and sustainable, while even our most populated areas are still learning how best to handle everyday solid waste in a subarctic environment.”
Unless there is a large investment in this infrastructure, these problems almost certainly will persist.
To find the largest state in America, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed Census Bureau area measurements data that were derived from the Census Bureau’s Master Address File/Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing database. The boundaries of the states are as of Jan. 1, 2010. We also calculated the percentage of land and water area for each state.
Click here to see the largest state in America
1. Rhode Island
> Total area: 1,545 sq. miles
> Land area: 1,034 sq. miles, 66.9% of total area
> Water area: 511 sq. miles, 33.1% of total area
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2. Delaware
> Total area: 2,489 sq. miles
> Land area: 1,949 sq. miles, 78.3% of total area
> Water area: 540 sq. miles, 21.7% of total area
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3. Connecticut
> Total area: 5,543 sq. miles
> Land area: 4,842 sq. miles, 87.4% of total area
> Water area: 701 sq. miles, 12.6% of total area
4. New Jersey
> Total area: 8,723 sq. miles
> Land area: 7,354 sq. miles, 84.3% of total area
> Water area: 1,368 sq. miles, 15.7% of total area
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5. New Hampshire
> Total area: 9,349 sq. miles
> Land area: 8,953 sq. miles, 95.8% of total area
> Water area: 397 sq. miles, 4.2% of total area
6. Vermont
> Total area: 9,616 sq. miles
> Land area: 9,217 sq. miles, 95.9% of total area
> Water area: 400 sq. miles, 4.2% of total area
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7. Massachusetts
> Total area: 10,554 sq. miles
> Land area: 7,800 sq. miles, 73.9% of total area
> Water area: 2,754 sq. miles, 26.1% of total area
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8. Hawaii
> Total area: 10,932 sq. miles
> Land area: 6,423 sq. miles, 58.8% of total area
> Water area: 4,509 sq. miles, 41.2% of total area
9. Maryland
> Total area: 12,406 sq. miles
> Land area: 9,707 sq. miles, 78.2% of total area
> Water area: 2,699 sq. miles, 21.8% of total area
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10. West Virginia
> Total area: 24,230 sq. miles
> Land area: 24,038 sq. miles, 99.2% of total area
> Water area: 192 sq. miles, 0.8% of total area
11. South Carolina
> Total area: 32,020 sq. miles
> Land area: 30,061 sq. miles, 93.9% of total area
> Water area: 1,960 sq. miles, 6.1% of total area
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12. Maine
> Total area: 35,380 sq. miles
> Land area: 30,843 sq. miles, 87.2% of total area
> Water area: 4,537 sq. miles, 12.8% of total area
13. Indiana
> Total area: 36,420 sq. miles
> Land area: 35,826 sq. miles, 98.4% of total area
> Water area: 593 sq. miles, 1.6% of total area
14. Kentucky
> Total area: 40,408 sq. miles
> Land area: 39,486 sq. miles, 97.7% of total area
> Water area: 921 sq. miles, 2.3% of total area
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15. Tennessee
> Total area: 42,144 sq. miles
> Land area: 41,235 sq. miles, 97.8% of total area
> Water area: 909 sq. miles, 2.2% of total area
16. Virginia
> Total area: 42,775 sq. miles
> Land area: 39,490 sq. miles, 92.3% of total area
> Water area: 3,285 sq. miles, 7.7% of total area
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17. Ohio
> Total area: 44,826 sq. miles
> Land area: 40,861 sq. miles, 91.2% of total area
> Water area: 3,965 sq. miles, 8.8% of total area
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18. Pennsylvania
> Total area: 46,054 sq. miles
> Land area: 44,743 sq. miles, 97.2% of total area
> Water area: 1,312 sq. miles, 2.8% of total area
19. Mississippi
> Total area: 48,432 sq. miles
> Land area: 46,923 sq. miles, 96.9% of total area
> Water area: 1,509 sq. miles, 3.1% of total area
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20. Louisiana
> Total area: 52,378 sq. miles
> Land area: 43,204 sq. miles, 82.5% of total area
> Water area: 9,174 sq. miles, 17.5% of total area
21. Alabama
> Total area: 52,420 sq. miles
> Land area: 50,645 sq. miles, 96.6% of total area
> Water area: 1,775 sq. miles, 3.4% of total area
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22. Arkansas
> Total area: 53,179 sq. miles
> Land area: 52,035 sq. miles, 97.8% of total area
> Water area: 1,143 sq. miles, 2.1% of total area
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23. North Carolina
> Total area: 53,819 sq. miles
> Land area: 48,618 sq. miles, 90.3% of total area
