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.

This map shows the population density and total population in the United States in 2010. This is shown by state, county, tract, and block group. The color shows the population per square mile (population density), while the size of each feature shows the total population living there. This is a valuable way to represent population by understanding the quantity and density of the people living there. Areas with high population density are more tightly packed, while low population density means the population is more spread out.The map shows this pattern for states, counties, tracts, and block groups. There is increasing geographic detail as you zoom in, and only one geography is configured to show at any time. The data source is the US Census Bureau, and the vintage is 2010. The original service and data metadata can be found here.

This layer presents population density data by county for states bordering the U.S. Gulf, sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics. Population density is displayed as the number of people per square kilometer. Broadly speaking, population density indicates how many people would inhabit one square kilometer if the population were evenly distributed across the area. However, population distribution is uneven. People tend to cluster in urban areas, while those in rural regions are spread out over a much more sparsely populated landscape. Population density is a crucial metric for understanding and managing human population dynamics and their effects on society and the environment. It helps assess various environmental challenges, including urban sprawl, pollution, habitat loss, and resource depletion. Coastal areas frequently experience high population density due to urbanization, influencing land use, housing, and infrastructure development. This density can also stimulate tourism and recreation, necessitating careful planning for facilities, transportation, and environmental protection. Additionally, coastal regions are more susceptible to natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding, making population density data essential for developing effective evacuation plans and emergency services. Data: U.S. Census BureauDocumentation: U.S. Census Bureau This is a component of the Gulf Data Atlas (V2.0) for the Socioeconomic Conditions topic area.

This dataset consists of three raster datasets representing population density for the years 1990, 2000, and 2010. All three rasters are based on block-level census geography data. The 1990 and 2000 data are derived from data normalized to 2000 block boundaries, while the 2010 data are based on 2010 block boundaries. The 1990 and 2000 data are rasters at 100-meter (m) resolution, while the 2010 data are at 60-m resolution. See details about each dataset in the specific metadata for each raster.

Grid of population density in the conterminous United States at a resolution of one kilometer. The grid was converted from an ASCII file obtained from the Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).

This map is designed to work in the new ArcGIS Online Map Viewer. Open in Map Viewer to view map. What does this map show?This map shows the population in the US by race. The map shows this pattern nationwide for states, counties, and tracts. Open the map in the new ArcGIS Online Map Viewer Beta to see the dot density pattern. What is dot density?The density is visualized by randomly placing one dot per a given value for the desired attribute. Unlike choropleth visualizations, dot density can be mapped using total counts since the size of the polygon plays a significant role in the perceived density of the attribute.Where is the data from?The data in this map comes from the most current American Community Survey (ACS) from the U.S. Census Bureau. Table B03002. The layer being used if updated with the most current data each year when the Census releases new estimates. The layer can be found in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World: ACS Race and Hispanic Origin Variables - Boundaries.What questions does this map answer?Where do people of different races live?Do people of a similar race live close to people of their own race?Which cities have a diverse range of different races? Less diverse?

Census data 2020 with previous benchmarks from census website.

The population density in the United States was 36.43 people in 2022. In a steady upward trend, the population density rose by 16.37 people from 1961.

Historical dataset showing U.S. population density by year from 1961 to 2022.

Content

Population density is a measure of average population per square mile. Density levels have been higher across the Eastern seaboard and the Pacific coastline and lower in much of the West.

Acknowledgements

Data was taken from the USA Government 2010 Census.

This map shows density surfaces derived from the 2010 US Census block points.This data shows % of people who identified themselves as single race and whiteThe block points were interpolated using the density function to a 2km x 2km grid of the continental US (with water and coastal data masks). There are many stories in these Maps:- What is that clean North/South Line through the center? Why do so many people live East of that line?- Notice the paths of the towns in the west – why are they so linear? And it seems there is a pattern to the spaces between the towns, why?- Looking at the ethnic maps, what explains the patterns? Look at the % Native American map – what are the areas of higher values? (note I did not make a % Asian map as at this scale there was not enough % to show any significant clusters.)

