Size of US States by Area

With a land area of more than 3.5 million square miles, the United States is the third-largest country in the world and makes up 40 percent of the continent of North America. The country is divided into 50 states, 48 of which are part of the contiguous United States. The other two are Alaska, which occupies North America’s northwest, and Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean, about 2,000 miles from the mainland.

But what is the biggest state in the US? And what is the land area of each US state? Keep reading to find out. 

US states ranked by area

Here are the US states from largest to smallest, according to the number of square miles they cover:

Rank	Flag	State	Total area (square miles)	Total area (km²)
1		Alaska	665,384.04	1,723,337
2		Texas	268,596.46	695,662
3		California	163,694.74	423,967
4		Montana	147,039.71	380,831
5		New Mexico	121,590.30	314,917
6		Arizona	113,990.30	295,234
7		Nevada	110,571.82	286,380
8		Colorado	104,093.67	269,601
9		Oregon	98,378.54	254,799
10		Wyoming	97,813.01	253,335
11		Michigan	96,713.51	250,487
12		Minnesota	86,935.83	225,163
13		Utah	84,896.88	219,882
14		Idaho	83,568.95	216,443
15		Kansas	82,278.36	213,100
16		Nebraska	77,347.81	200,330
17		South Dakota	77,115.68	199,729
18		Washington	71,297.95	184,661
19		North Dakota	70,698.32	183,108
20		Oklahoma	69,898.87	181,037
21		Missouri	69,706.99	180,540
22		Florida	65,757.70	170,312
23		Wisconsin	65,496.38	169,635
24		Georgia	59,425.15	153,910
25		Illinois	57,913.55	149,995
26		Iowa	56,272.81	145,746
27		New York	54,554.98	141,297
28		North Carolina	53,819.16	139,391
29		Arkansas	53,178.55	137,732
30		Alabama	52,420.07	135,767
31		Louisiana	52,378.13	135,659
32		Mississippi	48,431.78	125,438
33		Pennsylvania	46,054.34	119,280
34		Ohio	44,825.58	116,098
35		Virginia	42,774.93	110,787
36		Tennessee	42,144.25	109,153
37		Kentucky	40,407.80	104,656
38		Indiana	36,419.55	94,326
39		Maine	35,379.74	91,633
40		South Carolina	32,020.49	82,933
41		West Virginia	24,230.04	62,756
42		Maryland	12,405.93	32,131
43		Hawaii	10,931.72	28,313
44		Massachusetts	10,554.39	27,336
45		Vermont	9,616.36	24,906
46		New Hampshire	9,349.16	24,214
47		New Jersey	8,722.58	22,591
48		Connecticut	5,543.41	14,357
49		Delaware	2,488.72	6,446
50		Rhode Island	1,544.89	4,001

5 largest states in the US by area

1. Alaska – 665,384 square miles

Covering more than 665,000 square miles, Alaska is the US’s largest state by far. It’s so big the next three largest states — Texas, California, and Montana — could fit all into it with room to spare, and the US’s smallest state, Rhode Island, could fit into it 430 times.

As mentioned, Alaska is located in the northwestern part of North America. It borders Canada’s Yukon territory and British Columbia province to the east and is separated from Russia to the west by the Bering Strait. The Arctic Ocean’s Chukchi and Beaufort seas lie to the north, and the Pacific Ocean lies to the south.

Alaska’s landscape is dramatic, featuring 34,000 miles of tidal shoreline, multiple active volcanoes, more than three million lakes, the largest glacier in North America, the Bering Glacier, and the highest mountain in North America, Denali.

2. Texas – 268,596 square miles

The second-largest state in the US is Texas. With an area of nearly 270,000 square miles, it is also the largest state in the contiguous US.

Located in the South Central region of the country, Texas shares borders with Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas. The Gulf of Mexico lies to the southeast. 

Despite its association with the US southwestern deserts, only ten percent of the state’s land area is desert, and it has a diverse terrain of hills and mountains, grasslands, woods and forests, and more than 360 miles of coastline.

3. California – 163,695 square miles

California is the third-largest state in the US, at more than 160,000 square miles. To put that into perspective, it is five times the size of the entire country of Austria. California is also the most populous state in the US, and Los Angeles — one of the largest cities in North America — is its most populous city. 

