US States by Population

Most and least populous states

The four largest states, California, Texas, Florida and New York, had 110,423,164 residents combined: 33.3% of the country. Ten states passed 10 million: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan.

California alone has more people than the 21 least populous states combined (37,174,921). It has about 69 times as many residents as Wyoming.

Six states had fewer than 1 million people: Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont and Wyoming. Washington, D.C., with 689,545 residents, is larger than Vermont and Wyoming.

Size and population rarely match. Alaska is the largest state by area but ranks 48th in population, while New Jersey ranks 47th in area and 11th in population. See the US states by size ranking.

2020 Census and seats in the House

The census decides how the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are divided among the states. The apportionment count adds federal employees living overseas, mostly military personnel, and their dependents to each state’s resident population, so it is slightly different from the figures above. The 2020 results took effect with the 2022 elections.

• Largest delegations: California has 52 seats and Texas 38.
• Gains: Texas gained two seats; Colorado, Florida, Montana, North Carolina and Oregon gained one each.
• Losses: California, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia lost one seat each.
• One seat: Alaska, Delaware, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming each elect a single at-large representative.

A state’s electoral votes equal its House seats plus two, so the same count shapes presidential elections.