This resource is a member of a series. The TIGER/Line shapefiles and related database files (.dbf) are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau's Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing (MAF/TIGER) System (MTS). The MTS represents a seamless national file with no overlaps or gaps between parts, however, each TIGER/Line shapefile is designed to stand alone as an independent data set, or they can be combined to cover the entire nation. After each decennial census, the Census Bureau delineates urban areas that represent densely developed territory, encompassing residential, commercial, and other nonresidential urban land uses. In general, this territory consists of areas of high population density and urban land use resulting in a representation of the urban footprint. There are 2,644 Urban Areas (UAs) in this data release with either a minimum population of 5,000 or a housing unit count of 2,000 units. Each urban area is identified by a five-character numeric census code that may contain leading zeros.

This map uses dot density patterns to indicate which population is larger in each area: urban (green) or rural (blue). Data is from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics. The map's layers contain total population counts by sex, age, and race groups for Nation, State, County, Census Tract, and Block Group in the United States and Puerto Rico.The U.S. Census designates each census block as part of an urban area or as rural. Larger geographies in this map such as block group, tract, county and state can therefore have a mix of urban and rural population. This map illustrates the 100% urban areas with all green dots, and 100% rural areas in dark blue dots. Areas with mixed urban/rural population have a proportional mix of green and blue dots to give a visual indication of where change may be happening. From the Census:"The Census Bureau’s urban-rural classification is a delineation of geographic areas, identifying both individual urban areas and the rural area of the nation. The Census Bureau’s urban areas represent densely developed territory, and encompass residential, commercial, and other non-residential urban land uses. The Census Bureau delineates urban areas after each decennial census by applying specified criteria to decennial census and other data. Rural encompasses all population, housing, and territory not included within an urban area.For the 2020 Census, an urban area will comprise a densely settled core of census blocks that meet minimum housing unit density and/or population density requirements. This includes adjacent territory containing non-residential urban land uses. To qualify as an urban area, the territory identified according to criteria must encompass at least 2,000 housing units or have a population of at least 5,000." SourceAbout the dataYou can use this map as is and you can also modify it to use other attributes included in its layers. This map's layers contain total population counts by sex, age, and race groups data from the 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics. This is shown by Nation, State, County, Census Tract, Block Group boundaries. Each geography layer contains a common set of Census counts based on available attributes from the U.S. Census Bureau. There are also additional calculated attributes related to this topic, which can be mapped or used within analysis.Vintage of boundaries and attributes: 2020 Demographic and Housing Characteristics Table(s): P1, H1, H3, P2, P3, P5, P12, P13, P17, PCT12 (Not all lines of these DHC tables are available in this feature layer.)Data downloaded from: U.S. Census Bureau’s data.census.gov siteDate the Data was Downloaded: May 25, 2023Geography Levels included: Nation, State, County, Census Tract, Block GroupNational Figures: included in Nation layer The United States Census Bureau Demographic and Housing Characteristics: 2020 Census Results 2020 Census Data Quality Geography & 2020 Census Technical Documentation Data Table Guide: includes the final list of tables, lowest level of geography by table and table shells for the Demographic Profile and Demographic and Housing Characteristics.News & Updates This map is ready to be used in ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online and its configurable apps, Story Maps, dashboards, Notebooks, Python, custom apps, and mobile apps. Data can also be exported for offline workflows. Please cite the U.S. Census Bureau when using this data. Data Processing Notes: These 2020 Census boundaries come from the US Census TIGER geodatabases. These are Census boundaries with water and/or coastlines erased for cartographic and mapping purposes. For Census tracts and block groups, the water cutouts are derived from a subset of the 2020 Areal Hydrography boundaries offered by TIGER. Water bodies and rivers which are 50 million square meters or larger (mid to large sized water bodies) are erased from the tract and block group boundaries, as well as additional important features. For state and county boundaries, the water and coastlines are derived from the coastlines of the 2020 500k TIGER Cartographic Boundary Shapefiles. These are erased to more accurately portray the coastlines and Great Lakes. The original AWATER and ALAND fields are unchanged and available as attributes within the data table (units are square meters).  The layer contains all US states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. Census tracts with no population that occur in areas of water, such as oceans, are removed from this data service (Census Tracts beginning with 99). Block groups that fall within the same criteria (Block Group denoted as 0 with no area land) have also been removed.Percentages and derived counts, are calculated values (that can be identified by the "_calc_" stub in the field name). Field alias names were created based on the Table Shells file available from the Data Table Guide for the Demographic Profile and Demographic and Housing Characteristics. Not all lines of all tables listed above are included in this layer. Duplicative counts were dropped. For example, P0030001 was dropped, as it is duplicative of P0010001.To protect the privacy and confidentiality of respondents, their data has been protected using differential privacy techniques by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Actual value and historical data chart for United States Population Density People Per Sq Km

