State rankings
Lowest Point by State
Colorado has the highest Elevation (3,315 ft), followed by Wyoming (3,099 ft) and New Mexico (2,842 ft). California has the lowest (-282 ft).
ElevationBetter directionWhether a higher or a lower value is better. A green arrow means higher is better, a red arrow means lower is better, and no arrow means neither.More in the glossary →
29 of 51 statesElevation
Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.
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All 29 ranked
Highest first.
Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →
Each dot is one state; the lines mark the median and the middle half.
Median
966 ft
Middle half 289 ft – 2,320 ft
Average
1,376 ft
29 states
Highest
3,315 ft
Colorado
Lowest
-282 ft
California
Data
Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.
51 states · # = rank by Elevation
| # | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Colorado | Arikaree River | Yuma | 3,315 ft |
| 2 |  Wyoming | Belle Fourche River | Crook | 3,099 ft |
| 3 |  New Mexico | Red Bluff Reservoir | Eddy | 2,842 ft |
| 4 |  Minnesota | Lake Superior | — | 2,601 ft |
| 5 |  Wisconsin | Lake Michigan | — | 2,579 ft |
| 6 |  Michigan | Lake Erie | — | 2,571 ft |
| 7 |  Ohio | Ohio River | Hamilton | 2,455 ft |
| 8 |  Indiana | Ohio River | Posey | 2,320 ft |
| 9 |  Illinois | Mississippi River | Alexander | 2,279 ft |
| 10 |  Kentucky | Mississippi River | Fulton | 2,257 ft |
| 11 |  Missouri | Saint Francis River | Dunklin | 2,230 ft |
| 12 |  Tennessee | Mississippi River | Shelby | 2,178 ft |
| 13 |  Utah | Beaverdam Wash | Washington | 2,000 ft |
| 14 |  Montana | Kootenai River | Lincoln | 1,800 ft |
| 15 |  South Dakota | Big Stone Lake | Roberts | 966 ft |
| 16 |  Nebraska | Missouri River | Richardson | 840 ft |
| 17 |  North Dakota | Red River of the North | Pembina | 750 ft |
| 18 |  Idaho | Snake River | Nez Perce | 710 ft |
| 19 |  Kansas | Verdigris River | Montgomery | 679 ft |
| 20 |  Iowa | Mississippi River | Lee | 480 ft |
| 21 |  Nevada | Colorado River | Clark | 479 ft |
| 22 |  Oklahoma | Little River | McCurtain | 289 ft |
| 23 |  West Virginia | Potomac River | Jefferson | 240 ft |
| 24 |  Vermont | Lake Champlain | — | 95 ft |
| 25 |  Arizona | Colorado River | Yuma | 70 ft |
| 26 |  Arkansas | Ouachita River | Ashley-Union | 55 ft |
| 27 |  District of Columbia | Potomac River | — | 1 ft |
| 28 |  Louisiana | New Orleans | Orleans | -8 ft |
| 29 |  California | Death Valley | Inyo | -282 ft |
| — |  Texas | Gulf of Mexico | — | — |
| — |  Florida | Atlantic Ocean | — | — |
| — |  New York | Atlantic Ocean | — | — |
| — |  Pennsylvania | Delaware River | Delaware | — |
| — |  Georgia | Atlantic Ocean | — | — |
| — |  North Carolina | Atlantic Ocean | — | — |
| — |  New Jersey | Atlantic Ocean | — | — |
| — |  Virginia | Atlantic Ocean | — | — |
| — |  Washington | Pacific Ocean | — | — |
| — |  Massachusetts | Atlantic Ocean | — | — |
| — |  Maryland | Atlantic Ocean | — | — |
| — |  South Carolina | Atlantic Ocean | — | — |
| — |  Alabama | Gulf of Mexico | — | — |
| — |  Oregon | Pacific Ocean | — | — |
| — |  Connecticut | Long Island Sound | — | — |
| — |  Mississippi | Gulf of Mexico | — | — |
| — |  Hawaii | Pacific Ocean | — | — |
| — |  New Hampshire | Atlantic Ocean | — | — |
| — |  Maine | Atlantic Ocean | — | — |
| — |  Rhode Island | Atlantic Ocean | — | — |
| — |  Delaware | Atlantic Ocean | — | — |
| — |  Alaska | Pacific Ocean | — | — |
What correlates with Elevation?
Pearson r against 2,100 other state metrics sharing at least 18 states. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.
Higher together
Places that have a higher Elevation tend to score higher on these (or rank better)
Opposite directions
Places that have a higher Elevation tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)
Quick answers
- Which state has the highest Elevation?
- Colorado has the highest Elevation, at 3,315 ft, followed by Wyoming (3,099 ft) and New Mexico (2,842 ft).
- Which state has the lowest Elevation?
- California has the lowest Elevation, at -282 ft.
- What is the median Elevation across US states?
- The median is 966 ft across the 29 US states with data.
- Where does this lowest point by state data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: USGS.