Located along the Pacific Coast in the Western United States, California’s bordering states are Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, and the Mexican state of Baja California. 

The state’s landscape is extremely diverse, stretching from the Pacific Coast and towns and cities in the west to the Sierra Nevada mountain range in the east and the forests in the north to the Mojave Desert in the south.

4. Montana – 147,040 square miles

The US’s fourth-largest state is Montana. It covers more than 145,000 square miles, making it just slightly bigger than the country of Germany. 

Montana is located in the Western United States, with the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan to the north, Wyoming to the south, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, and Idaho to the west.

There are many mountain ranges throughout the state, but most can be found in the west. The landscape in the east consists of smaller mountains and varies from lush and green to dry and rocky. The Mississippi-Missouri River System — the longest river system in North America — begins in the Red Rocks River in Montana and flows 3,895 miles to the Gulf of Mexico.

5. New Mexico – 121,590 square miles

In fifth place on the list of largest US state sizes by area is New Mexico, which measures more than 120,000 square miles.

Along with Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah, New Mexico is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains. It is bordered by Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, and the Mexican states of Sonora, and Chihuahua.

While the state is comprised of mostly land and very little water, its climate and geography are diverse, ranging from hot, arid deserts to forested mountain ranges with cooler alpine climates. New Mexico has the most amount of UNESCO World Heritage Sites of all the states, with a total of three.

5 smallest states in the US by area

1. Rhode Island – 1,544 square miles

The smallest state in the US is Rhode Island, measuring only about 1,500 square miles. This means it could fit into the country of England more than 40 times. 

Located in the New England region of the US, it shares borders with the states of Massachusetts and Connecticut, with the Atlantic Ocean to the south. 

Nicknamed the ‘Ocean State’, Rhode Island has numerous beaches, and its terrain is mostly flat. Jerimoth Hill, the state’s highest natural point, is just 812 feet above sea level. 

2. Delaware – 2,489 square miles

At just under 2,500 square miles, the US’s second-smallest state is Delaware.

Located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US, it shares borders with Maryland to the south and west, New Jersey to the northeast, and Pennsylvania to the north. The Atlantic Ocean lies to the east of the state.

With a high point of 448 feet, Delaware is even flatter than Rhode Island. In fact, it has the lowest mean elevation of any US state, with much of it included in the Atlantic Coastal Plain region. However, there are some hills in the northernmost part of the state.

3. Connecticut – 5,543 square miles

The third-smallest US state is Connecticut, which measures just over 5,500 square miles. That’s nine times smaller than the country of England.

Bordering the states of New York to the west, Massachusetts to the north, Rhode Island to the east, and Long Island Sound to the south, it is New England’s southernmost state. As well as being part of New England, Connecticut is part of the tri-state area (or New York metropolitan area), which also includes the states of New York and New Jersey.

The state’s highest peak is Bear Mountain in the northwest, but much of its terrain is flat, with many coastal towns less than 20 feet above sea level. 

4. New Jersey – 8,722 square miles

In fourth place on the list of smallest US state sizes by area is New Jersey, at about 8,700 square miles. The state is bordered by New York, Pennsylvania, and Delaware Bay, with the Atlantic Ocean to the south. 

New Jersey is the only US state to consist of only urban counties, but despite this, about 45 percent of the state’s land mass is covered in forest. Its highest point is in Montague Township, with an elevation of 1,803 feet above sea level, and the state’s major rivers include the Delaware, Hudson, Raritan, and Passaic. Both sunrise and sunset can be seen from the Jersey Shore due to the state’s peninsular geography.

5. New Hampshire – 9,349 square miles

New Hampshire is the US’s fifth-smallest state. Covering a little over 9,300 square miles, it could fit into Texas 29 times.

Like Connecticut and Rhode Island, New Hampshire is situated in New England. It is bordered by three other New England states — Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maine — as well as the Gulf of Maine, and the Canadian province of Quebec.

The state’s terrain is so mountainous and forested, it is a major tourist destination for hiking and winter sports, with Mount Monadnock one of the most-climbed mountains in the US. The state is also known for having more than 800 lakes and ponds and around 19,000 miles of streams and rivers.

Credit: Map images created with map.chart.net