The USA is made up of 50 states, the District of Columbia with Washington D.C., and other territories with their own self-government. The continental USA consists of 48 states, excluding Alaska and Hawaii. Characteristics of the USA states, capitals, abbreviations, and population are listed below.
List of USA States
| State (abbreviation) | Capital | Area | Population | Union Admission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alabama (AL) |
Montgomery | 52,420 mi2 | 4,849,377 | December 14, 1819 |
 Alaska (AK) |
Juneau | 665,380 mi2 | 737,732 | January 3, 1959 |
 Arizona (AZ) |
Phoenix | 113,989 mi2 | 6,731,484 | February 14, 1912 |
 Arkansas (AR) |
Little Rock | 53,179 mi2 | 2,994,079 | June 15, 1836 |
 California (CA) |
Sacramento | 104,093 mi2 | 38,802,500 | September 9, 1850 |
 Colorado (CO) |
Denver | 5,543 mi2 | 5,355,856 | August 1, 1876 |
 Connecticut (CT) |
Hartford | 2,489 mi2 | 3,596,677 | September 1, 1788 |
 Delaware (DE) |
Dover | 65,757 mi2 | 935,614 | December 7, 1787 |
 Florida (FL) |
Tallahassee | 59,425 mi2 | 19,893,297 | March 3, 1845 |
 Georgia (GA) |
Atlanta | 10,932 mi2 | 10,097,343 | January 2, 1788 |
 Hawaii (HI) |
Honolulu | 83,569 mi2 | 1,419,561 | August 21, 1959 |
 Idaho (ID) |
Boise | 57,914 mi2 | 1,634,464 | July 3, 1890 |
 Illinois (IL) |
Springfield | 36,420 mi2 | 12,880,580 | December 3, 1818 |
 Indiana (IN) |
Indianapolis | 56,273 mi2 | 6,596,855 | December 11, 1816 |
 Iowa (IA) |
Des Moines | 77,116 mi2 | 3,107,126 | December 28, 1846 |
 Kansas (KS) |
Topeka | 32,020 mi2 | 2,904,021 | January 29, 1861 |
 Kentucky (KY) |
Frankfort | 163,694 mi2 | 4,413,457 | June 1, 1792 |
 Louisiana (LA) |
Baton Rouge | 82,278 mi2 | 4,649,676 | April 30, 1812 |
 Maine (ME) |
Augusta | 40,408 mi2 | 1,330,089 | March 15, 1820 |
 Maryland (MD) |
Annapolis | 52,378 mi2 | 5,976,407 | April 28, 1788 |
 Massachusetts (MA) |
Boston | 35,380 mi2 | 6,745,408 | February 6, 1788 |
 Michigan (MI) |
Lansing | 12,406 mi2 | 9,909,877 | January 26, 1837 |
 Minnesota (MN) |
St. Paul | 10,554 mi2 | 5,457,173 | May 11, 1858 |
 Mississippi (MS) |
Jackson | 96,713 mi2 | 2,984,926 | December 10, 1817 |
 Missouri (MO) |
Jefferson City | 86,935 mi2 | 6,063,589 | August 10, 1821 |
 Montana (MT) |
Helena | 48,432 mi2 | 1,023,579 | November 8, 1889 |
 Nebraska (NE) |
Lincoln | 69,706 mi2 | 1,881,503 | March 1, 1867 |
 Nevada (NV) |
Carson City | 147,039 mi2 | 2,839,099 | October 31, 1864 |
 New Hampshire (NH) |
Concord | 77,347 mi2 | 1,326,813 | June 21, 1788 |
 New Jersey (NJ) |
Trenton | 110,571 mi2 | 8,938,175 | December 18, 1787 |
 New Mexico (NM) |
Santa Fe | 9,349 mi2 | 2,085,572 | January 6, 1912 |
 New York (NY) |
Albany | 8,723 mi2 | 19,746,227 | July 26, 1788 |
 North Carolina (NC) |
Raleigh | 54,555 mi2 | 4,832,482 | November 21, 1789 |
 North Dakota (ND) |
Bismarck | 121,589 mi2 | 739,482 | November 2, 1889 |
 Ohio (OH) |
Columbus | 44,826 mi2 | 11,594,163 | March 1, 1803 |
 Oklahoma (OK) |
Oklahoma City | 69,899 mi2 | 3,878,051 | November 16, 1907 |
 Oregon (OR) |
Salem | 98,378 mi2 | 3,970,239 | February 14, 1859 |
 Pennsylvania (PA) |
Harrisburg | 46,054 mi2 | 12,787,209 | December 12, 1787 |
 Rhode Island (RI) |
Providence | 1,545 mi2 | 1,055,173 | May 29, 1790 |
 South Carolina (SC) |
Columbia | 70,698 mi2 | 4,832,482 | May 23, 1788 |
 South Dakota (SD) |
Pierre | 53,819 mi2 | 853,175 | November 2, 1889 |
 Tennessee (TN) |
Nashville | 42,144 mi2 | 6,549,352 | June 1, 1796 |
 Texas (TX) |
Austin | 268,594 mi2 | 26,956,958 | December 29, 1845 |
 Utah (UT) |
Salt Lake City | 84,896 mi2 | 2,942,902 | January 4, 1896 |
 Vermont (VT) |
Montpelier | 9,616 mi2 | 626,011 | March 4, 1791 |
 Virginia (VA) |
Richmond | 42,775 mi2 | 8,326,289 | June 25, 1788 |
 Washington (WA) |
Olympia | 71,298 mi2 | 7,061,530 | November 11, 1889 |
 West Virginia (WV) |
Charleston | 65,496 mi2 | 1,850,326 | June 20, 1863 |
 Wisconsin (WI) |
Madison | 97,813 mi2 | 5,757,564 | May 29, 1848 |
 Wyoming (WY) |
Cheyenne | 24,230 mi2 | 584,153 | July 10, 1890 |
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USA States by Size
The largest USA state by size is Alaska, followed by Texas, California, Montana, and New Mexico. Alaska is nearly 2.5 times larger than Texas and 430 times larger than Rhode Island.
The smallest USA state is Rhode Island, roughly the same size as the island country of Cape Verde. Delaware is the second smallest, Connecticut the third, New Jersey the fourth, and New Hampshire the fifth.
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USA States by Population
The most populous USA state is California, with 39 million people. Texas is second with 27 million, Florida is third with 20 million, New York is fourth with 20 million, and Illinois is fifth with 13 million.
The least populous USA state is Wyoming, with 586,107 residents. Vermont has the second-lowest population, followed by Alaska, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
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USA States by GDP Per Capita
The wealthiest USA state is Massachusetts, followed by New York, Connecticut, North Dakota, and Delaware. The wealthiest is the District of Columbia, with its capital, Washington, D.C., where GDP per capita is 2.2 times higher than in Massachusetts.
The poorest USA state is Mississippi, where GDP per capita is five times lower than in Washington, D.C. It is followed by West Virginia, Idaho, South Carolina, and Arkansas.
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USA Death Penalty States
There are 31 states that apply the death penalty in the USA: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wyoming.
In contrast, the death penalty is banned in 19 states: Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.