List of US States by Area - Nations Online Project

From the largest to the smallest US states.

Map of the Contiguous United States.

The United States is the third largest country in the world and occupies about 40% of the North American continent, which it shares with Canada and Mexico.

The US territory is divided into 50 states; 48 states are in the central part of the North American continent, known as the "contiguous United States," one state, Alaska, occupies the peninsula-like northwestern part of North America, and there is Hawaii, a tropical archipelago in the Pacific Ocean.

The U.S. states as constituent political units.
The states are constituent political units that together make up the United States.
The area of the 13 original states was largely defined by colonial charters and changed several times throughout their history. The size of many other state territories was determined by Congress. Relatively arbitrary straight lines following the lines of longitude and latitude defined the size of the states west of the Mississippi.

The formation of the U.S. states.
The formation of the U.S. states was a complex process that involved a combination of historical, political, and geographic factors, as well as negotiations and compromises between different groups with competing interests.

The size of U.S. states compared to the size of nation-states.

Measured by size, US states are as large or small as nation-states in the Old World. For example, California, the third-largest US state, is larger than Germany but smaller than France; Texas is three times the size of the United Kingdom, and Massachusetts is two-thirds the size of Switzerland.

So, what is the largest state by area in the United States of America? Which is the smallest state in the United States? How big are U.S. states compared to nation-states?

Below is a list of the 50 U.S. States by area size, from the largest to the smallest state of the United States. U.S. States compared by area size with nation-states.

List of states and territories in total area in square kilometers (km²) and square miles (sq mi).

US State Flags:
Click on a state flag symbol to show a larger version of the flag and a flag description.

