California was the state with the highest resident population in the United States in 2024, with 39.43 million people. Wyoming had the lowest population with about 590,000 residents. Living the American Dream Ever since the opening of the West in the United States, California has represented the American Dream for both Americans and immigrants to the U.S. The warm weather, appeal of Hollywood and Silicon Valley, as well as cities that stick in the imagination such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, help to encourage people to move to California. Californian demographics California is an extremely diverse state, as no one ethnicity is in the majority. Additionally, it has the highest percentage of foreign-born residents in the United States. By 2040, the population of California is expected to increase by almost 10 million residents, which goes to show that its appeal, both in reality and the imagination, is going nowhere fast.

In 2023, Washington, D.C. had the highest population density in the United States, with 11,130.69 people per square mile. As a whole, there were about 94.83 residents per square mile in the U.S., and Alaska was the state with the lowest population density, with 1.29 residents per square mile. The problem of population density Simply put, population density is the population of a country divided by the area of the country. While this can be an interesting measure of how many people live in a country and how large the country is, it does not account for the degree of urbanization, or the share of people who live in urban centers. For example, Russia is the largest country in the world and has a comparatively low population, so its population density is very low. However, much of the country is uninhabited, so cities in Russia are much more densely populated than the rest of the country. Urbanization in the United States While the United States is not very densely populated compared to other countries, its population density has increased significantly over the past few decades. The degree of urbanization has also increased, and well over half of the population lives in urban centers.

This graph shows the population density of the United States of America from 1790 to 2019. In 2019, the population density was approximately 92.9 residents per square mile of land area. Population density in the United States Population density has been tracked for over two hundred years in the United States. Over the last two centuries, the number of people living in the United States per square mile has grown from 4.5 in 1790 to 87.4 in 2010. After examining the data in detail, it becomes clear that a major population increase started around 1870. Population density was roughly 11 at the time and has doubled in the last century. Since then, population density grew by about 16 percent each decade. Population density doubled in 1900, and grew in total by around 800 percent until 2010.

The population density of the United States varies from state to state. The most densely populated state is New Jersey, with 1,208 people per square mile living there. Rhode Island is the second most densely populated state, with slightly over 1,000 inhabitants per square mile. A number of New England states follow at the top of the ranking, making the northeastern region of the United States the most densely populated region of the country.

The least populated U.S. state is the vast territory of Alaska. Only 1.3 inhabitants per square mile reside in the largest state of the U.S.

Compared to other countries around the world, the United States does not rank within the top 50, in terms of population density. Most of the leading countries and territories are city states. However, the U.S. is one of the most populous countries in the world, with a total population of over 327 million inhabitants, as of 2018.

New York was the most populous state in the union in the year 1900. It had the largest white population, for both native born and foreign born persons, and together these groups made up over 7.1 million of New York's 7.2 million inhabitants at this time. The United States' industrial centers to the north and northeast were one of the most important economic draws during this period, and states in these regions had the largest foreign born white populations. Ethnic minorities Immigration into the agricultural southern states was much lower than the north, and these states had the largest Black populations due to the legacy of slavery - this balance would begin to shift in the following decades as a large share of the Black population migrated to urban centers to the north during the Great Migration. The Japanese and Chinese populations at this time were more concentrated in the West, as these states were the most common point of entry for Asians into the country. The states with the largest Native American populations were to the west and southwest, due to the legacy of forced displacement - this included the Indian Territory, an unorganized and independent territory assigned to the Native American population in the early 1800s, although this was incorporated into Oklahoma when it was admitted into the union in 1907. Additionally, non-taxpaying Native Americans were historically omitted from the U.S. Census, as they usually lived in separate communities and could not vote or hold office - more of an effort was made to count all Native Americans from 1890 onward, although there are likely inaccuracies in the figures given here. Changing distribution Internal migration in the 20th century greatly changed population distribution across the country, with California and Florida now ranking among the three most populous states in the U.S. today, while they were outside the top 20 in 1900. The growth of Western states' populations was largely due to the wave of internal migration during the Great Depression, where unemployment in the east saw many emigrate to "newer" states in search of opportunity, as well as significant immigration from Latin America (especially Mexico) and Asia since the mid-1900s.

