Most Urban States
California has the highest Urban Population in 2020 (37,259,490), followed by Texas (24,400,697) and Florida (19,714,806). Vermont has the lowest (225,850).
Urban Population, 2020
Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.
All 51 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.
Biggest changes · 2010 → 2020
51 states have a value in both years.
Largest increases
Largest decreases
Data
Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  California | 37,259,490 | 94.2% |
| 2 |  Texas | 24,400,697 | 83.7% |
| 3 |  Florida | 19,714,806 | 91.5% |
| 4 |  New York | 17,665,166 | 87.4% |
| 5 |  Illinois | 11,137,590 | 86.9% |
| 6 |  Pennsylvania | 9,941,070 | 76.5% |
| 7 |  Ohio | 9,001,099 | 76.3% |
| 8 |  New Jersey | 8,708,779 | 93.8% |
| 9 |  Georgia | 7,933,986 | 74.1% |
| 10 |  Michigan | 7,404,258 | 73.5% |
| 11 |  North Carolina | 6,964,727 | 66.7% |
| 12 |  Virginia | 6,528,313 | 75.6% |
| 13 |  Washington | 6,424,035 | 83.4% |
| 14 |  Massachusetts | 6,416,895 | 91.3% |
| 15 |  Arizona | 6,385,230 | 89.3% |
| 16 |  Maryland | 5,288,760 | 85.6% |
| 17 |  Colorado | 4,966,936 | 86.0% |
| 18 |  Indiana | 4,829,686 | 71.2% |
| 19 |  Tennessee | 4,577,282 | 66.2% |
| 20 |  Missouri | 4,275,663 | 69.5% |
| 21 |  Minnesota | 4,101,754 | 71.9% |
| 22 |  Wisconsin | 3,953,691 | 67.1% |
| 23 |  South Carolina | 3,477,869 | 67.9% |
| 24 |  Oregon | 3,410,984 | 80.5% |
| 25 |  Louisiana | 3,332,237 | 71.5% |
| 26 |  Connecticut | 3,110,153 | 86.3% |
| 27 |  Utah | 2,937,303 | 89.8% |
| 28 |  Nevada | 2,921,203 | 94.1% |
| 29 |  Alabama | 2,900,880 | 57.7% |
| 30 |  Kentucky | 2,644,856 | 58.7% |
| 31 |  Oklahoma | 2,558,611 | 64.6% |
| 32 |  Kansas | 2,124,059 | 72.3% |
| 33 |  Iowa | 2,014,831 | 63.2% |
| 34 |  Arkansas | 1,670,677 | 55.5% |
| 35 |  New Mexico | 1,578,552 | 74.5% |
| 36 |  Nebraska | 1,432,003 | 73.0% |
| 37 |  Mississippi | 1,370,790 | 46.3% |
| 38 |  Idaho | 1,273,437 | 69.2% |
| 39 |  Hawaii | 1,252,450 | 86.1% |
| 40 |  Rhode Island | 999,191 | 91.1% |
| 41 |  Delaware | 817,817 | 82.6% |
| 42 |  New Hampshire | 803,420 | 58.3% |
| 43 |  West Virginia | 800,857 | 44.6% |
| 44 |  District of Columbia | 689,545 | 100.0% |
| 45 |  Montana | 579,177 | 53.4% |
| 46 |  Maine | 526,309 | 38.6% |
| 47 |  South Dakota | 507,347 | 57.2% |
| 48 |  Alaska | 475,967 | 64.9% |
| 49 |  North Dakota | 474,989 | 61.0% |
| 50 |  Wyoming | 357,750 | 62.0% |
| 51 |  Vermont | 225,850 | 35.1% |
What correlates with Urban Population (2020)?
Pearson r against 2,074 other state metrics sharing at least 31 states, 2 near-identical series hidden. 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 Urban Population tend to score higher on these (or rank better)
Opposite directions
Places that have a higher Urban Population tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)
Quick answers
- Which state has the highest Urban Population?
- California has the highest Urban Population in 2020, at 37,259,490, followed by Texas (24,400,697) and Florida (19,714,806).
- Which state has the lowest Urban Population?
- Vermont has the lowest Urban Population in 2020, at 225,850.
- What is the median Urban Population across US states?
- The median is 3,110,153 across the 51 US states with data in 2020.
- Where does this most urban states data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: State-Level Urban and Rural Information for the 2020 Census and 2010 Census - US Census Bureau; Mapping US Urbanization, by State - Visual Capitalist.