The data included in this publication depict components of wildfire risk specifically for populated areas in the United States. These datasets represent where people live in the United States and the in situ risk from wildfire, i.e., the risk at the location where the adverse effects take place.National wildfire hazard datasets of annual burn probability and fire intensity, generated by the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station and Pyrologix LLC, form the foundation of the Wildfire Risk to Communities data. Vegetation and wildland fuels data from LANDFIRE 2020 (version 2.2.0) were used as input to two different but related geospatial fire simulation systems. Annual burn probability was produced with the USFS geospatial fire simulator (FSim) at a relatively coarse cell size of 270 meters (m). To bring the burn probability raster data down to a finer resolution more useful for assessing hazard and risk to communities, we upsampled them to the native 30 m resolution of the LANDFIRE fuel and vegetation data. In this upsampling process, we also spread values of modeled burn probability into developed areas represented in LANDFIRE fuels data as non-burnable. Burn probability rasters represent landscape conditions as of the end of 2020. Fire intensity characteristics were modeled at 30 m resolution using a process that performs a comprehensive set of FlamMap runs spanning the full range of weather-related characteristics that occur during a fire season and then integrates those runs into a variety of results based on the likelihood of those weather types occurring. Before the fire intensity modeling, the LANDFIRE 2020 data were updated to reflect fuels disturbances occurring in 2021 and 2022. As such, the fire intensity datasets represent landscape conditions as of the end of 2022. The data products in this publication that represent where people live, reflect 2021 estimates of housing unit and population counts from the U.S. Census Bureau, combined with building footprint data from Onegeo and USA Structures, both reflecting 2022 conditions.The specific raster datasets included in this publication include:Building Count: Building Count is a 30-m raster representing the count of buildings in the building footprint dataset located within each 30-m pixel.Building Density: Building Density is a 30-m raster representing the density of buildings in the building footprint dataset (buildings per square kilometer [km²]). Building Coverage: Building Coverage is a 30-m raster depicting the percentage of habitable land area covered by building footprints.Population Count (PopCount): PopCount is a 30-m raster with pixel values representing residential population count (persons) in each pixel.Population Density (PopDen): PopDen is a 30-m raster of residential population density (people/km²).Housing Unit Count (HUCount): HUCount is a 30-m raster representing the number of housing units in each pixel.Housing Unit Density (HUDen): HUDen is a 30-m raster of housing-unit density (housing units/km²).Housing Unit Exposure (HUExposure): HUExposure is a 30-m raster that represents the expected number of housing units within a pixel potentially exposed to wildfire in a year. This is a long-term annual average and not intended to represent the actual number of housing units exposed in any specific year.Housing Unit Impact (HUImpact): HUImpact is a 30-m raster that represents the relative potential impact of fire to housing units at any pixel, if a fire were to occur. It is an index that incorporates the general consequences of fire on a home as a function of fire intensity and uses flame length probabilities from wildfire modeling to capture likely intensity of fire.Housing Unit Risk (HURisk): HURisk is a 30-m raster that integrates all four primary elements of wildfire risk - likelihood, intensity, susceptibility, and exposure - on pixels where housing unit density is greater than zero.Additional methodology documentation is provided with the data publication download. Metadata and Downloads: (https://www.fs.usda.gov/rds/archive/catalog/RDS-2020-0060-2).Note: Pixel values in this image service have been altered from the original raster dataset due to data requirements in web services. The service is intended primarily for data visualization. Relative values and spatial patterns have been largely preserved in the service, but users are encouraged to download the source data for quantitative analysis.

