The United States is the fourth largest country in the world, based on square mileage of 3,618,783. That puts it behind Russia, Canada, and China. The 50 states that make up the country vary considerably in size. Alaska takes up 17% of the area of the United States. Thirteen states each cover less than 1% of the country.
The smallest state in America is Rhode Island at about 1,545 square miles. That is only 0.04% of the U.S. total. Since the smallest states by this measure are usually the most densely populated, Rhode Island ranks second in people per square mile at 1,051. It trails only New Jersey, where the figure is 1,252. Because of its bays, about 16% of New Jersey is covered by water. (Find out what percentage of water area Alaska has here: This is the largest state in America.)
Rhode Island was the last state of the first 13 admitted to the Union. It was admitted on May 29, 1790. It was a holdout. It did not send delegates to the Constitutional Convention, and it was given the nickname “the perverse sister.” It did not ratify the Constitution until a year after it went into effect, according to the National Archives. (Find how large of an economy the state has: America’s largest and smallest state economies.)
The following 10 cities make up most of the population. Of these, the largest is Providence, which has about 180,600 residents, more than double the next city.
Providence – 180,609
Cranston – 81,698
Warwick – 81,080
Pawtucket – 72,405
East Providence – 47,760
Woonsocket – 41,899
Newport – 23,844
Central Falls – 19,844
Westerly – 17,553
Newport East – 11,925
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24/7 Wall St. used data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s State Area Measurements and Internal Point Coordinates to list state areas and calculate the percentage of the U.S. each state covers.
Click here to see the smallest state in America
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Alabama
> Total area in sq. miles: 52,420 — 21st smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.38%
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Alaska
> Total area in sq. miles: 665,384 — the largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 17.53%
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Arizona
> Total area in sq. miles: 113,990 — 6th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 3.00%
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Arkansas
> Total area in sq. miles: 53,179 — 22nd smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.40%
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California
> Total area in sq. miles: 163,695 — 3rd largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 4.31%
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Colorado
> Total area in sq. miles: 104,094 — 8th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 2.74%
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Connecticut
> Total area in sq. miles: 5,543 — 3rd smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 0.15%
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Delaware
> Total area in sq. miles: 2,489 — 2nd smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 0.07%
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Florida
> Total area in sq. miles: 65,758 — 22nd largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.73%
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Georgia
> Total area in sq. miles: 59,425 — 24th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.57%
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Hawaii
> Total area in sq. miles: 10,932 — 8th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 0.29%
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Idaho
> Total area in sq. miles: 83,569 — 14th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 2.20%
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Illinois
> Total area in sq. miles: 57,914 — 25th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.53%
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Indiana
> Total area in sq. miles: 36,420 — 13th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 0.96%
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Iowa
> Total area in sq. miles: 56,273 — 25th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.48%
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Kansas
> Total area in sq. miles: 82,278 — 15th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 2.17%
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Kentucky
> Total area in sq. miles: 40,408 — 14th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.06%
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Louisiana
> Total area in sq. miles: 52,378 — 20th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.38%
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Maine
> Total area in sq. miles: 35,380 — 12th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 0.93%
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Maryland
> Total area in sq. miles: 12,406 — 9th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 0.33%
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Massachusetts
> Total area in sq. miles: 10,554 — 7th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 0.28%
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Michigan
> Total area in sq. miles: 96,714 — 11th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 2.55%
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Minnesota
> Total area in sq. miles: 86,936 — 12th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 2.29%
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Mississippi
> Total area in sq. miles: 48,432 — 19th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.28%
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Missouri
> Total area in sq. miles: 69,707 — 21st largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.84%
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Montana
> Total area in sq. miles: 147,040 — 4th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 3.87%
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Nebraska
> Total area in sq. miles: 77,348 — 16th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 2.04%
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Nevada
> Total area in sq. miles: 110,572 — 7th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 2.91%
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New Hampshire
> Total area in sq. miles: 9,349 — 5th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 0.25%
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New Jersey
> Total area in sq. miles: 8,723 — 4th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 0.23%
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New Mexico
> Total area in sq. miles: 121,590 — 5th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 3.20%
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New York
> Total area in sq. miles: 54,555 — 24th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.44%
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North Carolina
> Total area in sq. miles: 53,819 — 23rd smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.42%
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North Dakota
> Total area in sq. miles: 70,698 — 19th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.86%
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Ohio
> Total area in sq. miles: 44,826 — 17th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.18%
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Oklahoma
> Total area in sq. miles: 69,899 — 20th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.84%
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Oregon
> Total area in sq. miles: 98,379 — 9th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 2.59%
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Pennsylvania
> Total area in sq. miles: 46,054 — 18th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.21%
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Rhode Island
> Total area in sq. miles: 1,545 — the smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 0.04%
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South Carolina
> Total area in sq. miles: 32,020 — 11th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 0.84%
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South Dakota
> Total area in sq. miles: 77,116 — 17th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 2.03%
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Tennessee
> Total area in sq. miles: 42,144 — 15th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.11%
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Texas
> Total area in sq. miles: 268,596 — 2nd largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 7.07%
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Utah
> Total area in sq. miles: 84,897 — 13th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 2.24%
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Vermont
> Total area in sq. miles: 9,616 — 6th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 0.25%
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Virginia
> Total area in sq. miles: 42,775 — 16th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.13%
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Washington
> Total area in sq. miles: 71,298 — 18th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.88%
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West Virginia
> Total area in sq. miles: 24,230 — 10th smallest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 0.64%
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Wisconsin
> Total area in sq. miles: 65,496 — 23rd largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 1.73%
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Wyoming
> Total area in sq. miles: 97,813 — 10th largest
> Pct. of U.S. area: 2.58%
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