No.	State	km²	sq mi	Census Region	Notes
30	Alabama	135,767	52,420	East South Central	The "Heart of Dixie" is the largest state in the East South Central region. Alabama is the 30th largest state in the United States and offers a diverse topography that ranges from the Appalachian Mountains to the beaches of the Gulf Coast.
1	Alaska	1,723,336	665,384	Pacific	Alaska is the largest state in the US; it is not bordered by any other US state. "The Last Frontier" is about 3 times as big as France and about 2.5 times the size of Texas; it is also the least densely populated US state.
6	Arizona	295,233	113,990	Mountain	Home to the Grand Canyon. Arizona is about three times the size of South Korea.
29	Arkansas	137,730	53,178	West South Central	By comparison, Arkansas is slightly larger than Greece.
3	California	423,968	163,695	Pacific	Largest state in the Pacific region on the US mainland and one of three states on the US mainland with a coastline on the Pacific Ocean. California is five times the size of Austria.
8	Colorado	269,602	104,094	Mountain	One of the two states that have straight borders that appear to form a rectangle. Colorado is about the size of New Zealand.
48	Connecticut	14,356	5,543	New England	One of the six New England states, but nine times smaller than England.
49	Delaware	6,446	2,489	South Atlantic	One of the original thirteen states.
22	Florida	170,312	65,758	South Atlantic	Largest state in the South Atlantic region of the USA. Florida is about one-third the size of Spain.
24	Georgia	153,910	59,425	South Atlantic	One of the original thirteen states.
43	Hawaii	28,313	10,932	Pacific	The only US state located on an archipelago.
14	Idaho	216,443	83,569	Mountain	By comparison, Idaho is slightly smaller than Great Britain (island).
25	Illinois	149,994	57,913	East North Central	By comparison, Illinois is about half the size of Italy.
38	Indiana	94,327	36,420	East North Central	Indiana is about the size of Hungary.
26	Iowa	145,744	56,272	West North Central	By comparison, Iowa is about twice the size of Ireland.
15	Kansas	213,099	82,278	West North Central	The size of Kansas is defined by longitude and latitude, with only the northeast corner cut off by the Missouri River.
37	Kentucky	104,656	40,408	East South Central	The Bluegrass State is about one-third the size of Poland and would fit almost seven times into Texas.
31	Louisiana	135,658	52,378	West South Central	The Pelican State is somewhat larger than Greece, or about half the size of Colorado.
39	Maine	91,634	35,380	New England	Largest state in New England. About twice the size of Estonia.
42	Maryland	32,131	12,406	South Atlantic	Maryland is located in the north of the South-Atlantic region of the United States; it is known for its diverse geography, including the Chesapeake Bay, the Appalachian Mountains and its coastal plains. Maryland is slightly larger than Belgium; about 26% of its area is covered by water.
44	Massachusetts	27,335	10,554	New England	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is somewhat smaller than Belgium and the most populous state in the New England region.
11	Michigan	250,485	96,713	East North Central	Michigan is split into two distinct landmasses, the Upper Peninsula (UP) and the Lower Peninsula (LP), connected by the Mackinac Bridge. It is the largest state in East North Central; however, 40,175 sq mi (104,052 sq km), about 41.5% of Michigan's total area, is covered by water.
12	Minnesota	225,163	86,936	West North Central	The 'Land of 10,000 Lakes' is the largest state in the West North Central region of the United States, and it shares a border with Canada to the north.
32	Mississippi	125,438	48,432	East South Central	The US state of Mississippi was named after the Mississippi River, the second-longest river in the US.
21	Missouri	180,540	69,707	West North Central	Missouri was named for the Missouri River, the longest river in the United States.
4	Montana	380,831	147,040	Mountain	Montana is the largest state in the Mountain Region. Montana is slightly larger than Germany.
16	Nebraska	200,330	77,348	West North Central	Nebraska is located in the middle of the United States, west of the Missouri River, and is about the size of Kyrgyzstan.
7	Nevada	286,380	110,572	Mountain	Nevada, the Battle Born State, is about the size of Ecuador and would fit almost 2.5 times within Texas.
46	New Hampshire	24,214	9,349	New England	The Granite State is slightly smaller than North Macedonia and would fit inside Texas 29 times.
47	New Jersey	22,590	8,722	Middle Atlantic	New Jersey is the most densely populated US state. Compared, it is about the size of Israel and has about the same number of inhabitants.
5	New Mexico	314,917	121,590	Mountain	New Mexico is the 5th largest US state, about the size of Poland. Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, is the highest capital city in the United States at 2,194 m (7,198 ft)) above sea level.
27	New York	141,297	54,555	Middle Atlantic	The largest state in the Mid-Atlantic region. The "Empire State" is slightly larger than Greece and would fit almost five times inside Texas.
28	North Carolina	139,390	53,819	South Atlantic	North Carolina is about twice the size of Ireland and would fit five times inside Texas.
19	North Dakota	183,107	70,698	West North Central	North Dakota is somewhat smaller than half the size of Germany but eight times as big as New Jersey.
34	Ohio	116,096	44,825	East North Central	The Buckeye State is slightly larger than Cuba and would fit six times inside Texas.
20	Oklahoma	181,038	69,899	West South Central	Oklahoma is the size of Cambodia and would fit almost four times in Texas.
9	Oregon	254,800	98,379	Pacific	One of the three states in the continental United States with a coastline on the Pacific Ocean. Oregon is slightly larger than the UK but has only about 6% of the UK's population.
33	Pennsylvania	119,279	46,054	Middle Atlantic	The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, also known as "The Keystone State," is about half the size of the United Kingdom.
50	Rhode Island	3,999	1,544	New England	Rhode Island is the smallest U.S. state. It would fit more than 40 times in England.
40	South Carolina	82,931	32,020	South Atlantic	South Carolina is about as big as the United Arab Emirates.
17	South Dakota	199,730	77,116	West North Central	South Dakota is two-thirds the size of Italy.
36	Tennessee	109,152	42,144	East South Central	Tennessee is about the size of Cuba.
2	Texas	695,660	268,596	West South Central	The largest state on the U.S. mainland and the second largest in the United States.
13	Utah	219,882	84,897	Mountain	The Beehive State is about twice as big as Bulgaria.
45	Vermont	24,905	9,616	New England	The state in the northeastern US is about half the size of Slovakia.
35	Virginia	110,787	42,775	South Atlantic	Virginia is about the size of Bulgaria.
18	Washington	184,661	71,298	Pacific	Washington is one of three states on the US mainland with a coastline on the Pacific Ocean and one of thirteen states with a border with Canada.
41	West Virginia	62,755	24,230	South Atlantic	The Mountain State is the only state that lies entirely in the Appalachian Mountains. West Virginia is slightly smaller than Scotland.
23	Wisconsin	169,634	65,496	East North Central	The Badger State is about twice the size of Austria.
10	Wyoming	253,334	97,813	Mountain	Wyoming is half the size of Spain; its area is defined by the 104 and 111 degrees west longitude lines and the 41 and 45 degrees north latitude lines. It is the second-least densely populated US state.

