The ten U.S. states with the most residents in the Census Bureau's July 1, 2025 estimates, from California's 39,355,309 to Michigan's 10,127,884.
California is the most populous U.S. state, with an estimated 39,355,309 residents. Texas is second at 31,709,821 and Florida third at 23,462,518, followed by New York and Pennsylvania. The ranking uses U.S. Census Bureau estimates of resident population as of July 1, 2025, as reproduced in Wikipedia's list of U.S. states and territories by population.
Ten states hold more than half of everyone living in the 50 states. Together, the states on this list had an estimated 184,837,758 residents on July 1, 2025, about 54.2% of the roughly 341.1 million people in the 50 states. This list ranks states by the Census Bureau's July 1, 2025 population estimates and sets each one beside its April 1, 2020 census count. Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina are well above their 2020 counts, while California, New York and Illinois are slightly below theirs.
See where every state ranks across our lists →
California is the most populous state, with an estimated 39,355,309 residents on July 1, 2025. That is slightly below its April 2020 census count of 39,538,223, yet it still has 52 House seats, the most of any state.
Texas ranks second with an estimated 31,709,821 residents. It added 2,564,316 people over its 2020 census count, the largest numeric gain among the top ten.
Florida is third at an estimated 23,462,518 residents. Its 8.9% rise over the 2020 census count is the fastest growth in the top ten.
New York ranks fourth with an estimated 20,002,427 residents. Its estimate is 198,822 below its 2020 census count, the largest numeric drop among the top ten.
Pennsylvania is fifth at an estimated 13,059,432 residents, a small rise from its 2020 census count of 13,002,700.
Illinois ranks sixth with an estimated 12,719,141 residents. Like California and New York, its 2025 estimate is below its 2020 census count.
Ohio is seventh at an estimated 11,900,510 residents, up 101,062 from its 2020 census count.
Georgia ranks eighth with an estimated 11,302,748 residents. Its estimate is 590,840 above its 2020 census count.
North Carolina is ninth at an estimated 11,197,968 residents, just behind Georgia. Its 7.3% rise over the 2020 census count is the third-fastest in the top ten.
Michigan rounds out the top ten at an estimated 10,127,884 residents. It is the last state above 10 million; New Jersey is eleventh at 9,548,215.
| # | Name | 2020 census (Apr 1) | Change vs 2020 census | House seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 39538223 | -0.5% | 52 |
| 2 | Texas | 29145505 | +8.8% | 38 |
| 3 | Florida | 21538187 | +8.9% | 28 |
| 4 | New York | 20201249 | -1.0% | 26 |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | 13002700 | +0.4% | 17 |
| 6 | Illinois | 12812508 | -0.7% | 17 |
| 7 | Ohio | 11799448 | +0.9% | 15 |
| 8 | Georgia | 10711908 | +5.5% | 14 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 10439388 | +7.3% | 14 |
| 10 | Michigan | 10077331 | +0.5% | 13 |
States are ranked by estimated resident population on July 1, 2025, from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2025 national and state population estimates, as reproduced in the 'U.S. states and territories by population' table on Wikipedia (revision 1370625429, 22 August 2026). Only the 50 states are ranked; the District of Columbia and U.S. territories are excluded. The 2020 census column is the April 1, 2020 resident count from the same table, and House seats are the apportionment the table lists (effective from 2022). 'Change vs 2020 census' is our own calculation from those two figures, (2025 estimate minus 2020 count) divided by the 2020 count, rounded to one decimal place; it compares an estimate with a census count, so treat it as approximate. The top-ten share of 54.2% divides the sum of the ten estimates (184,837,758) by the table's 50-state total of 341,091,212.
California, with an estimated 39,355,309 residents on July 1, 2025, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Ten. Michigan, at an estimated 10,127,884, is the smallest of them; New Jersey is eleventh at 9,548,215.
California, New York and Illinois. Each one's July 1, 2025 estimate is below its April 1, 2020 census count: California by 182,914, New York by 198,822 and Illinois by 93,367.
No. The list ranks the 50 states only; the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories are left out.
More like this: all Geography & Earth rankings · browse every topic