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Top 10 most densely populated US states in 2020

Daily Tens #90 · Sunday, October 11, 2026 · Ranked by 2020 residents per square kilometre of land

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Heads up: the answers are published further down this page.

About this ranking

New Jersey leads the 2020 state-density ranking at about 487.6 residents per square kilometre of land. Rhode Island follows at 409.8, despite being far smaller in total population. The comparison combines two measurements—a resident count and land area—and the choice to exclude water is central to understanding the result.

The answers

Residents per km² of land for the archived answer set
Rank Answer Residents per km² of land
1 New Jersey 487.625
2 Rhode Island 409.811
3 Massachusetts 347.938
4 Connecticut 287.506
5 Maryland 245.602
6 Delaware 196.153
7 New York 165.517
8 Florida 154.98
9 Pennsylvania 112.206
10 Ohio 111.5

Values follow the dated source snapshot and the original answer order. Rounding is for display only; the ranking uses the stored values.

2020 state population density

Residents per square kilometre of land · Linear scale starting at zero

  1. New Jersey 487.6
  2. Rhode Island 409.8
  3. Massachusetts 347.9
  4. Connecticut 287.5
  5. Maryland 245.6
  6. Delaware 196.2
  7. New York 165.5
  8. Florida 155.0
  9. Pennsylvania 112.2
  10. Ohio 111.5

Population divided by land area, excluding water. Washington, DC and territories are not eligible.

Data: US Census Bureau — 2020 state geography table. Chart by Daily Tens.

Calculate density with the correct denominator

For each of the 50 states, divide the 2020 Census resident population by land area measured in square kilometres. Do not divide by total area, which includes water, and do not combine square-mile area values with square-kilometre labels. Either mistake changes the numerical result; the water choice can also affect comparisons between states. The table preserves the calculated source snapshot, with display rounding applied only after the states have been ordered by their unrounded densities.

Why population leaders are not density leaders

Texas and California have very large populations but also extensive land areas, so neither appears among these ten. New Jersey and Rhode Island combine smaller territories with enough residents to produce higher ratios. This is a useful counterexample to the instinct to answer a density question with the most populous states. Total population tells you the size of the resident group; density tells you how many residents correspond, on average, to one unit of land.

State averages are not neighbourhood conditions

New York’s statewide figure is about 165.5 people per square kilometre, well below New Jersey’s, even though New York City contains very dense neighbourhoods. A statewide ratio averages across urban centres, suburbs, farmland and sparsely settled areas. It cannot describe the density experienced at every location. The same warning applies when comparing states with cities: changing the geographic boundary changes the denominator and can create a much larger apparent contrast without any people having moved.

Close ranks and excluded jurisdictions

Pennsylvania and Ohio, the last two entries, differ by less than one person per square kilometre in this snapshot. That small gap is easily concealed by coarse rounding. Washington, DC is excluded because it is not a state; including it would change the eligible geography and the first position. The comparison is also tied to the 2020 census date. A later population estimate should be paired with a compatible geographic measure and labelled as a new calculation, rather than quietly replacing one value in this historical chart.

Sources & further reading

Explanation updated . The puzzle’s original data date is listed below.

Sources & methodology

Metric
2020 residents per square kilometre of land
Data through
2020 Census
Source
US Census Bureau — 2020 state geography table
Notes
The 50 states only; excludes DC and territories. Density divides the 2020 resident count by land area, excluding water. Water-area comparisons include the Census Bureau’s inland and coastal water assignments.

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