The United States of America is the third largest country in the world by area. The large area is divided into 50 states and 1 Federal district, Washington, D.C. The following are lists of the top 10 largest states in the US by area and population. Let’s read.
Top 10 largest states in the US by area
State
Area
Capital city
1
Alaska
about 665,000 square miles (1.7 million square kilometers)
Juneau
2
Texas
about 269,000 square miles (696,000 square kilometers)
Austin
3
California
about 164,000 square miles (424,000 square kilometers)
Sacramento
4
Montana
about 147,000 square miles (381,000 square kilometers)
Helena
5
New Mexico
about 122,000 square miles (315,000 square kilometers)
Santa Fe
6
Arizona
about 114,000 square miles (295,000 square kilometers)
Phoenix
7
Nevada
about 111,000 square miles (286,000 square kilometers)
Carson City
8
Colorado
about 104,000 square miles (270,000 square kilometers)
Denver
9
Oregon
about 98,400 square miles (255,000 square kilometers)
Salem
10
Wyoming
about 97,800 square miles (253,000 square kilometers)
Cheyenne
Top 10 largest states in the US by population
State
Population (2020)
Capital city
1
California
around 39.5 million
Sacramento
2
Texas
around 29.2 million
Austin
3
Florida
around 21.5 million
Tallahassee
4
New York
around 20 million
Albany
5
Pennsylvania
around 13 million
Harrisburg
6
Illinois
around 12.8 million
Springfield
7
Ohio
around 11.8 million
Columbus
8
Georgia
around 10.7 million
Atlanta
9
North Carolina
around 10.5 million
Raleigh
10
Michigan
around 10 million
Lansing
US states
Top 10 most densely populated US states
Rank
State
Population density (2021)
1
New Jersey
around 1260 persons per square mile (487 persons per square kilometer)
2
Rhode Island
around 1060 persons per square mile (409 persons per square kilometer)
3
Massachusetts
around 895 persons per square mile (346persons per square kilometer)
4
Connecticut
around 745 persons per square mile (288 persons per square kilometer)
5
Maryland
around 635 persons per square mile (245 persons per square kilometer)
6
Delaware
around 515 persons per square mile (199 persons per square kilometer)
7
New York State
around 421 persons per square mile (163 persons per square kilometer)
8
Florida
around 406 persons per square mile (157 persons per square kilometer)
9
Pennsylvania
around 290 persons per square mile (112 persons per square kilometer)
10
Ohio
around 288 persons per square mile (111 persons per square kilometer)
*Population density of District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) – 10,960 persons per square mile (4,234 persons per square kilometer)
Key points
Alaska is the largest state in the US by area. It has an area of about 665,000 square miles (1.7 million square kilometers). Alaska is larger than every European nation (not considering transcontinental countries).
California is the most populous state in the US. It has a population of about 39 million. Los Angeles is the largest city in California.
Texas is the largest state in the Contiguous US.
Hawaii and Alaska became states of the US in 1959. They were the last states to join the union.
Hawaii and Alaska are the two noncontiguous states.
