Which state is the most crowded?
🔎 Skip to the answer (ranking table)Guess
Which states are the most crowded (people per square mile)? Tap them most-to-least.
Tapping assigns 1→4 in order
I bet… California — SO many people!
Answer
The real order is…
New Jersey is about 1.2× as crowded as #2 Rhode Island!
📚 Background Most people ≠ most crowded! Tiny New Jersey packs in about 1,000× more people per square mile than Alaska. California, with the most people, isn't even close to #1 here. (U.S. Census Bureau (population estimates + Gazetteer)) (opens in a new tab)
🔍 Explore more: 📈『Half a million new Texans: where America is moving』→ I bet… California — SO many people!
Compare
People per sq mi (Census population ÷ land area)
Most: New Jersey (1,291.8 people per sq mi); least shown here: Alaska (1.3 people per sq mi).
Note: measured in people per square mile (published population ÷ published land area).
Geography is destiny!
Recap
🏅 Today's discovery
🏅 New Jersey is the USA's #1!
🐕 States in Numbers
Quiz a friend!
📋 See the ranking table (top 50)
| Rank | State | Value |
|---|---|---|
| #1 | New Jersey | 1,291.8 people per sq mi |
| #2 | Rhode Island | 1,075.8 people per sq mi |
| #3 | Massachusetts | 914.8 people per sq mi |
| #4 | Connecticut | 758.9 people per sq mi |
| #5 | Maryland | 645 people per sq mi |
| #6 | Delaware | 539.8 people per sq mi |
| #7 | Florida | 435.6 people per sq mi |
| #8 | New York | 421.6 people per sq mi |
| #9 | Pennsylvania | 292.3 people per sq mi |
| #10 | Ohio | 290.8 people per sq mi |
| #11 | California | 253 people per sq mi |
| #12 | Illinois | 229 people per sq mi |
| #13 | North Carolina | 227.2 people per sq mi |
| #14 | Hawaii | 225.2 people per sq mi |
| #15 | Virginia | 223.2 people per sq mi |
| #16 | Georgia | 193.7 people per sq mi |
| #17 | Indiana | 193.3 people per sq mi |
| #18 | South Carolina | 182.2 people per sq mi |
| #19 | Michigan | 179.1 people per sq mi |
| #20 | Tennessee | 175.3 people per sq mi |
| #21 | New Hampshire | 157.4 people per sq mi |
| #22 | Texas | 119.8 people per sq mi |
| #22 | Washington | 119.8 people per sq mi |
| #24 | Kentucky | 116.2 people per sq mi |
| #25 | Wisconsin | 110 people per sq mi |
| #26 | Louisiana | 106.4 people per sq mi |
| #27 | Alabama | 101.8 people per sq mi |
| #28 | Missouri | 90.8 people per sq mi |
| #29 | West Virginia | 73.6 people per sq mi |
| #30 | Minnesota | 72.7 people per sq mi |
| #31 | Vermont | 70.4 people per sq mi |
| #32 | Arizona | 66.7 people per sq mi |
| #33 | Mississippi | 62.7 people per sq mi |
| #34 | Oklahoma | 59.7 people per sq mi |
| #35 | Arkansas | 59.4 people per sq mi |
| #36 | Iowa | 58 people per sq mi |
| #37 | Colorado | 57.5 people per sq mi |
| #38 | Maine | 45.6 people per sq mi |
| #39 | Oregon | 44.5 people per sq mi |
| #40 | Utah | 42.4 people per sq mi |
| #41 | Kansas | 36.3 people per sq mi |
| #42 | Nevada | 29.7 people per sq mi |
| #43 | Nebraska | 26.1 people per sq mi |
| #44 | Idaho | 24.2 people per sq mi |
| #45 | New Mexico | 17.6 people per sq mi |
| #46 | South Dakota | 12.2 people per sq mi |
| #47 | North Dakota | 11.5 people per sq mi |
| #48 | Montana | 7.8 people per sq mi |
| #49 | Wyoming | 6.1 people per sq mi |
| #50 | Alaska | 1.3 people per sq mi |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2024 (population) / 2024 Gazetteer (land))
Sources
Data as of: 2024 (population) / 2024 Gazetteer (land)
U.S. Census Bureau: NST-EST2024 population ÷ 2024 Gazetteer land area (both published) (opens in a new tab) (2026-07-12) — Transparent division of two published Census Bureau figures (population ÷ land area). Both raw files are committed unchanged.
↳ Divide each state's NST-EST2024 population by its ALAND_SQMI in the 2024 Gazetteer file.