What percent of the area of the United States do you think is (inland) water? What percent of your state do you think is water covered? Which state has the highest percentage of water area? Is the West really "drier" than the rest of the country? The table below shows the total land area of each state, the water area, and the percent of total area that is water.
These data represent only "inland" water—water that is surrounded by lands of the United States. Areas, such as the Great Lakes, are excluded. The source of this data is the U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Census of Population and Housing, Summary Population and Housing Characteristics, Series PHC-3 and unpublished data on American FactFinder.
| State | Land area (sq. miles) | Water area (sq. miles) |
Percent of state that is water |
 |
State | Land area (sq. miles) | Water area (sq. miles) |
Percent of state that is water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island | 1,045 | 178 | 17.0% | Alabama | 50,744 | 956 | 1.9% | |
| D.C. | 61 | 7 | 11.5% | Oklahoma | 68,667 | 1,231 | 1.8% | |
| Louisiana | 43,562 | 4,154 | 9.5% | Georgia | 57,906 | 1,016 | 1.8% | |
| Florida | 53,927 | 4,672 | 8.7% | California | 155,959 | 2,674 | 1.7% | |
| North Carolina | 48,711 | 3,960 | 8.1% | Kentucky | 39,728 | 681 | 1.7% | |
| Maine | 30,862 | 2,264 | 7.3% | Mississippi | 46,907 | 785 | 1.7% | |
| Maryland | 9,774 | 680 | 7.0% | South Dakota | 75,885 | 1,232 | 1.6% | |
| Minnesota | 79,610 | 4,783 | 6.0% | Illinois | 55,584 | 756 | 1.4% | |
| Massachusetts | 7,840 | 423 | 5.4% | Missouri | 68,886 | 818 | 1.2% | |
| New Jersey | 7,417 | 396 | 5.3% | Oregon | 95,997 | 1,050 | 1.1% | |
| New York | 47,214 | 1,895 | 4.0% | Pennsylvania | 44,817 | 490 | 1.1% | |
| Vermont | 9,250 | 365 | 3.9% | Montana | 145,552 | 1,490 | 1.0% | |
| Delaware | 1,954 | 72 | 3.7% | Idaho | 82,747 | 823 | 1.0% | |
| New Hampshire | 8,968 | 314 | 3.5% | Ohio | 40,948 | 378 | 0.9% | |
| Wisconsin | 54,310 | 1,830 | 3.4% | Indiana | 35,867 | 316 | 0.9% | |
| Utah | 82,144 | 2,755 | 3.4% | Wyoming | 97,100 | 713 | 0.7% | |
| South Carolina | 30,110 | 1,008 | 3.3% | Iowa | 55,869 | 402 | 0.7% | |
| Connecticut | 4,845 | 161 | 3.3% | Nevada | 109,826 | 735 | 0.7% | |
| Alaska | 571,951 | 17,243 | 3.0% | West Virginia | 24,078 | 152 | 0.6% | |
| Michigan | 56,804 | 1,611 | 2.8% | Nebraska | 76,872 | 481 | 0.6% | |
| Virginia | 39,594 | 1,006 | 2.5% | Hawaii | 6,423 | 38 | 0.6% | |
| North Dakota | 68,976 | 1,724 | 2.5% | Kansas | 81,815 | 462 | 0.6% | |
| Washington | 66,544 | 1,553 | 2.3% | Colorado | 103,718 | 376 | 0.4% | |
| Tennessee | 41,217 | 926 | 2.2% | Arizona | 113,635 | 364 | 0.3% | |
| Arkansas | 52,068 | 1,110 | 2.1% | New Mexico | 121,356 | 234 | 0.2% | |
| Texas | 261,797 | 5,056 | 1.9% | United States | 3,537,441 | 78,799 | 2.2% |
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu//wetstates.html
Page Contact Information: Howard Perlman
Page Last Modified: Monday, 15-Sep-2008 10:06:17 EDT
