Okay, so maybe you can name all 50 states, but how well do you really know America? Do you know which state has the most neighbors? What if we asked you which states border Kentucky? Could you name them all? Let’s face it, if you’re like most, you’ve probably gone a really, really long time without thinking about Nebraska (or insert your random state of choice). So here’s a list of US states and their borders to help you out, plus a few extra US border facts.
List of US State Borders
The Lonely States
Sorry Alaska and Hawaii, you have no American neighbors. Though at least Alaska is friends with Canada. Also you can see Russia from Alaska, so that’s kind of like having a neighbor, if the fence between your yards was the ocean and international politics.
| Number of Bordering States | State | Bordering States |
| 0 | Alaska (AK) | None, but they have Canada! |
| 0 | Hawaii (HI) | None |
The Contiguous United States
| Number of Bordering States | State | Bordering States |
| 4 | Alabama (AL) | Mississippi, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia |
| 5 | Arizona (AZ) | Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, California, Colorado |
| 6 | Arkansas (AR) | Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri |
| 3 | California (CA) | Oregon, Arizona, Nevada |
| 7 | Colorado (CO) | New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska |
| 3 | Connecticut (CT) | New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts |
| 3 | Delaware (DE) | New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland |
| 2 | Florida (FL) | Georgia, Alabama |
| 5 | Georgia (GA) | North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida |
| 6 | Idaho (ID) | Utah, Washington, Wyoming, Montana, Nevada, Oregon |
| 6 | Illinois (IL) | Kentucky, Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan |
| 4 | Indiana (IN) | Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky |
| 6 | Iowa (IA) | Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri |
| 4 | Kansas (KS) | Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, Missouri |
| 7 | Kentucky (KY) | Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio |
| 3 | Louisiana (LA) | Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi |
| 1 | Maine (ME) | New Hampshire |
| 4 | Maryland (MD) | Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania |
| 5 | Massachusetts (MA) | New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire |
| 5 | Michigan (MI) | Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota
Wisconsin and Minnesota borders shared through Lake Superior |
| 5 | Minnesota (MN) | North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan
Wisconsin and Michigan shared through Lake Superior |
| 4 | Mississippi (MS) | Louisiana, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas |
| 8 | Missouri (MO) | Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky |
| 4 | Montana (MT) | South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, North Dakota |
| 6 | Nebraska (NE) | Missouri, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas |
| 5 | Nevada (NV) | Idaho, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, California |
| 3 | New Hampshire (NH) | Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts |
| 3 | New Jersey (NJ) | Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York |
| 5 | New Mexico (NM) | Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Arizona, Colorado |
| 6 | New York (NY) | Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey
Borders Rhode Island by Block Island (RI) and Long Island (NY) |
| 4 | North Carolina (NC) | Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina |
| 3 | North Dakota (ND) | South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana |
| 5 | Ohio (OH) | Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky |
| 6 | Oklahoma (OK) | Missouri, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas |
| 4 | Oregon (OR) | Nevada, Washington, California, Idaho |
| 6 | Pennsylvania (PA) | New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey |
| 3 | Rhode Island (RI) | Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut
Borders New York by Block Island (RI) and Long Island (NY) |
| 2 | South Carolina (SC) | North Carolina, Georgia |
| 6 | South Dakota (SD) | Nebraska, North Dakota, Wyoming, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana |
| 8 | Tennessee (TN) | Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky |
| 4 | Texas (TX) | New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana |
| 6 | Utah (UT) | Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho |
| 3 | Vermont (VT) | New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts |
| 5 | Virginia (VA) | North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland |
| 2 | Washington (WA) | Oregon, Idaho |
| 5 | West Virginia (WV) | Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio |
| 4 | Wisconsin (WI) | Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa |
| 6 | Wyoming (WY) | Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Montana |
Other US Border Facts
- Hawaii and Alaska are the only states without any neighbor states. At least Alaska has Canada.
- Maine is the second loneliest state, bordering only one other: New Hampshire
- Tennessee and Missouri border the most states, each with 8 neighbors.
- Hawaii is the only state without any straight borders. They’re all natural as a result of Hawaii being an island.
- Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming are the only states that use exclusively surveyed borders. That’s why they look so neatly squared.
Here’s a list of rivers we use to set up borders. There are 57.
- Arthur Kill
- Big Sandy River
- Big Sioux River
- Blackwater River
- Bois de Sioux River
- Brule River
- Byram River
- Catawba River
- Chattahoochee River
- Chattooga River
- Colorado River
- Columbia River
- Connecticut River
- Delaware River
- Des Moines River
- Detroit River
- Great Miami River
- Halls Stream
- Hudson River
- Kill Van Kull
- Menominee River
- Mississippi River
- Missouri River
- Montreal River
- Niagara River
- Ohio River
- Palmer River
- Pawcatuck River
- Pearl River
- Perdido River
- Pigeon River
- Pine River
- Piscataqua River
- Pocomoke River
- Poteau River
- Potomac River
- Poultney River
- Rainy River
- Red River of the North
- Red River of the South
- Rio Grande
- Runnins River
- Sabine River
- St. Clair River
- St. Croix River
- St. Francis River
- St. John River
- St. Lawrence River
- St. Louis River
- St. Marys River
- Salmon Falls River
- Savannah River
- Snake River
- Tennessee River
- Tug Fork River
- Tugaloo River
- Wabash River
So you know who borders who, but see if you know where they border here.
About the Author:
Kyler is a content writer at Sporcle living in Seattle, and is currently studying at the University of Washington School of Law. He's been writing for Sporcle since 2019; sometimes the blog is an excellent platform to answer random personal questions he has about the world. Most of his free time is spent drinking black coffee like water.
