There are different ways of determining the size of a state. This can be done by land mass alone, land mass plus water mass (this is significant in states such as Michigan), water mass alone, population and coastline.
The largest state by land and water mass combined is Alaska with 663,267.26 square miles of land and water. 13% of Alaskan territory is made up of water. This is the most popular way of determining the largest state. Alaska is also the state with most land mass alone, with a land mass of 571.951.26 square miles. This is also a way to determine the size of a country as some studies do not take water mass such as lakes and rivers into account.
The highest volume of water, per square mile is also Alaska with 91,316.00 square miles of water in its state borders.
These three criteria show Alaska as the largest state of America if you are looking at land, water and combined mass.
Population is also a large factor when looking at the size of a state. California has the largest population of all American states with 37,253,956 people living within the state borders at the time of the last census in 2010. The census is the best way of monitoring population, although this is only performed once every 10 years so is just a guide until the next census.
Although Alaska and California are the largest states in combined land/water mass and population, Texas comes second in both of these so technically, if you were looking at a combination of these factors, Texas could be the largest. This would depend on what weighting you gave to these criteria as California does have the third largest land/water mass in the United States of America.
The largest state by land and water mass combined is Alaska with 663,267.26 square miles of land and water. 13% of Alaskan territory is made up of water. This is the most popular way of determining the largest state. Alaska is also the state with most land mass alone, with a land mass of 571.951.26 square miles. This is also a way to determine the size of a country as some studies do not take water mass such as lakes and rivers into account.
The highest volume of water, per square mile is also Alaska with 91,316.00 square miles of water in its state borders.
These three criteria show Alaska as the largest state of America if you are looking at land, water and combined mass.
Population is also a large factor when looking at the size of a state. California has the largest population of all American states with 37,253,956 people living within the state borders at the time of the last census in 2010. The census is the best way of monitoring population, although this is only performed once every 10 years so is just a guide until the next census.
Although Alaska and California are the largest states in combined land/water mass and population, Texas comes second in both of these so technically, if you were looking at a combination of these factors, Texas could be the largest. This would depend on what weighting you gave to these criteria as California does have the third largest land/water mass in the United States of America.
