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See the overall Best States rankings below, and check out the Best States methodology for a detailed look at the data behind the Best States rankings. See which state ranks No. 1 in the U.S. based ...
- North Carolina
North Carolina, which was at one time combined with South...
- Crime & Corrections
Maine’s 35,380 square miles make it the largest of the six...
- Natural Environment
Hawaii is the most recent addition to the United States,...
- Infrastructure
See how your state compares on renewable energy, road...
- Montana
Montana ranks No. 24 overall among U.S. states based on 71...
- Missouri
Missouri became a U.S. territory as a part of the Louisiana...
- Washington
Washington ranks No. 8 overall among U.S. states based on 71...
- Utah
Utah ranks No. 1 overall among U.S. states based on 71...
- New York
From the late 1800s to the mid-20th century, millions of...
- North Carolina
5 days ago · The Best States rankings from U.S. News & World Report show how each of the 50 U.S. states ranks in 71 metrics across eight categories. The data behind the rankings aims to show how well...
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Florida
Estimates indicate that Alabama’s population has grown to 5,097,641 people (and counting) as of 2023. As such, Alabama comprises approximately 1.51% of the entire US population and ranks as the 24th-most-populated state in the US. Alabama's population experienced an increase of 6.65% from 2010 to 2023, which ranks as the 27th-highest/24th-lowest du...
Nicknamed the "Last Frontier", Alaska is unique among the US states due to its unusual daylight schedule and extreme cold. The area of Alaska is 663,267 square miles (mi²), making it by far the largest US state in area. The second-largest state is Texasat 268,581 square miles—less than half the size of Alaska. Despite its size, Alaska is the third-...
The latest census estimates the population of Arizona at approximately 7,379,346 people at the start of 2023, which constitutes 2.19% of the total US population. Arizona has seen significant population growth since the 2010 census—a 15.45% growth rate—which makes it the ninth-fastest-growing statein the union during this period. Between July 2017 a...
Arkansas, with a name derived from the Siouan Quapaw tribe of Native Americans, is a landlocked state whose diverse geography ranges from the mountains of the Ozarks to the forests of the Arkansas Timberlands and the lowlands of the MississippiRiver and the Arkansas Delta. At the start of 2023, the Arkansas population was estimated to include 3,040...
California is the most populated state in the US, boasting an estimated 2023 population of 40,223,504 people and making up nearly 12% of the national population. Despite the fact that it is the country's 3rd largest state by area, the "Golden State") has a population density of 258 people/mi², the 11th-highest in the country. Los Angeles/Long Beach...
Located among the mountain states in the Western US and highlighted by the ruggedly picturesque Rocky Mountains, the "Centennial State"Colorado has achieved the sixth-highest population growth in the country between 2010 and 2023. The state's population is estimated to have expanded from 5,048,281 in 2010 to 5,997,070 by early 2023, an increase of ...
Situated along the Eastern seaboard, the coastal state Connecticut is one of the six states in America's "New England" region. Connecticut’s population actually shrank from 3,579,125 in 2010 to 3,567,871 in 2019, but recovered and grew to 3,615,499 by the start of 2023, amounting to 1.07% of the total US population. Connecticut's population growth ...
The country's second-smallest state by area at 2,489 square miles (mi²), Delaware was home to roughly 1,017,551 individuals as of 2023. This proved to be an increase of 13.32% from the country's 2010 population, the 13th-highest/38th-lowest population increase in the US. Though Delaware is the least-populated state on the East Coast, it nonetheless...
The District of Columbia, informally known as Washington, DC, is the capital of the United States. Although it is technically a Federal District rather than a state, the US Census Bureau treats the District of Columbia as the equivalent to a state for statistical purposes. Washington DC is unique in that during the workweek, commuters from surround...
The Gulf StateFlorida is the third most populous state in the nation, with an estimated 22,359,251 people at the start of 2023. This figure indicates 18.92%% growth since the 2010 census, the sixth-highest percentage increase in the country. Florida's population makes up 6.62% of the US total and the state's population density is 417 people/mi², th...
Health Care. Few factors bear as heavily on the well-being of any state’s citizens as their overall health. In evaluating the best states for health care – one of eight categories driving the ...
California is the most populous US state. It is composed of White 71.1%, Black or African American 6.5%, American Indian and Alaska Native 1.7%, Asian 15.9%, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.5%, Hispanic or Latino 40.2%.
Jul 21, 2023 · The U.S. population is enormous — 339,123,510 people as of 2023 — and growing. But there’s more to the numbers than “largest and smallest”. Some American metropolises have a population larger than that of entire nations, while some of the least populated states have fewer people than a large city. Some parts of the country are growing ...
The states and territories included in the United States Census Bureau 's statistics for the United States population, ethnicity, and most other categories include the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Separate statistics are maintained for the five permanently inhabited territories of the United States: Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands ...