Climate and land-use change are major components of global environmental change with feedbacks between these components. The consequences of these interactions show that land use may exacerbate or alleviate climate change effects. Based on these findings it is important to use land-use scenarios that are consistent with the specific assumptions underlying climate-change scenarios. The Integrated Climate and Land-Use Scenarios (ICLUS) project developed land-use outputs that are based on a downscaled version of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) social, economic, and demographic storylines. ICLUS outputs are derived from a pair of models. A demographic model generates county-level population estimates that are distributed by a spatial allocation model (SERGoM v3) as housing density across the landscape. Land-use outputs were developed for the four main SRES storylines and a baseline ("base case"). The model is run for the conterminous USA and output is semi-decadally for each scenario to 2100. In addition to housing density at a 1 hectare spatial resolution, this project also generated estimates of impervious surface at a resolution of 1 square kilometer.

This statistics shows a ranking of the metropolitan areas in the United States in 2013 with the highest population density. As of 2013, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim in California was ranked first with a population density of 1,046 inhabitants per square kilometer.

This dataset, named "state_trends.csv," contains information about different U.S. states. Let's break down the attributes and understand what each column represents:

1. state: The name of the U.S. state.
2. state_code: The two-letter postal code abbreviation for the state.
3. population: The population of the state.
4. sq_miles: The total land area of the state in square miles.
5. pop_density: Population density, which is the number of people per square mile.
6. region: The geographical region of the United States to which the state belongs (e.g., South, West).
7. psych_region: A description of the psychological region based on personality traits.
8. psy_reg: A shortened version of the psychological region.
9. extraversion: A measure of the state's population tendency toward extraversion.
10. agreeableness: A measure of the state's population tendency toward agreeableness.
11. conscientiousness: A measure of the state's population tendency toward conscientiousness.
12. neuroticism: A measure of the state's population tendency toward neuroticism.
13. openness: A measure of the state's population tendency toward openness.
14. data_science: A score related to the state's interest or proficiency in the field of data science.
15. artificial_intelligence: A score related to the state's interest or proficiency in artificial intelligence.
16. machine_learning: A score related to the state's interest or proficiency in machine learning.
17. data_analysis: A score related to the state's interest or proficiency in data analysis.
18. business_intelligence: A score related to the state's interest or proficiency in business intelligence.
19. spreadsheet: A score related to the state's interest or proficiency in spreadsheet usage.
20. statistics: A score related to the state's interest or proficiency in statistics.
21. art: A score related to the state's interest or involvement in the field of art.
22. dance: A score related to the state's interest or involvement in dance.
23. museum: A score related to the state's interest or presence of museums.
24. basketball: A score related to the state's interest or involvement in basketball.
25. football: A score related to the state's interest or involvement in football.
26. baseball: A score related to the state's interest or involvement in baseball.
27. soccer: A score related to the state's interest or involvement in soccer.
28. hockey: A score related to the state's interest or involvement in hockey.
29. has_nba: Indicates whether the state has a National Basketball Association (NBA) team (Yes/No).
30. has_nfl: Indicates whether the state has a National Football League (NFL) team (Yes/No).
31. has_mlb: Indicates whether the state has a Major League Baseball (MLB) team (Yes/No).
32. has_mls: Indicates whether the state has a Major League Soccer (MLS) team (Yes/No).
33. has_nhl: Indicates whether the state has a National Hockey League (NHL) team (Yes/No).
34. has_any: Indicates whether the state has any of the mentioned professional sports teams (Yes/No).

In summary, this dataset provides a variety of information about U.S. states, including demographic data, geographical region, psychological region, personality traits, and scores related to interests or proficiencies in various fields such as data science, art, and sports.

Historical dataset showing Virgin Islands (U.S.) population density by year from 1961 to 2022.