During the American Civil War, not only was the Confederacy made up of fewer states than the Union, but these states were also much less populous than many in the North. For example, in the final census before the war in 1860, the five largest states in the South had around one million inhabitants each, while the largest states in the North had three to four million. In addition to the Union's larger population, the fact that European immigration into urban and industrial centers in the North was much higher also gave the Union a steady supply of recruits that were drafted as the war progressed, which was vital to the Union's victory in 1865.

More than 39 million people and 14.2 million households span more than 163,000 square miles of Californian’s urban, suburban and rural communities. California has the fifth largest economy in the world and is the most populous state in the nation, with nation-leading diversity in race, ethnicity, language and socioeconomic conditions. These characteristics make California amazingly unique amongst all 50 states, but also present significant challenges to counting every person and every household, no matter the census year. A complete and accurate count of a state’s population in a decennial census is essential. The results of the 2020 Census will inform decisions about allocating hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding to communities across the country for hospitals, fire departments, school lunch programs and other critical programs and services. The data collected by the United States Census Bureau (referred hereafter as U.S. Census Bureau) also determines the number of seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and will be used to redraw State Assembly and Senate boundaries. California launched a comprehensive Complete Count Census 2020 Campaign (referred to hereafter as the Campaign) to support an accurate and complete count of Californians in the 2020 Census. Due to the state’s unique diversity and with insights from past censuses, the Campaign placed special emphasis on the hardest-tocount Californians and those least likely to participate in the census. The California Complete Count – Census 2020 Office (referred to hereafter as the Census Office) coordinated the State’s operations to complement work done nationally by the U.S. Census Bureau to reach those households most likely to be missed because of barriers, operational or motivational, preventing people from filling out the census. The Campaign, which began in 2017, included key phases, titled Educate, Motivate and Activate. Each of these phases were designed to make sure all Californians knew about the census, how to respond, their information was safe and their participation would help their communities for the next 10 years.

The number of publicly owned, private, and commercial motorcycles registered in the U.S. states and the District of Columbia reached a total of some 9.6 million units in 2022. In that same year, there were 802,500 motorcycles registered in California. U.S. motorcycle registrations by state In 2022, California and New York reported the highest amount of registered private and commercial motorcycles in the country. Not only is California the U.S. states with the highest number of motorcycles, but it is also the most populous state in the U.S. overall, representing close to 12 percent of the country’s total population. At the bottom of the ranking are Rhode Island, Delaware, and the District of Colombia with fewer than 25,000 registrations, as well as less populous states, including Wyoming and Alaska, and Hawaii. Dangerous travel Riding a motorcycle is one of the most dangerous ways to travel in the U.S. with more than 200 fatalities per billion passenger miles as of 2019. Motorcycle crashes in the United States had decreased slightly in recent years, after peaking in 2016, but saw a strong rise in 2020.

In 2021, there were almost 232.8 million licensed drivers in the United States. At around 27 million, California issued the highest number of licenses in the country that year. Not only is California the U.S. state with the highest number of licensed drivers, but it is also the most populous state in the U.S. overall, representing close to 12 percent of the country’s total population.

Young people are most likely to be involved in car accidents
When it comes to accidents, people aged 21 to 24 are most at risk. While there are more female license holders in the U.S., men are more likely to drive at least occasionally. Across all age groups, the male population has substantially higher death rates than the female population.

About licenses in the U.S. The driver’s license became mandatory in the United States in the early 20th century, with Missouri and Massachusetts being the first states to require an official license for operating certain types of motor vehicles. Such vehicles include motorcycles, passenger vehicles, trucks, trailers, or buses. New Jersey became the first state to require all drivers to pass a mandatory test before being granted an official driver’s license.

A dataset listing Florida counties by population for 2024.

A dataset listing North Carolina counties by population for 2024.

A dataset listing Alabama counties by population for 2024.

A dataset listing California counties by population for 2024.

A dataset listing Georgia cities by population for 2024.

According to a population projection based on 2020 Census Data, in 2040, California's population will amount to ***** million inhabitants.

A dataset listing Washington counties by population for 2024.

A dataset listing New York cities by population for 2024.

A dataset listing Georgia counties by population for 2024.

A dataset listing Washington cities by population for 2024.

In 202, according to the estimation, the Brazilian state of São Paulo was home to nearly 46 million people, making it the most populous state in the South American country. With less than half of São Paulo's population, Minas Gerais was the second most populous state in Brazil at that time. These two states are located in the South-East region of the country. Along with Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, these states constitute Brazil's most populated region.

A dataset listing New York counties by population for 2024.