> Water area: 5,201 sq. miles, 9.7% of total area
24. New York
> Total area: 54,555 sq. miles
> Land area: 47,126 sq. miles, 86.4% of total area
> Water area: 7,429 sq. miles, 13.6% of total area
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25. Iowa
> Total area: 56,273 sq. miles
> Land area: 55,857 sq. miles, 99.3% of total area
> Water area: 416 sq. miles, 0.7% of total area
26. Illinois
> Total area: 57,914 sq. miles
> Land area: 55,519 sq. miles, 95.9% of total area
> Water area: 2,395 sq. miles, 4.1% of total area
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27. Georgia
> Total area: 59,425 sq. miles
> Land area: 57,513 sq. miles, 96.8% of total area
> Water area: 1,912 sq. miles, 3.2% of total area
28. Wisconsin
> Total area: 65,496 sq. miles
> Land area: 54,158 sq. miles, 82.7% of total area
> Water area: 11,339 sq. miles, 17.3% of total area
29. Florida
> Total area: 65,758 sq. miles
> Land area: 53,625 sq. miles, 81.5% of total area
> Water area: 12,133 sq. miles, 18.5% of total area
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30. Missouri
> Total area: 69,707 sq. miles
> Land area: 68,742 sq. miles, 98.6% of total area
> Water area: 965 sq. miles, 1.4% of total area
31. Oklahoma
> Total area: 69,899 sq. miles
> Land area: 68,595 sq. miles, 98.1% of total area
> Water area: 1,304 sq. miles, 1.9% of total area
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32. North Dakota
> Total area: 70,698 sq. miles
> Land area: 69,001 sq. miles, 97.6% of total area
> Water area: 1,698 sq. miles, 2.4% of total area
33. Washington
> Total area: 71,298 sq. miles
> Land area: 66,456 sq. miles, 93.2% of total area
> Water area: 4,842 sq. miles, 6.8% of total area
34. South Dakota
> Total area: 77,116 sq. miles
> Land area: 75,811 sq. miles, 98.3% of total area
> Water area: 1,305 sq. miles, 1.7% of total area
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35. Nebraska
> Total area: 77,348 sq. miles
> Land area: 76,824 sq. miles, 99.3% of total area
> Water area: 524 sq. miles, 0.7% of total area
36. Kansas
> Total area: 82,278 sq. miles
> Land area: 81,759 sq. miles, 99.4% of total area
> Water area: 520 sq. miles, 0.6% of total area
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37. Idaho
> Total area: 83,569 sq. miles
> Land area: 82,643 sq. miles, 98.9% of total area
> Water area: 926 sq. miles, 1.1% of total area
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38. Utah
> Total area: 84,897 sq. miles
> Land area: 82,170 sq. miles, 96.8% of total area
> Water area: 2,727 sq. miles, 3.2% of total area
39. Minnesota
> Total area: 86,936 sq. miles
> Land area: 79,627 sq. miles, 91.6% of total area
> Water area: 7,309 sq. miles, 8.4% of total area
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40. Michigan
> Total area: 96,714 sq. miles
> Land area: 56,539 sq. miles, 58.5% of total area
> Water area: 40,175 sq. miles, 41.5% of total area
41. Wyoming
> Total area: 97,813 sq. miles
> Land area: 97,093 sq. miles, 99.3% of total area
> Water area: 720 sq. miles, 0.7% of total area
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42. Oregon
> Total area: 98,379 sq. miles
> Land area: 95,988 sq. miles, 97.6% of total area
> Water area: 2,391 sq. miles, 2.4% of total area
43. Colorado
> Total area: 104,094 sq. miles
> Land area: 103,642 sq. miles, 99.6% of total area
> Water area: 452 sq. miles, 0.4% of total area
44. Nevada
> Total area: 110,572 sq. miles
> Land area: 109,781 sq. miles, 99.3% of total area
> Water area: 791 sq. miles, 0.7% of total area
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45. Arizona
> Total area: 113,990 sq. miles
> Land area: 113,594 sq. miles, 99.7% of total area
> Water area: 396 sq. miles, 0.3% of total area
46. New Mexico
> Total area: 121,590 sq. miles
> Land area: 121,298 sq. miles, 99.8% of total area
> Water area: 292 sq. miles, 0.2% of total area
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47. Montana
> Total area: 147,040 sq. miles
> Land area: 145,546 sq. miles, 99.0% of total area
> Water area: 1,494 sq. miles, 1.0% of total area
48. California
> Total area: 163,695 sq. miles
> Land area: 155,779 sq. miles, 95.2% of total area
> Water area: 7,916 sq. miles, 4.8% of total area
49. Texas
> Total area: 268,596 sq. miles
> Land area: 261,232 sq. miles, 97.3% of total area
> Water area: 7,365 sq. miles, 2.7% of total area
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50. Alaska
> Total area: 665,384 sq. miles
> Land area: 570,641 sq. miles, 85.8% of total area
> Water area: 94,743 sq. miles, 14.2% of total area
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