Maybe size does matter.
The U.S. population is spread out among 3.8 million square miles across 50 states, yet nearly one-third of Americans live in just three states: California, Texas and New York.
New York City alone has more people — 8.5 million — than 38 states.
Nearly one-third of Americans live in just three states: California, Texas, and New York. Edmund J CoppaTo help people better visualize the population distribution, stat chronicler Visual Capitalist reimagined a U.S. map that scales states according to population figures pulled from the Census Bureau’s 2024 data.
The most populous states — California, Texas and Florida — dominate the map, with the West Coast’s Golden State leading the pack with a population of 39.4 million, followed by Texas at 31.3 million and the Sunshine State at 23.4 million.
Together, those three states account for a staggering 28% of the U.S. population.
And while some states may be large by land, their populations are comparatively minuscule.
Alaska is the largest U.S. state by area — spanning more than 665,000 square miles — but has a surprisingly low population of about 700,000, making it the third-least populous state.
To help people better visualize the population distribution, Visual Capitalist reimagined the U.S. according to state population. visualcapitalist.com
Meanwhile, states including Vermont and Wyoming appear almost invisible, given their tiny populations of around 600,000 residents each.
Other states would appear much larger due to their dense populations.
For example, Florida is ranked 22nd by size but third based on residents.
North Carolina, with 11 million who call the state home, would take up more space than South Carolina, which has only half the population of its northern neighbor.
New Jersey — with its 9.5 million residents — would look bigger than states like Virginia, Oregon and Idaho, whose borders are nearly three times the size.
The data visualization company created the population-based map to show how “rural areas with low populations can sometimes have outsized political influence due to structures like the Electoral College or the Senate,” Visual Capitalist wrote.
“When densely populated urban areas often lean one way politically, and sparsely populated rural regions lean another, then the gap between population-based representation and geographic-based influence is even more pronounced.”