	Country/ Territory	Area (km²)	Area (sq mi)	Territory	Notes
	United States Contiguous United States	9,833,516 8,081,868	3,796,742 3,120,428	North America	The United States is the third-largest country in the world. Its area is about half the size of Russia or more than twice the size of the European Union. The federal republic consists of 50 states and one capital district (District of Columbia).
	District of Columbia	177	68.34	South Atlantic	Capital district of the United States, generally known as Washington D.C.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau - Area Measurements; and U.S. Geological Survey
Territories of the United States
	American Samoa	1,505	581	Polynesia	American Samoa has a land area of 198 km² (76 sq mi)
	Guam	1,476	570	Micronesia	Guam has a land area of 543 km² (209 sq mi)
	Northern Mariana Islands	5,115	1,975	Micronesia	Northern Mariana Islands have a land area of 472 km² (182 sq mi)
	Puerto Rico	13,792	5,325	Caribbean	Puerto Rico has a land area of 8,867 km² (3,424 sq mi)
	US Virgin Islands	1,898	733	Caribbean	US Virgin Islands have a land area of 348 km² (134 sq mi)

Map of Divisions of the United States (Census Regions)

Map of the main divisions of the United States (Census Regions). The four geographic regions and nine divisions of the United States

Regions and Divisions
The most commonly used area classification system in the U.S. is the Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions.

There are four main regions:

Region 1: Northeast with New England and the Middle Atlantic region.

Region 2: Midwest with the East North Central and the West North Central region.

Region 3: South with three subdivisions: South Atlantic, East South Central, and West South Central.

Region 4: West
Region West includes the Mountain and the Pacific region.

Keywords: largest US state by area, smallest US state by area, US state area in square kilometers, square miles, size of the US states

History of the US states

The United States of America was founded after thirteen British colonies in North America declared their independence from the British Empire on 4 July 1776.

Various historical, political, and geographic factors have determined the shape and size of the states in the United States. Here are some key factors that have influenced the shape of the states:

1. Colonial Settlement Patterns
During the European colonization of the Americas, several empires, primarily Spain, Portugal, Britain, France, Russia, the Netherlands and Sweden, began to explore and claim the land.
The French established colonies in much of eastern North America (New France). The original thirteen US colonies, which gave rise to the United States, were ruled by the British monarchy during the colonial period from the late 16th century to the American Revolution in the late 18th century.

2. Geographic features
Geographic features such as rivers, mountains, and coastlines also played a role in shaping the boundaries of the states. For example, the Mississippi River served as a natural boundary between many of the western states, and the Appalachian Mountains played a role in separating the eastern states from the western frontier.

3. Political negotiations
The process of determining state boundaries was often influenced by political negotiations and compromises between different groups with competing interests. For example, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 declared the boundaries of the thirteen colonies as the Appalachian Mountains and the Missouri Compromise of 1820 established the boundary between slave and free states in the western territories, and the Compromise of 1850 resolved a dispute over the boundaries of Texas.

4. Federal government
The federal government also played a role in shaping the states' boundaries by admitting new states to the Union. The process of admitting new states often involved negotiating borders and defining territorial boundaries before the state was established.

The purchase of land by the United States government played also a significant role in the shaping of the states and the expansion of the country's territory. Two major land purchases that contributed to the shape and size of the states were the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and the Alaska Purchase in 1867.

Overall, the shaping of the states was a complex process that involved a combination of historical, political, and geographic factors, as well as negotiations and compromises between different groups with competing interests.

Size of US States by Area

From the largest to the smallest US states.